# King, Stoker and Tolkien



## FoolOfATook (Apr 12, 2003)

As a writer, and a student of literature, I'm always interested when I see writers who I respect discuss the importance of J.R.R. Tolkien to their craft. This is one of the reasons why I can't recommend the book _Meditations On Middle-earth_ enough. 

I was re-reading Stephen King's introduction to his novel _Salem's Lot_, and I came across a passage that I thought others here might be interested in. King, of course, has expressed his admiration of Tolkien numerous times, both in interviews and within his fiction, where in several books he has made allusions to LOTR. His novel _The Stand_, which I consider to be his masterpiece, has often been compared to LOTR, as both are books which feature the banding together of characters to make journeys in the hope of a desperate struggle to destroy a seemingly invincible evil. Anyway, in this introduction, King says this: 



> When I discovered J.R.R. Tolkien's _Rings_ trilogy ten years later, I thought, "S--t, this is just a slightly sunnier version of Stoker's _Dracula_, with Frodo playing Jonathan Harker, Gandalf playing Abraham Van Helsing, and Sauron playing the Count himself."



-From the introduction to the 1999 Pocket Books edition of _Salem's Lot_. Profanity altered by the transcriber (myself) as an attempted compromise between a respect for the author's integrity and the accepted rules and mores of the Tolkien Forum. 

I don't really agree with King, and while I wouldn't be extraordinarily surprised if our favorite philologist had read _Dracula_ (Tolkien makes references to all sorts of novels contemperary to the novel in his letters, and in his lecture "On Fairy Stories") I am extremely skeptical of the notion that Tolkien had Stoker's masterpiece in mind at any step in the creation of LOTR. Still, I thought it was an interesting quote, and therefore worth sharing.


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## Ithrynluin (Dec 3, 2004)

Wow, I can't believe this thread lay dormant and unanswered for so long! 

The comparisons between Tolkien's and Stoker's characters are interesting, and seeing two such radically different works compared is for me a first.

King does indeed make allusions to the LOTR many times throughout his novels, as does another great contemporary American writer - Dean Koontz. It is certainly pleasing and encouraging to know that Tolkien is cherished by great authors of 'our days' who write totally different genres.

I'd compare _The Stand_ with _The Lord of the Rings_ mostly on the basis of the length of the two books (_The Stand_ boasting some 1400 pages) and of course that they are both grand quests and adventures. _The Stand_, though, is full of religious connotations and the conflict between good and evil is pretty much based on the Christian faith, while the LOTR is mostly devoid of any of this.


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## Thorin (Dec 8, 2004)

I think in an intro in one of the Dark Tower series, King mentions some comparison of Roland going to the Tower like Frodo going to Mount Doom. I can't remember the exact quotation.


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