Just got "Unfinished Tales". It is really enlightening.

[lindil]

Does it strike anyone else as ironic that, presumably unplanned by him, a lot of Tolkien's mythology has come to light more in tantalising fragments than complete work?

I agree with you squatter and have noted also that just like real history it comes complete with alternate and oft contradictory to boot.

I love pretty much all of Unfinished Tales.

It took me till the time I got to the downs to realize it but the Post -LotR writings (UT, HoM-E 10-11 and parts of 3 and 12) are to my mind his finest, most subtle, and well crafted works surpassing the LotR often as much as LotR goes beyond THe Hobbit and Lost Tales.

The incompleteness is sad of course, but to quote a Wookie proverb, "Joy not tempered by sadness is suspect".

Welcome to the Downs Ardolon, and if you are really patient you may still be here when the TftE project coughs up it's version of the Fall of Gondolin [an attempt at a canonical editing/updating at the Book of Lost Tales version of the fall of Gondolin].