Williams's comment on Tolkien?

[soulsinging]

I've been reading a few reviews of MS&T online and I've seen a few of them mention the fact that Williams viewed the series as something of a comment upon or refinement of LOTR. Clearly, there are plot parallels, but I was wondering if anyone knows anything more about this? I got the impression he has spoken in interviews about his purpose with the series and I was very curious to hear more about that.

I just reached part 3 of Dragonbone Chair and while it's been mostly enjoyable, I think I'm going to set it aside for a while. It's a bit draining.

 

[Quick Ben]

I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for but here is a quote from the Chronicles interview of Tad Williams by Teresa.

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/40203-chronicles-interview-with-tad-williams.html

CN: Someone told me that when you were writing Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn you intended it to be the anti-Tolkien. Is this true, and if so, what did you mean by it?

TW: Not the anti-Tolkien, but an examination (among other things) of Tolkien's tropes and the way other people had picked them up without understanding them, and parroted them on to another generation. For instance, the idea of a Golden Age, which has become a staple in most mainstream epic fantasy. Tolkien, both as a Catholic and an anti-modernist, actually believed (or wanted to believe) in such a better time, in an unFallen world. I don't. So my book was going to reflect that, but in such a way as to draw attention to it -- namely, by pulling in the readers who had become used to taking it for granted.

So yeah, as you can see, a bit of refinement on Tolkien's ideals.

Also, don't put down Dragonbone Chair! Finish it and continue on with the series, its great

 

[soulsinging]

I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for but here is a quote from the Chronicles interview of Tad Williams by Teresa.

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/40203-chronicles-interview-with-tad-williams.html



So yeah, as you can see, a bit of refinement on Tolkien's ideals.

Also, don't put down Dragonbone Chair! Finish it and continue on with the series, its great

That's interesting, thanks for digging it up! I can definitely see the Tolkien influence/reference.