# Neil Gaiman and J.R.R. Tolkien



## FoolOfATook

> I am very grateful for communications from Mr Alan Stokes and Mr Neil Gaiman, who have explained my father's reference in his remarks about the poem _Errantry_


-Christopher Tolkien, forward to _The War of the Ring_



> My great daydream when I was ten was to travel to a prallel universe exactly like ours- except in that other universe, no one had ever written _The Lord of the Rings_. I would bring along my copy, get someone to type it out for me in manuscript, send the pages off to a publisher, and then be celebrated as the author of _The Lord of the Rings_ without doing any of the work


-Neil Gaiman, quoted in Hy Bender's book _The Sandman Companion_

Since I've been a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's seminal comic series _The Sandman_ since high school, I was a bit surprised when I read that first passage, from the HoMe. However, when I began thinking about it, it made perfect sense that the creator of the Endless was a fan of LOTR. Both Tolkien and Gaiman are fascinated with old stories, incorporate elements from Norse mythology and both "subcreated", to use Tolkien's term from "On Fairy Stories", their own universes. I can think of one very direct reference in _The Sandman_ to Tolkien. In Lucien's library of books that were dreamed, but never written, there is a copy of _The Lost Road_ clearly visible in one issue. I was wondering if anyone else here was a fan of Gaiman's work, particularily _The Sandman_, and had either noticed other echoes of Tolkien in the series, or had any thoughts on how Tolkien influenced Gaiman.


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## Rangerdave

I enjoyed your comments on Neil Gaiman, and I agree.

Have you ever read the book he co-authored with Terry Pratchett
Good Omens 

It is sort of the Hichhikers guide to the Apocalypse.

RD


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## FoolOfATook

I love _Good Omens_. Any book that has the disclaimer "_Kids!_ Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your own home." is an instant classic.


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## Sador

Wasn't one of the kids in Good Omens actually named Galadriel? or Pippin and extremely embarrassed by it?


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## FoolOfATook

Pippin Galadriel Moonchild, to be precise.


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## Sador

A fine name and one which any twelve-year-old girl should be proud of.
Anyway Good Omens is the only one of Neil Gaiman's books I've heard of. Are any of his other books funny? I thought he was the staight man and Terry Pratchet was the funny one.


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## FoolOfATook

_The Sandman_ has its funny moments, but it's definitely not a comedy. This is pretty much true of all of Gaiman's work- incredibly funny at moments, but on the whole rather serious. Calling him the straight man of the Gaiman/Pratchett duo is pretty accurate, I think. One of these days, when I finally find the time to read _Discworld_, I'll be able to tell you with more confidence. 

Just for the record, Pratchett is definitely a Tolkien fan. He wrote a really interesting essay for the collection _Meditations on Middle-earth_, which is a book that I recommend to anyone who wants to see how much Tolkien influenced modern sci-fi/fantasy literature.


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## Sador

Having read all the disc world novels I can tell you that you must read them! there is no alternative. The funniest series of books ever.(this only applies to people with senses of humor)


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## HLGStrider

I actually just found Mr. Gaiman for the first time this week. I picked up a copy of his young adult novel _Coraline_ and was very impressed. His work actually reminds me just a smige of George MacDonald, an influence on Tolkien, but of course this is only going from one book which may or may not be characteristic of his entire career. It was a smashingly good story, though.


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