Tolkien the Sword & Sorcery Fan - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 03-10-2007, 04:03 PM

Found this on the Tolkien Library site - a book owned by Tolkien: Swords & Sorcery.

Poul Anderson HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, Lord Dunsany, Fritz Lieber - all the 'greats'. What I was wondering was if Tolkien was influenced in any way by this kind of fantasy. Now, I'm only familiar with the writings of Lovecraft, Howard & Dunsany, but the thing that struck me instantly was the incident in Rivers & Beacon Hills of Gondor (written circa 1968), where Baldor enters the Paths of the Dead, has his legs Broken & left to die in the dark has a very 'Lovecraftian' feel to it.

I wonder if anyone else is surprised that Tolkien would have been familiar with Conan & Cthulhu?

03-10-2007, 04:03 PM	#1
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	Tolkien the Sword & Sorcery Fan Found this on the Tolkien Library site - a book owned by Tolkien: Swords & Sorcery. Poul Anderson HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, Lord Dunsany, Fritz Lieber - all the 'greats'. What I was wondering was if Tolkien was influenced in any way by this kind of fantasy. Now, I'm only familiar with the writings of Lovecraft, Howard & Dunsany, but the thing that struck me instantly was the incident in Rivers & Beacon Hills of Gondor (written circa 1968), where Baldor enters the Paths of the Dead, has his legs Broken & left to die in the dark has a very 'Lovecraftian' feel to it. I wonder if anyone else is surprised that Tolkien would have been familiar with Conan & Cthulhu? __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."