First, great opening piece from another Tolkien fan.
Second, you're not wrong about Tolkien. Tolkien's primary work about Middle-Earth actually wasn't the Lord of the Rings, it was the Silmarillion. He spent his entire life writing it and even when he died, he was still making changes to it (his son Christopher had to essentially put together a completed work). Tolkien literally built the world first and put the characters and the story in later.
I haven't gotten to the Silmarillion, but reading the appendixes alone gave a good hint of how in-depth they were. I wonder if he even wanted to write The Lord of the Rings, or if he would have been content to simply build Middle Earth as his life's work.
First, great opening piece from another Tolkien fan.
Second, you're not wrong about Tolkien. Tolkien's primary work about Middle-Earth actually wasn't the Lord of the Rings, it was the Silmarillion. He spent his entire life writing it and even when he died, he was still making changes to it (his son Christopher had to essentially put together a completed work). Tolkien literally built the world first and put the characters and the story in later.
Thanks Ben! I appreciate your support!
I haven't gotten to the Silmarillion, but reading the appendixes alone gave a good hint of how in-depth they were. I wonder if he even wanted to write The Lord of the Rings, or if he would have been content to simply build Middle Earth as his life's work.