Tag: J. R. R. Tolkien

Who are your book grandparents?

Professors Tolkien and Lewis So, fellow authors. My publisher, business partner, friend, and fellow author Lou Aronica and I have been talking about a theory I have. See, we all carry our ancestors with us in the attics of our brains as surely as we do in the spiraling chains of knowledge that make up … Continue reading Who are your book grandparents? →

Can Fantasy be Myth? Mythopoeia and “The Lord of the Rings”

Speaking for myself, it’s not too much of an exaggeration to call reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time way back in the fifth grade a life-changing experience. Tolkien’s trilogy led directly to my own life-long love of stories and mythology. I can’t help wondering if, without that experience in my childhood, I would have written a novel of my own. I may well have, but I don’t think it would be as myth-infused as Raven Wakes the World. In short, my experience of reading The Lord of the Rings, like that of so very many other readers through the decades, was the kind that changes a person for all time, or at least inspires a life direction — and for me at least, even a sort of pilgrimage. That’s the type of response that one usually has only to the most significant, the most sacred stories — the cultural heritage of truth disguised as narrative that serves as a guide through the dark forests of life. In short, myth.

Love and comfort in fantasy, or why George R. R. Martin isn’t the American Tolkien

I often hear Mr. Martin called "The American Tolkien." I can see why people say that. Both write (or wrote) extremely complex fantasy novels, both have very passionate fan bases (with a great deal of overlap), both have created British Isles-inspired worlds rich with invented history and languages, and, well, both authors have the initials "R. R." in their names.

But honestly, I think the resemblance ends there. The similarities are superficial at best.

Book Review: Looking for the King, An Inklings Novel

A very special Christmas gift brightened this past gloomy
December: a chance to spent some remarkable evenings in
conversation with the Inklings, that famous band of readers and
writers that counted among its members C. S. Lewis, J. R. R.
Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and Hugo Dyson. This
remarkable experience came in the form of a new book,
Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel by
David C. Downing. It's a delightful read. The story tells of a
young American, Tom, who has come to England in the years just
before World War II to research a book on the historical King
Arthur. Along the way, he encounters a lovely young woman, Laura,
who is haunted by dreams that seem to be leading her to specific
historical sites, all of which are connected to a famous lost
artifact—the Spear of Destiny that pierced the side of Christ as he
hung on the cross. Along the way, our heroes are fortunate enough
to receive some help from the Inklings themselves, especially
Williams, Tolkien, and Lewis.