The New Shadow: Better Left Unfinished?

Tolkien began a story on the Fourth Age Gondor entitled 'The New Shadow. This is published in Peoples of Middle-Earth (HoME 12). It is about the discovery and overthrow of a Satanic cult during the reign of King Eldarion Telcontar. It begins with a debate between a man named Borlas (son of Beregond, friend of Pippin who removed with Faramir to Emyn Arnen.) He has a conversation with a young man named Saelon, who is a friend of his son, who is away. In it they have various theological discussions. Borlas learns that Saelon is part of a Satanic cult headed by one 'Herumor'. Saelon leaves by telling him to meet him outside his gates so they can go to a meeting in which Borlas will find out all he wants about Herumor, but Borlas thinks it may be a trap. The text ends abruptly at a climatic moment when Borlas senses the 'old' evil. Tolkien began this sometime in the 50's and lost interest in it only for it to go back to it in 1968 but yet again to lose interest. For me this is a story that should have been completed or at least for Tolkien to have written a little bit more. Tolkien's excuses for not completing it come in Letters #256 and #338.

I did begin a story placed about 100 years after the Downfall [of Sauron], but it proved both sinister and depressing. Since we are dealing with Men it is inevitable that we should be concerned with the most regrettable feature of their nature: their quick satiety with good. So that the people of Gondor in times of peace, justice and prosperity, would become discontented and restless - while the dynasts descended from Aragorn would become just kings and governors - like Denethor or worse. I found that even so early there was an outcrop of revolutionary plots, about a centre of secret Satanistic religion; while Gondorian boys were playing at being Orcs and going round doing damage. I could have written a 'thriller' about the plot and its discovery and overthrow - but it would be just that. Not worth doing.

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Letter #256; Letters of Tolkien

I have written nothing beyond the first few years of the Fourth Age. (Except the beginning of a tale supposed to refer to the end of the reign of Eldarion about 100 years after the death of Aragorn. Then I of course discovered that the King's Peace would contain no tales worth recounting; and his wars would have little interest after the overthrow of Sauron; but that almost certainly a restlessness would appear about then, owing to the (it seems) inevitable boredom of Men with the good: there would be secret societies practising dark cults, and 'orc-cults' among adolescents.)

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Letter #338; Letters of Tolkien

Do you agree with him? Would it have been 'merely a thriller'? Personally I found it engaging and interesting, but that’s my opinion.

Good to see this topic!
I have often thought about this story... I once even offered it as topic for a "What if?"-game

But... I suspect that ... perhaps would the Professor lived longer, he might have wished to continue it. W hat a splendid sequel to the LOTR it could have been!

Besides, studying these days the Letters , I am amazed about how Tolkien keeps calling this world "fallen"... Could it be that he did not want to continue that story because it would've only reminded him again and again about this sad fact?

i think it was shaping up to be a thriller and since Tolkien says that is what it would be, I believe it. I enjoy the suspence at the end. It feels very unlike anything else he wrote on Middle-earth, so it was good for being unique, and I very much enjoy the conversation between Saelon and Borlas... but all the same I don't need the ending. Voting No. But not only because I like the cliffhanger ending, but once the Maiar and the elves and elder days are in the past, Middle-earth could be any place to me. It would be more of a plain fiction than a fictional history... somehow. I can't really explain it. To me it is apart from the myth and legend. It would be interesting to know what Tolkien had in mind for it, but it is not information that I need. It leaves me wanting more... yet I can image the rest of how it could go.

HAHA Nóm, i loved that you used an upper case "I" all through that EXCEPT at the very beggining where it matters .

Anyways, i think that i agree with Mr Tolkien, he was the best judge on whether or not to create this next book, he made the best book ever and is the best experienced to judge if his new book will be of the same quality.

I did not like this text. It is too philosophical for my liking, too much ranting and nothing concrete...

But of course I would like to have seen it finished! Might have had a few more twists and turns that would make it a more exciting piece of writing.

On the other hand, the history, as it ends so abruptly with the inauguration of King Elessar and the departure of the Ring bearers, has an immense appeal to it. Not knowing what happened afterwards (or at least not knowing MUCH of what happened afterwards) gives us a sense of completion of the Elder days, and a feeling of undeniable nostalgia that those days are gone forever. I think I'll stop ranting here.

I would love to see it finished, even though I felt that this story was clearly a more 'normal' suspence thriller, and quite different from other writings of JRRT.
Even so, I feel that there is an atmosphere in it that I haven't seen in most ordinary thrillers.

It's because of things like this that I wish that JRR Tolkien had a bit of Numenorean blood in him . It would have been nice if he could have completed things like this and the Silmarillion before he died, along with all the other half-completed works. I don't care about what it's about; as long as Tolkien wrote it, as I know it would have been good.
But since Tolkien didn't seem to want to complete this, maybe we could presume that he thought it wouldn't be up with his usual standards, and therefore we wouldn't have enjoyed it?

I'm still saying 'Yes' to the Poll though.

...I could have written a 'thriller' about the plot and its discovery and overthrow - but it would be just that....

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I wonder... and wasn't LOTR a true thriller too?
I find it quite all right thrilling!
Then.... that possible new one would have been such a success... I guess...
Well... we know the Professor... Always trying to bring things to perfection... I am sure that if he had continued writing that story, he wouldn't have left it to be "simple" one! Don't you think?

If Tolkien dint think it would be good then thats enouigh for me. Also I think its pointless to cotinue a story after such an amazing one as LOTR bacause in the end history would end up repeating itself. And finally If the Elves have left and the glory age of men is over I think it would equate to the end of the world of ME.

Maybe some day it will be resurrected in an "Expanded Universe" series of non-Tolkien Middle-earth novels.

(Perhaps this thread could be combined with one of the other "New Shadow" threads . . .)

Arthur_Vandelay said:

Maybe some day it will be resurrected in an "Expanded Universe" series of non-Tolkien Middle-earth novels.

(Perhaps this thread could be combined with one of the other "New Shadow" threads . . .)

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Here's a New Shadow thread I started earlier, which as of this date (5-12-05) contains 39 posts:

http://thetolkien.forum/showthread.php?p=442871#post442871

Barley

Manwe said:

If Tolkien dint think it would be good then thats enouigh for me. Also I think its pointless to cotinue a story after such an amazing one as LOTR bacause in the end history would end up repeating itself. And finally If the Elves have left and the glory age of men is over I think it would equate to the end of the world of ME.

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I totally agree. And, I think you have a really funny avatar!

Barley

I personally found TNS fascinating. I loved it, and while it could have used a bit of editing (it was obviously an unfinished work, with pieces needing some sorting out) I found it a very engaging and interesting story.

I did begin a story placed about 100 years after the downfall of Sauron

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Sauron fell in 3019. Aragorn died in 3141. 122 years after Sauron fell. Although another quote cited above sets the story 100 years out from Aragorn'd death.

while the dynasts descended from Aragorn would become just kings and governors - like Denethor or worse.

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The entering into Men of the Elven-strain is indeed represented as part of a Divine Plan for the ennoblement of the Human Race...(Letter No. 153).

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In either event we're talking about Aragorn or his grandchild. True Numenoreans reinvigorated with their original line - Elrond's daughter. LOTR ended on an upbeat in this regard. As this line spread with the generations I would expect a new renaissance to emerge especially since they were free of any significant dark lord.

It's my suspicion that The New Shadow is largely a product of Tolkien being depressed with the state of the world at the end of his life. Was he a widower at this point? Personally I'm glad he didn't finish it.