Barliman Butterbur said:
I myself came to this conclusion long ago: that
evil is a weed inherent in Man that pops up under any condition, and good is a Man-created garden that needs constant tending.
Barley
Tolkien would probably agree. It sounds like a perfect argument for "Original Sin".
Annaheru said:
As to TNS, I really don't see how we can say it points to 'doom and gloom'- JRR never finished it. In both the Sil and LoTR we pass from the high to the low and then see a partial restoration, a revival (if you will), that will ultimately descend another level until we reach the Final Battle and the New Song. TNS continues this theme. We know that Tolkien became more interested in the language (
Quenya) in his later years, returning to his original purpose in creating ME. If he had really felt the need to finish this story good would have triumphed. In reference to LoTR he said "foresight had failed", and he abandoned the tale for a time. In TNS he looked at the darkness and stopped. What if the manuscript for LoTR had stopped at the beginning of bk3?
Gandalf dead,
Boromir dead,
Merry and
Pippin taken. Or at the end of bk4? That would offer a horizon every bit as dark as TNS.
I agree with this POV. While TNS started out rather dark and probably got darker, no doubt good would've triumphed. That's assuming Tolkien's philosophy in general hadn't changed since LOTR. It very well could've but we'll never really know for sure. It seems he felt it wouldn't make for a compelling story and would only be a shadow of his former great works. It probably didn't help that was nearing the end of his life. Had he started this 10 years earlier perhaps we would indeed have a sequel to LOTR.
If I were a teacher and had a classroom of students studying Tolkien I'd make TNS required reading and ask the students to finish this story, basing it on Tolkien's philosophy and works. It would be fascinating to see how it turned out.
While part of me agrees with what a lot of you are saying and understands the reasons behind Tolkien not pursuing this any further I think there was fertile ground for this story.
If
The New Shadow had taken place
1000 years after the fall of the
Dark Tower no doubt it would in many respects be "modernized" in that this story would probably take place in a time and place that would resemble our society much more than
Middle Earth. There wouldn't be any real memory of what transpired in the
War of the Ring. The
Elves,
Dwarves and
Hobbits would considered myths at best. As
Snaga pointed out, the magic would indeed gone and it would be a faint shadow of what was and thus hardly worth doing. Basically it would be a modern story without any of the mythic grandeur of LOTR, seen through the eyes of
Men and peopled by Men. It wouldn't be much different from any other action-adventure-drama. Not worth doing IMO.
But I don't see that as being the case here. TNS takes place
100 years after the fall of the tower. This puts it into an entirely new perspective for me. For one, the King is Eldarion, son of
Aragorn and
Arwen. This would be no ordinary man! Surely he could hearken back to
Earendil or
Elrond, being of both
Numenorean and
Elvish blood. That makes for some compelling reading right there and a lot could be done with that. There would also be
Faramir's and
Eowyn's children and grandchildren to consider as well. I see a lot of potential in this story and would've loved to have seen it explored.
Also, 100 years later surely there would a renegade
Elf or two who decided not to go into the West? Or perhaps the Dwarves could take on more importance? A descendent of
Gimli? Maybe Merry, Pippin's or
Sam's children could come into the story..Who knows? When it comes to the Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits it is hard to believe that everything dried up so soon after LOTR. In the entire history of ME, 100 years isn't that long. It seems logical that since LOTR took place about 60 years after
The Hobbit a sequel for LOTR could easily come about 100 years later, despite the many changes that happened at the end of the 3rd Age.
As for the nature of the evil itself, that could be made interesting as well. There is talk of "satanic cults" but they needn't be based soley on the deeds of the Men of
Gondor. The name
Herumor was used to hint at the role of evil in TNS. This was the name a renegade Numenorean who became powerful in
Harad during the 2nd Age. It would be interesting to see this explored.
Sauron was
Morgoth's disciple so perhaps this could indeed by a disciple of Sauron? It would also be interesting to read more about Harad and the other lands to
the East and South. If ever evil was to rear it's ugly head, surely it would be the lands where Sauron's followers lived and might still harbor anger and resentment towards Gondor, despite Aragorn's pardoning them at the end of the war.
You could even have another version of Gandalf when you consider that there were two "Blue"
Istari who originally went into the
Eastern lands and weren't heard from again. I would imagine that they could be used now, especially if you are concentrating on an evil that takes it's roots in the eastern lands.
I suppose one could shrug it it off as a pale "redo" of LOTR but most sequels are like that in that they often repeat the general theme of the story that precedes them. I don't think that Tolkien himself could've topped LOTR, particularly at the point of his life when he wrote TNS. But I do think that it would've been possible to have had a compelling, interesting sequel that would've satified the curiousity of those who wanted to read more about Middle Earth in the 4th Age, particularly when you consider that people still line up bookstores for the latest addition of
Harry Potter. Had Tolkien had felt the need to write it, I don't think it would've been as daunting nor as dark as one would think.
Unfortunately I don't think Tolkien was himself compelled to write it and died not too long afterwards so we'll never know. But I found it interesting reading and would've liked to have known what it was exactly that Borlas found in his house. I think it would've made for an interesting tale and wished it had come to fruition.