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Old 07-15-2016, 01:24 PM   #3
Kuruharan
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: A Remote Dwarven Hold
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron View Post
What do you guys think about the aborted story, The New Shadow, which Tolkien puttered about with? Do you think it would have made for good reading? How do you think the story would have panned out?
I think it would have made interesting reading. I have no idea how it would have turned out except Tolkien implies that the conspiracy would have been unmasked and defeated somehow in the end.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron View Post
For myself, when I first learned of the story, I was very impressed, but also unnerved by the implications of it. After everything the Fellowship fought for, all the tragedies of their lives and the hard won peace they attained, there's something chilling about evil creeping back in - from men themselves, forgetting all which had been at stake, and basically rendering all those sacrifices utterly pointless.
But this is inevitable and unsurprising. Even Gandalf alluded to this during the Council of Elrond (I think) and during his “I am also a steward” speech. Each generation had to (and still has to) fight the fight in its own time and then hand off the results to the next generation.

And it was clearly not pointless. Sauron was defeated and diminished to the point where he could not take form again. After that point, no physical incarnation of primeval evil would be able to manifest and attempt to dominate and tyrannize over the world. That is a pretty significant positive thing I think.

The New Shadow forms the background of this mod to Rome: Total War...which I never grow tired of stumping for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun View Post
To me, the finished product could have been entirely too 'real'.

To even the less cynical among us, the periodic struggles of humankind, defeats followed by triumphs, war followed by eventual peace, are daily life, as are the inevitable slides back to the darker times. People are seemingly bored by peace, and I think NS just brings that fact to the forefront even among the noblest, most 'blessed' kingdom of Men in Middle-earth.

This brings to mind another recent thread that explored the reasons for reading Tolkien. The New Shadow would have possessed an entirely different spirit than the other Middle-earth centered works. It would ground one right back to this world after 'living' in another, and wouldn't that somewhat taint the entire Tolkien experience?
So you disagree with George R. R. Martin’s impulse of wanting to explore a more “realistic” Middle-earth? Martin has cited several times one of his inspirations being wanting to explore what life under Elessar’s rule would have been like, tax policy and so forth. Do you not think that a worthwhile endeavor?

On a side note, the New Shadow forms the basis for this mod of Rome: Total War...which I never grow tired of stumping for.
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