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Did These Authors Write Tolkien Rip-Offs?
Many fantasy authors have been accused of “ripping off” Tolkien or writing “Tolkien clones.” Some stories came close. Others are not close at all.
If you quest online, you can find lots of fascinating threads where fans discuss which books are Tolkien rip-offs, like this one from RPG.net. Or this thread about looking for “absolute rip-offs” of Tolkien on Reddit. Or this Reddit thread asking for the best “Tolkien clones.” (Note: Not everything in that thread is truly a “clone.”)
How many authors truly ripped off Tolkien? Other than Demetrious Polychron (see Demetrious Polychron Versus Jeff Bezos and the Tolkien Estate), that is?
My answer is, “Meh. It depends.”
What About Terry Brooks?
Many accused Terry Brooks’s first book, The Sword of Shannara, of being a Tolkien rip-off. Terry Brooks admits he was inspired by Tolkien — but also by adventure writers like Alexander Dumas and literary writers like William Faulkner.
The book came out in 1977 — the same year as Star Wars. (Ahem, I mean Star Wars: A New Hope: Episode IV.) The book brandished cover art by the Brothers Hildebrandt, known for their Tolkien and Star Wars art. This cover attracted both fantasy fans (who were looking for something similar to Tolkien) and fans of science…
