One of the things i like about Star Wars are all the novels and graphic novels by other writers, expanding on the Star 2ars universe, using all the same characters and events and places.

Do you think the custodians of Middle Earth will ever let us have a similar thing for LOTR? I think that Christoher Tolkein guy is pretty tight when it comes to keeping control of the works, so maybe not.

They have done a similar thing for james bond as well, writing new stories and scripts after Ian Fleming's stories ran out.

Imagine all the novels they could create... filling in the gaps with aragorn when he was still a ranger, and gandalf's adventures when he disappeared off to do other stuff. You could have stories going all the way back to the dwarves building moria and getting kicked out... it would be never ending. We could have endless stories.

Maybe these FFG stories will be the closest we ever come to having new stuff

I shouldn't think so. Arda is not really a collaborative effort. As you say, the right to everything outside the Hobbit and the LotR is owned by the Tolkien Estate and they're not going to let that go - and I think copyright laws will protect the Silmarillion for at least 50 years after Christopher's passing. (I can't find a source at the moment, but I've even read that Tolkien set up his will so that the Silmarillion is bound to the family and cannot be sold.) I'm grateful to Christopher Tolkien and Guy Gavriel Kay for putting the Silmarillion and later The Children of Húrin together, but I wouldn't read interpretations of Middle-Earth by writers outside the Tolkien family. However, I don't mind the films and games as they are vastly different art forms, don't add to the canon, and give us a chance to experience the world in a new way.

I agree. I fell like tolkien spent 50 years on arda, making it a beautiful thing, but that could be destroyed by some 20 year old who writes without understanding tolkien at all and destroys everyone's view of his universe. Again, Lotr is just to good. I can't see anyone really adding to it. And the spots that were left blank were often left black on purpose Not to say there can't be fanfiction. there are a lot of stories out there just as long as there not connected to tolkien.

Isildur is a really good fan written novel that fits within the world during the second age. Worth a read.

Isildur is a really good fan written novel that fits within the world during the second age. Worth a read.

I second this. It's a pretty decent novel.

Yes I agree. Its so good they keep lotr universe away from cheap writers.

But I must admit, Isildur is amazing! However, this is exception to the rule.

I honestly do hope that no one ever will add anything to what Tolkien wrote. If you go deeper into the lore, it's clear that it's not "just a fantasy story": from heraldry to linguistics, from cultural anthropology to glottology, all what the Professor wrote was based on an unmatched culture and made real through the unique skills of a visionary who mastered not only the English language, but also all the areas of knowledge related to that.

What about a graphic novel though, because you could keep the same story and the same words with that -- so it would still be tolkein. They've already got one for the hobbit (although some of the characters look a bit different to how i imagined them). I have always wondered why they didnt do one for lord of the rings. A lot of his locations and landscapes look great in pictures (like alan lee's stuff and even the FFG cards) -- the artwork for graphic novels these days has gone way beyond cartoons, it's almost like a painting for each frame, and it would be nice to see it all on paper

What about a graphic novel though, because you could keep the same story and the same words with that -- so it would still be tolkein. They've already got one for the hobbit (although some of the characters look a bit different to how i imagined them). I have always wondered why they didnt do one for lord of the rings. A lot of his locations and landscapes look great in pictures (like alan lee's stuff and even the FFG cards) -- the artwork for graphic novels these days has gone way beyond cartoons, it's almost like a painting for each frame, and it would be nice to see it all on paper

I would LOVE a series of graphic novels for LOTR and Silamarillion. But, only if the series was quite long and did not skip many parts of the novels. I could see LOTR being a series of 20-40 graphics novels.

I'd much prefer graphic novels, hopefully as faithful as possible to all scenes and dialogue as said above, than crappy fanfiction. Now, I'm not saying you can't write a good original novel set in Middle earth, but considering what happened with the SW expanded universe with Maul coming back with a spider body and countless Luke Skywalker clones, yeah, let's say that wouldn't be the most healthy thing for the canon. ME canon is fine as it is, though I don't mind fanfiction in other mediums like this game.

I'm all for graphic novels of existing stories as well - I think I know which one you mean with The Hobbit, and that's an excellent adaption.

The thing about open licenses is that a lot of crap can come, but tons of awesome stuff also. You can simple ignore the bad parts. The only canon will be the writing of Tolkien, the rest is just adventures that you may like or not.

If I can live in a world where I can read, see or enjoy new stories in Middle-Earth, why would I skipp it? Just because crap can be made? And the good writing?

Also, where can I find the Isildur?

Imagin a Telltale game based on LotR universe.

I think george lucas has got the right idea with star wars. He basically allows everything, but the events only enter the official canon if they appear in his own projects. He's pretty laid back about other people making mistakes In the timeline because he just ignores them.

The good thing with middle earth is that tolkein has already laid down a detailed timeline and given names to hundreds (thousands?) of people and places across an entire continent, so the scope for extra stories is huge without anyone messing it up.

As I read a lot of comics and graphic novels, I would really appreciate it if there was a Middle-Earth graphic novel series.

I loved reading the books, but I know a lot of people who are not dedicated enough to read the books, but liked the movies.

For them I think a graphic novel would be a obtainable way to experience more of the amazing world Tolkien wrote.

I would love to read some other authors write about middle earth; Tolkien was kinda boring. But I love the world. Someone like Mathew Stover who wrote the novelization of star wars episode three. That was really good.

I cannot imagine any new books being "good enough" to get on par with Tolkien's.

With different mediums (games, movies) it seems the material does not have to compete with the original work. So we can simply enjoy a re-imagination of the world we love.

I love LotR LCG, I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow of Mordor, not to mention the first trilogy by Peter Jackson. I think they are all palatable because it is easier to be forgiving when the medium is different, therefore not easily comparable.

As for books, i just think the bar is set too high.

I think george lucas has got the right idea with star wars. He basically allows everything, but the events only enter the official canon if they appear in his own projects. He's pretty laid back about other people making mistakes In the timeline because he just ignores them.

The good thing with middle earth is that tolkein has already laid down a detailed timeline and given names to hundreds (thousands?) of people and places across an entire continent, so the scope for extra stories is huge without anyone messing it up.

Well, George Lucas is alive and has a say in what goes and what doesn't. Tolkien sold the film right purely for monetary reasons and because he considered the story unfilmable anyway, and he never delegated writing or worldbuilding to someone else (except for the maps, which Christopher helped him drew). We can't know now what JRRT would've been okay with, but Middle-Earth becoming a cultural phenomenon doesn't mean it should be a free-for-all. As Mich says above, it's difficult to imagine how writings by anyone else could measure up to Tolkien's own. I'm all right with deviation and some form of creative license in the film versions and I can tolerate Shadow of Mordor, but if a book comes out and it's not canon, I'm not really interested.

Then again, I have never been interested in the SW expanded universe either, other than playing a few old games set after Return of the Jedi. I guess I'm just not intrigued by collaborative storytelling - I want to see the vision of the original creator alone. To me, letting others into it would take away from its originality. Hope I don't come across as too much of a wet blanket, though I probably do.