What stories would you want to write or see written if: The Tolkien estate lost its collective mind & allowed people to write books set in Tolkien’s Middle Earth universe???
Examples of such Extended Universe stories :
-Adventures of Aragorn in his youthful undercover ranger-in-training days in Rohan & Gondor
-A series detailing the rise and fall of the North Kingdom, Angmar and the Witch King
-Tales of the wars between Gondor and the Southrons
-How Sauron enslaved the men of the South
-Details of the fighting near Dale and at Lorien during the War of the Ring
Novel-style versions of the stories told in archaic style in the Silmarillion.
Prince Imrahil gets his own adventure series
Note: This is merely a thought exercise by a LOTR fan who wishes there were shelves full of stories by Tolkien about Middle Earth (as Star Wars fans have their shelves of their Extended Universe books). HOWEVER – in reality I’m grateful to keepers of the estate. I know in my heart any such stories written by others would either be poor Tolkien imitations by writers such as Terry Brooks or they would be fanfic drivel. I guess. Would still be fun to read more Middle Earth stories. Although I think the good Professor said what he meant to say and then quit. Which is more than some less sensible authors have done.
I’d like to read about what happened before Frodo arrived for the Scouring of the Shirem, and what happened to Aragorn and the countries of Men after the ring was destroyed.
I’d like to hear, also, about the backstory of the Nazguls, and how they fell and were tempted with Rings of Power. Heck, the dwarf kings who received Rings, too, and stories of the dwarven Ringwraiths.
Someone (good) completes The New Shadow: 4th Age, 100 years after Eldarion ascended to the throne. Borlas is the protaginist. The cult of Herumor is the main source of conflict. We met all sorts of great new characters. There will be war and death. Alliances will be broken. New heroes will emerge. Oh, it’ll be great.
Reason #943 why I am a hopeless dork: I saw EU, my mind immediately conflated the Star Wars Extended Universe and Lord of the Rings. I started picturing Rogue Squadron crash-landing in the Shire…
Any part of the Silmarillion would make a fine novel. I’d like to see one on the fall of Gondolin.
The Mouth of Sauron escapes to Umbar where he gains support both there and among the Variags of Khand is his bid to become a new Dark Lord. Battle is joined when he attacks Nurn, the nation of former slaves in southern Mordor, drawing Gonder into the conflict.
The Adventures of Elendil. Some Dumas-style cloak-and-dagger stories, showing how he acquired the “seven stars, seven stones, and one white tree”.
Tales of the Istari. I want to know what became of the blue wizards!
In the appendices to Return of the King, Tolkien states that, after the war of the ring, the dwarves are ruled by Durin the Seventh (and last). I want to know why he was the last.
The MERP sourcebooks are quite good for this sort of thing.
But there’s a vague sort of implication in the Silmarillion that there will be two more times when a Silmaril lets a mortal get to Valinor - one of the Silmarils falls into the ground and the other is in the sea. Presumably Ulmo could just pick up the latter, but he doesn’t, so at some point either a human or dwarf is going to find the one in the ground, and some fisherman is going to find the one in the sea.
It would take more than a Silmaril to get into Valinor. Earendil and Elwing did it only because of their mixed lineage, driven by need, redeemed by bravery and suffering, speaking for both the Noldor in exile, the Sindar, and the Edain.
As for the fate of the other two Silmarils, it seemed to me that they would be found after Dagor Dagorath, where the world would be broken, and need to be re-made. Once re-made, the distinction between undying lands and mortal lands would be lost. IMHO.
Well, it does take place in pre-history Europe. Oh, and I would not mind a more indeph explination of Tom Bobadil’s origins, baised on Tolkien’s notes, but what I would probably get is a “Young Jedi Academy Tales of Horror” book series. (I’ve actually seen this somewhere. It’s Goosebumps for the pre-teen Star wars fans.)
And also because they did it before the Changing of the World. Aman was still part of Arda at the time, and all the Silmaril on Ëarendil’s brow did was cut through the enchantments that encircled the continent. A Silmaril would NOT allow a mortal to take the Straight Road.
