'New' Tolkien book set for publication in May

J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, but that hasn't stopped his youngest son Christopher from continuing to make money off his father's name and work.

Publisher's Weeklyreports that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired the right to a previously unpublished J.R.R. Tolkien work written while he was a professor at Oxford during the 1920's and 30's. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is the "first extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigúrd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs." There will of course be notes on the poems from Christopher Tolkien. The book will be in stores on May 5th.

I have to wonder: Tolkien is not exactly an unknown entity, and the book has been sitting unpublished for about 80 years. How good could it possibly be if there hasn't been a need to get it out to the public until now? Perhaps the Tolkien estate's portfolio has taken a hit with the recession. Or maybe Mr. Tolkien's lawsuit seeking $150 million from New Line Cinema over disputed movie royalties isn't progressing well.

At 84 years old, don't you think it might be time for Christopher to go and carve out a name for himself as something other than a pig at the trough of his father's legacy?