Unfinished creative work
His son, Christopher Tolkien, invited fantasy fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay to reconstruct some parts of the book, and they eventually published a final version in 1977.
[6] Honoré de Balzac, the French novelist, completed nearly 100 pieces for his novel sequence La Comédie humaine, but a planned 48 more were never finished.
[14] Other famous unfinished works of literature include Hero and Leander by Christopher Marlowe (a completion was provided by George Chapman), Dream of the Red Chamber by Gao E (Chapter 80–120), Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, Bouvard et Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert, Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Living Corpse by Leo Tolstoy, The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek, Suite française by Irène Némirovsky, Answered Prayers by Truman Capote, The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Messias by Väinö Linna, Uncertain Times by Richard Yates, Sanditon by Jane Austen, Mount Analogue by René Daumal, The Pale King by David Foster Wallace, The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey by Patrick O'Brian, Georg Büchner's Woyzeck, The Castle and Amerika by Franz Kafka, The Life of Klim Samgin by Maxim Gorky, The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil and Le Premier Homme by Albert Camus.
[15] The Sunni Islamic classic Qur'anic commentary, Mafatihu-l-Ghayb, better known as Tafseer Al-Kabeer (Tafsir al-Kabir (al-Razi)) by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was left unfinished and it was finished by either Qadi Shahab-ud-deen bin Khaleel al-Khauli, of Damascus (died 639 AH) or Shaikh Najm-ud-deen Ahmad bin Al-Qamooli (died 777 AH) as mentioned in Kashf-az-Zunoon.
The most influential document in computer science was John von Neumann's First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, a 101-page manuscript dating from 1946 and littered with ellipses and spaces for the eventual addition of further material.
The first genuine historiographical work, the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, was undergoing a major revision by the author at the time of his death, so different sections of it reflect a starkly contrasting general outlook on Persian influence in the events depicted.
In other instances, outside circumstances can prevent the execution of an otherwise "finished" artwork: Leonardo da Vinci developed sketches and models for the 24-foot-tall (7.3 m) "Gran Cavallo" horse statue but the bronze to cast the sculpture was diverted to make cannons.
Leonardo da Vinci's work on the Adoration of the Magi for the monastery of San Donato was halted when he left Florence for Milan.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a sculptor from the Baroque period, made his bozzetti (an Italian term for the prototype sculpture) from wax or baked terracotta to show those that had commissioned him how the final piece was intended to look.
If finished, it would become the tallest hotel in the world and the seventh largest building[29] but is uninhabitable and will not be completed due to the cost and the poor structural integrity.
Sir Christopher Wren, most famous for his role in rebuilding several churches after the Great Fire of London in 1666, sketched a proposed replacement for a part of the palace, but financial constraints prevented construction.
[38] Computer simulations can also be used to create prototypes of engineering projects and test them before they are actually made; this has allowed the design process to be more successful and efficient.
The Russian constructivism movement started in 1913[39] and was taught in the Bauhaus and other architecture schools, leading to numerous architects integrating it into their style.
Johann Sebastian Bach's The Art of Fugue, which was broken off abruptly during Contrapunctus XIV, probably shortly before the death of the composer, was first published in the mid 18th century.
[46] In August 2006 Pluto was officially demoted to a dwarf planet, meaning that Holst's original work now more accurately represents the Solar System.
The continued popularity of the Beatles led to "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" being released in the mid-1990s after the band members pieced together incomplete recordings by the deceased John Lennon.
In 2004, Wilson and writing partner Van Dyke Parks went into the studio, and newly recorded the material and released it as a completed solo album.
From a Basement on the Hill by Elliott Smith was released posthumously in 2004 with comments from the initial album producer saying that "[t]he record he would have delivered would [have] had more songs, would have had different mixes and [been] a little more in your face".
Another track was Karen's cover "The Rainbow Connection", which had been written by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams for Jim Henson to sing as Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie (1979).
The 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was not viewed by the studio as enough of a commercial success to warrant the funding of a sequel, thus not completing the story from the original book.
This tactic does not always succeed,[66] and can potentially produce an exacerbating bout of disappointment among fans if the series is nevertheless cancelled and left truly unfinished – a fate that befell Iron Fist.
[73] In other instances, the revived series may appear to be merely a means to attract nostalgic viewers, with no plan to give a proper conclusion to the overarching plot threads left unresolved at the end of the original run; such criticism was leveled at The X-Files for its 10th and 11th seasons, in 2016 and 2018, which also both ended on a frustrating cliffhanger, resulting in a strong backlash toward each finale, even though some earlier episodes were praised.
Amen: The Awakening had an extensive preview written in the magazine PC Paradox in 1999, including numerous screenshots, which generated a lot of interest in the project.
For example, software developer Ultimate Play the Game had released four completed titles on the ZX Spectrum which starred their pith-helmeted hero, Sabreman.
The fifth intended adventure, Mire Mare was mentioned at the conclusion of Underwurlde, Knight Lore and Pentagram, but following the acquisition of Ultimate to publisher U.S. Gold, the title never saw release.
There have also been instances of video games and software that are unfinished because they are still in development while being available to a larger group of people to test them, whether by remaining in an early access state for a prolonged period of time or ending up stuck in perpetual beta.
For example, 2002's Destroyer Command received some very positive reviews about many aspects of the game but was criticized for the number of glitches it contained that, given a lengthier software testing phase, should have been fixed.
One such title was Cinemaware's 1986 Defender of the Crown, which was released before all the features were completed when the company was faced with a strict deadline and the loss of two programmers.
For example, Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed Unity contained a large number of bugs on release, leading some commentators, both contemporary[81] and retrospective,[82] to describe it as "unfinished."
This act allows for organisations or individuals to apply for copyright protection on unfinished commercial products, such as software, films, and other visual or audible media.
