[Child of the 7th Age]

Maybe it would have been better if Tolkien had first issued the volumes of HoMe and then edited the Silmarillion. Of course, this was impossible from a publishing standpoint! And I know that I have the benefit of hindsight in saying this.

However, faced with the apparently huge pile of manuscripts, would it have been better if Christopher had taken at least a few more years to familiarize himself with the bulk of the material and then publish the Silm in 1980 or so? For example, if Christopher's aim was to chose the most recent version, he did not do that in regard to the Ainulindale which he himself admitted.

Some of the writings Tolkien did in the last years of his life that are included in Morgoth's Ring or Unfinished Tales or Vinyar Tengwar (e.g., osanwe-kenta) do not appear in the Silm itself. These later speculations seem to go further than his earlier views, e.g. conversation between Andreth and Finrod regarding the fate of Arda at the end, relation of Man and Elves; way the world will be healed, mind-to-mind communication, etc. I like many of these later things and wish they had been included.

I am no expert on this, and I'd appreciate hearing what someone else thinks.

sharon, the 7th age hobbit