Are you Satisfied?

[Fingolfin II]

Ah, it's been a long time since I've last contributed to the Downs. Anyway...

For me, I'm satisfied with the stories- oh yes, most definitely. However, I too would have liked to have read more about Middle-Earth and it's Peoples, because I'm one of those people who love depth and detail; something rich and abundant throughout all Tolkien's writings.

The way Tolkien covered practically every little thing that he could about Middle-Earth (I mean, come on, he created a world here) was very satisfying for me, yet inevitably there was always going to be some things that could not be explained in such depth or in one lifetime. For example, I would've liked to hear more about Oropher, but since he isn't really relevant to the plot of LoTR (though his death does explain some things about Thranduil and the Silvan Elves), I wasn't too dismayed and insisting on a novel-length back story of his life. I would, however, have liked to read more about Gil-Galad, whom I thought was not given as much emphasis as other 'important' characters (important in terms of his position as High King of the Noldor- not the same importance as, for instance, Sam, in terms of the actual story).

Anyway, I fear I diverge. When reading HoME, I was particularly struck by the Prophecy of Mandos, where Turin kills Morgoth with Gurthang and Feanor yields the Silmarils to Yavanna. I was satisfied in terms of 'closure' and knowing how the ultimate story ends, yet I was also dissatisfied - I know, weird - at how it ended and felt that if it was included, despite being poetically just and a good ending, it would just take away from The Sil's story just that little bit.

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Would you have liked to have seen more, perhaps more stories after the War of the Ring (maybe The New Shadow Tolkien started writing then abandoned because he wasn't happy with it?) Or are you satisfied with what we got?

I would have liked to have seen more stories after the War of the Ring, yet I must also admit that I don't know if there would be much more to write about, and whether another story about other heroes would have such an impact as Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion did. It's sort of like a movie- the sequel is rarely as good as the original, especially when the directors keep making movies and drag out a brilliant movie into not-as-good sequels. This is definitely not the case with LoTR and The Hobbit- the flow is brilliant. I'm simply questioning whether it would have as 'brilliant' if Tolkien persisted with finishing The New Shadow and it was published. I read a few pages (of what exists) and was excited at allusions to previous happenings in the War of the Ring and the two boys' discussion of Morgoth, yet it didn't strike the same chord with me as I thought it might have. In fact, it almost seemed to undermine his other works with a story that Tolkien coined as nothing more than a 'thriller'. He didn't want to stray down that path and finish the book, saying that it 'wouldn't be worth it'. That quote just about sums up my (long-winded) opinion on this issue. Good topic, Boro!