>>Anyone ready to jump on it can ask Dune fans how did they like a similar piece of... a project in their own yard.
>
>The difference is that this is not the first work of Christopher Tolkien, and I have read and loved the previous (Three books!), so is not like I am giving my opinion without having read any previous work of the same author.

In the other camp the opinions are also divided. Generally those who remember the old man's books as they were coming out of the print think that the kids are just ripping off the legacy. Those who read the kids' stuff first, generally think that the old man wasn't so bad :).

The overall verdict seems to be that the books are worth reading, at least to pick the old man's original notes out of them, but are in no way part of the canon.