I was once told that in order for a Middle Earth role playing game to be playable, one would have to extrapolate or add enough detail that the result could not be considered canon. I suspect the same would have to be true for any version of Silmarillion. If you told the story cleanly enough for a wide modern audience, if your objective were for it to entertain rather than to not contradict the Professor, you'd have to fill in, extrapolate or guess at enough stuff that the academic nitpickers would lump it in with the Steve Jackson movies.
What sort of author would one seek for such a project? What should the objective be? Do you want to make money selling books? Do you want to worship at the alter of The Original Author, striving for his style while minimizing conflict and contradictions?
I'm not entirely pleased with Christopher Tolkien's approach. His value added seemed more as a scholar than a story teller, and I'm looking for a good story. Still, there is no approach that would please everyone.
|