Authorial Control and World Building

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by Alcuin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke ...

Clarke served in the RAF in England during World War II. I do not know if he had any association with Tolkien; but perhaps there were friends in common.

Arthur C. Clarke and C.S. Lewis corresponded between 1943 and 1954 (some of the letters have been published: http://www.amazon.com/Narnia-Space-O.../dp/0743475186).

Clarke met C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien was also present at one meeting. They spent an afternoon at an Oxford pub, the Eastgate, discussing various matters. Tolkien certainly read some science-fiction, and no doubt at least read Clarke's Childhood's End (1953) because it was highly praised by Lewis.

This contains many of Lewis' comments regarding that particular novel:

https://schriftman.wordpress.com/200...solute-corker/

As I recall, Clarke thought highly of The Lord of The Rings - although I can't find a specific quote, other than a quote from him comparing Frank Herbert's Dune to The Lord Of The Rings that was on the back cover of the first paperback edition of Dune around 1970:

"DUNE seems to me unique among modern sf novels in the depth of characterization and the extraordinary detail of the world it creates. I know nothing comparable to it except THE LORD OF THE RINGS."