Stu wrote:

eorl wrote:

You could always buy another one - these deluxes aren’t really limited. *ducks* ?

Oh, you cynic. No way will they still be printing these in the 2100s.

Bold of you to assume book publishers will still be around in the 2100s. It will all be print to demand via Gigazon, delivered over the blasted wastes by supersonic drone right to the doorstep of your bomb shelter. And the masses will be happier for the lower prices and fast delivery times.

*ducks*

In reality, what is really left that is commercially viable for HC to print in this now-maligned deluxe format? HoME? Scholarly works? I'd have to assume this is among the last.

Caudimordax wrote:

Stu wrote:

eorl wrote:

You could always buy another one - these deluxes aren’t really limited. *ducks* ?

Oh, you cynic. No way will they still be printing these in the 2100s.

Bold of you to assume book publishers will still be around in the 2100s. It will all be print to demand via Gigazon, delivered over the blasted wastes by supersonic drone right to the doorstep of your bomb shelter. And the masses will be happier for the lower prices and fast delivery times.

*ducks*

In reality, what is really left that is commercially viable for HC to print in this now-maligned deluxe format? HoME? Scholarly works? I'd have to assume this is among the last.

I keep thinking we must be at the last volume and they keep surprising me... I can see a new edition of Letters being done in this format. If there is money to be made from it, it will happen.

Forget 'the last'. You won't see it. There's no stopping Tolkien.

I really would like to see a deluxe edition of Letters. I think this is really missing to the series. Perhaps with some unpublished ones...

Berelach wrote:

Forget 'the last'. You won't see it. There's no stopping Tolkien.

Well, no stopping HarperCollins, at least! I do reckon with the new show impending, Papa Bezos is going to ensure that the LotR brand reaches a critical market saturation, one way or another. HC will do their part–indeed they already seem to be.

Caudimordax wrote:

Berelach wrote:

Forget 'the last'. You won't see it. There's no stopping Tolkien.

Well, no stopping HarperCollins, at least! I do reckon with the new show impending, Papa Bezos is going to ensure that the LotR brand reaches a critical market saturation, one way or another. HC will do their part–indeed they already seem to be.

The Amazon series has to make some serious DollarPounds to break even on this production that I suspect we will see lots of rubbish coming along behind it. Fans of these sorts of shows love merchandise and that is probably where Amazon will see its biggest profits. They will not get enough new customers through the traditional Prime angle to justify the show so its inevitable that we will see branded books and all manner of squeamish plush delights.

Aelfwine I am still casually reading trough part I of Nature of Middle-earth (which by the bay will for sure require further readings) and two questions came up into my mind:
1) What's your personal opinion about the chronology of the time and aging material if you are willing to share it? Maybe the information is already written but I have somehow lost it by focusing on the complexity of the calculations
2) Have you compiled your own xls tables reproducing Tolkien calculations ?

onthetrail wrote:

Caudimordax wrote:

Berelach wrote:

Forget 'the last'. You won't see it. There's no stopping Tolkien.

Well, no stopping HarperCollins, at least! I do reckon with the new show impending, Papa Bezos is going to ensure that the LotR brand reaches a critical market saturation, one way or another. HC will do their part–indeed they already seem to be.

The Amazon series has to make some serious DollarPounds to break even on this production that I suspect we will see lots of rubbish coming along behind it. Fans of these sorts of shows love merchandise and that is probably where Amazon will see its biggest profits. They will not get enough new customers through the traditional Prime angle to justify the show so its inevitable that we will see branded books and all manner of squeamish plush delights.

Middle-earth extended universe seems inevitable as well. Tolkien will become a crapshow of garbage and just a "franchise". I think NoME probably largely marks the end of a well curated universe based on authorial intent, with well defined boundaries beyond which there is simply no content. With copyright of many of the works running out in some jurisdictions in the next few years, this feels inevitable.

On the plus side, we are likely to see some really nice books produced using earlier out-of-copyright versions of the text. We just need to survive the Amazon years.

I tried to give them in what I thought was the most likely sequence of development, based on a few certain dates and apparent conceptual developments. Beyond that, I don't have any particular opinions. And no, while I did try to verify calculations (using a calculator), I didn't do anything so detailed as a spreadsheet. I'll let others spot Tolkien's mistakes that I didn't catch. (Remember, he didn't even have a calculator!)

Aelfwine: Thanks! It is indeed amazing the number of calculations he made by hand!