Fantasy Works Being Derivative of Tolkien

**LIVING BLOG POST: Hello all. I am too busy to blog these days, but I nevertheless want to share some ideas with all of you. A “living” blog post is a blog post that is unfinished and can be added to later at any time, when time and fancy allows. Most of the time, the topics are big.**

Here is a list of fantasy media with reference to Tolkien’s Middle-Earth works, either by borrowing names or using concepts. This is by no means a comprehensive list. This is a list of creators who no doubt would have known about Tolkien and his works when they were making their own works. Perhaps authors had other reasons for borrowing such things.

Books

Forgotten Realms: Mithril making an appearance as the name of the Dwarven homeland, Mithril Hall. In the second book of the Icewind Dale trilogy, Streams of Silver, Bruenor Battlehammer and his friends decide to find the lost city of the Dwarves, called Mithril Hall. This is no doubt in a reference to Mithril, an Elvish term from Tolkien’s legendarium to describe the precious metal mined in Moria. Meaning “Grey Brilliance” in Elvish, mithril is also the material used for Bilbo (and later Frodo’s) chainmail vest. First editions of Streams of Silver write Mithril as such, but later editions spell it “Mithral”, replacing the I with an A. I have heard rumors that those behind Forgotten Realms thought Mithril was a generic mythological term having to do with Dwarves, and when they found out it was a pure Tolkien invention, they changed the spelling to avoid any legal trouble.
Terry Brooks – A bunch of shit from the early novels.
Luthien’s Gamble by R.A. Salvatore (Sword of Bedwyr) – Also, Eriador is just straight up the name of a country in that book?
The Dragon Prince trilogy by Melanie Rawn -Main character is named Rohan. From the book’s summary: “When Rohan became the new prince of the Desert, ruler of the kingdom granted to his family for as long as the Long Sands spewed fire, he took the crown with two goals in mind.”

Video Games


Wizards and Warriors (1987) – From the game booklet: “You are Kuros, the only knight warrior brave enough to enter the woods of Elrond.” From the back of the box: “Buried within the catacombs and dungeons of Elrond lies the key to your quest.”