Hi! Childofthe7thAge -
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In both his Letters and The Peoples of Middle-earth, Tolkien says that the third age is the last one "in which evil assumes a single dominant incarnate shape". He also says Sauron was:
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the first of many concentrations of Evil into definite power-points that they {i.e. man} would have to combat, as it was also the last of those in "mythological" personalized (but non-human) form
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What if during the Age of Man we consider institutions set up by men which become long term dominant incarnations of evil. Would that fit into the mythology, or extend it? For example the pervasive evil of institutionalized racism. Or the continued evil of unfettered industrialization to deplete the resources and viability of the planet which ultimately sustains us. (please don't consider this a soap box for my personal views; I'm just giving these as examples.)Individual men would come and go, but the Dark Lords of evil would continue, in a way. Could we conser these as central figures of true evil for the Age of Men?
Veritas - could we look at our struggle agains this form of evil as more than a simple knight's tale?
Kalessin -
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The voice is silent and therefore the journey does not continue - and where in fantasy literature today is the writer ready or able to follow in those giant footsteps? Judging by previous discussions on BW, he or she has yet to make an appearance!
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I agree - the voice is silent, and probably no other voice could tell such a story. But certainly the struggle of men against a greater evil could be unfolded and dealt with as more than just a morality tale for these relative times.