The realms of Lord of the Rings are busy right now. The highly anticipated Amazon show is still in the works, and now the Tolkien estate is publishing a new book of never before seen essays from J.R.R. Tolkien. The new book will be titled The Nature of Middle-Earth and promises to “transport readers back to the world of The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The Lord of the Rings.” Let’s take a look at the news, and see what we can expect from the new Tolkien book.

Image via Harper Collins

Another Posthumous Tolkien Collection Explores Middle-Earth

The Nature of Middle-Earth is another posthumous volume from J.R.R Tolkien that will explore the deeper mysteries of Tolkien’s world. According to The Guardian: “Topics include Elvish immortality and reincarnation; the nature of the Valar, the god-like spirits of Middle-earth; the lands and beasts of Númenor; the geography of the kingdom of Gondor; and even who had beards. Whether elves, hobbits and even dwarven women could grow beards has long been subject of debate among fans.”

Photo by John Wyatt via Harper Collins Publishing

These essays constitute Tolkien’s work on figuring out the mechanics of Middle-Earth. He wrote them to better understand the world he was building. He also drew upon them for reference in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And fans of Lord of the Rings are always eager to see what Tolkien’s process was like, and gain a better understanding of the lore. This volume should be a worthy addition to the posthumous Tolkien collection that also includes titles like  The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin.

Chris Smith of Harper Collins says that the new collection is “a veritable treasure trove offering readers a chance to peer over Professor Tolkien’s shoulder at the very moment of discovery: and on every page, Middle-earth is once again brought to extraordinary life.”

The new Tolkien book: The Nature of Middle-Earth is due for release from Harper Collins in June 2021. For more genre news and reviews, be sure to follow Comic Years on Facebook and Twitter today!

Emily O'Donnell is a writer and photographer with roots in some of the earliest online fandoms. She cut her genre teeth on the Wizard of Oz books at the tender age of 6 years old, and was reading epic adult fantasy novels by the age of 10. Decades later, she still consumes genre fiction like there is no tomorrow. She is delighted to be living through the golden age of sci-fi and fantasy popularity. She is unashamed of the amount of fanfiction that still lingers online under her name.