in one of the stars i shall be living

Summary: In 1980s Oxford, professor Michael Ramer discovers a method for the mind to travel in time and space while the body is asleep. He presents his discoveries to the Notion Club, a social group strikingly similar to the Inklings of the 30s and 40s, and while some are skeptical, others take off with the idea. Then one night, a great storm rises up out of the west, and Arundel Lowdham cries to the others, “The Eagles of the Lords of the West are at hand!” A time travel story connecting the mythological fall of Númenor to the (then) near future of the 1980s, The Notion Club Papers went forever unfinished, and by the end of it the main characters have experienced only one major dream/vision: that of Ælfwine, an Englishman from the Middle Ages. In an outline, Tolkien gestures towards the tale of Ælfwine meeting Elves on Tol Eressëa, a “Beleriand tale”, and the fall of Númenor as told through the eyes of Elendil and his friend Voronwë. Why should I check out this canon? The Notion Club Papers draws on many more famous aspects of the Legendarium and will appeal to fans of:

Where can I get this? The entire text of The Notion Club Papers, including commentary by Tolkien’s son Christopher, can be found in volume nine of The History of Middle-earth, which is titled Sauron Defeated. Check your library and any local bookstores, or buy it online.

What fanworks exist already? Fanworks of The Notion Club Papers are, not surprisingly, hard to come by. fanfiction.net hosts at least one work by shakespeareanfish, which you can read here. AO3 has a recently posted piece of meta in Russian. JD-Kloosterman on DeviantArt has contributed fanart. Between these works, there’s lots of space for fans to take up a pen (or keyboard, paintbrush, stylus, etc.) and bring something new to The Notion Club Papers universe.

(written by thepastisaroadmap )

Summary: This is a couple different Russian stage productions of the part of the Lay of Lethian focusing on Finrod, which covers the time between Beren and Luthien’s meeting to escape from Tol-in-Gaurhoth. It is a rock opera, which means it’s a sung-through musical.

Why should I check out this canon? Musicals are a good form to adapt the legendarium into! It works particularly well for the battles between Finrod/Luthien and Sauron, where the song bends between their leitmotifs. Truth (Finrod's final song), the meeting of Beren and Luthien, and the quarrel with the sons of Feanor are also really good songs.

There are also some intriguing implications of canon divergence, including Celegorm and Curufin being the only remaining sons of Feanor, Sauron being an amalgamation of himself and Melkor, and the implication of Sauron rehabilitation/orc healing in recent performances (during Galadriel’s final song, Thingol and Melian heal the orcs while Finrod goes to a defeated Sauron and leads him into the cast as a whole). The loyalty between Finrod and Beren is showcased quite strongly; they have a couple of duets together. The 2001 Temple version also includes Caranthir in Nargothrond! (All of the sons of Feanor are still alive in this version, and they’re wearing the burning of the swan ships on their costumes.)

Where can I get this?

Many of the productions exist on YouTube in full! As far as I’m aware, the only English-subtitled versions are this video of the 2014 production and the 2001 Temple production. (These can be machine translated into other languages as well.) However, asterisq on ao3 has created an excellent line-by-line English translation of the lyrics for both the 2014 production and 2021-2023 ones, available here . This YouTube playlist includes full versions of many other productions.

What fanworks exist already?

There are not very many fanworks for this, but one I particularly like is this really lovely piece of fan art . There is also a small fandom for this show on tumblr!

(written by

aprilertuile

Summary: Roverandom is the incredibly cute story of a small dog that gets turned into a toy dog by a wizard and sold to a family with children. While Roverandom just thinks of escaping and being turned back into a real dog, his new owner, Little Boy Two, loses Roverandom on the beach.

The story contain wizards, a visit and life on the moon and in the sea, it also contains dragons, and Roverandom’s adventures to be turned back into a real dog.

Why should I check out this canon? It’s a beautiful little story that contains everything one might want: dogs, adventure, magic, a bit of mythology, new friendships. It’s entertaining, and has dogs and dragons. (Don’t go and poke at the dragon, he’s ill-tempered)

Where can I get this? Roverandom is available in libraries, perhaps even your local one, or book shops. It is also available from online booksellers. Roverandom is included in Tales From the Perilous Realm, which is available on the Internet Archive.

What fanworks exist already? There are 18 fanworks on AO3, and another 3 on Fanfiction.net. Four are also available on the Silmarillion Writers' Guild

Summary: Adventures in Middle Earth is a tabletop roleplaying game set in Middle-Earth between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The system is based on Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition, but can also be played in its own system, The One Ring RPG, and it has a sister game: The Lord of the Rings for 5e and The One Ring 2e. The game has premade adventures, such as political intrigue in Dale, a particularly persistent undead creature trying to do Sauron's bidding, and venturing -- carefully -- into Angmar, but there's no need to stop at the published plotlines!

Why should I check out this canon? AiME is a lore-knowledgeable game designed specifically around Arda, both thematically (misdeeds and influence of the Shadow cause player characters to slowly become corrupted) and practically (journeys from one place to another are fleshed out and feel like real adventure, as do audiences with powerful figures). Characters from the books make appearances, and have in-depth guides on how they should act, and if you've ever wondered what Legolas's stats are, there's an answer! And the original characters are just as good, from the ones the adventurers befriend to the ones they desperately want to deck every time they talk. The worldbuilding is top-notch, too, and gives more detail to places that get glossed over in the books!

Where can I get this? AiME and TOR 1e are out of print, but some sourcebooks are available on the Internet Archive, or from people willing to share their copies. LotR 5e and TOR 2e are available to buy online or at some game stores.

What fanworks exist already? In a way, every game of AiME is a live fanwork! But there are some fics on Ao3, and some art that can be found on Tumblr. Most of these feature player heroes in central roles, and let readers glimpse between the pages and see the other heroes Middle-Earth might have.