the name denethon may indeed be as fictitious as his works , although the anecdote rings true that when roberts father first read lord of the rings and found a villain named denethor in there he was so upset about the slur to the family name that he threatened to sue tolkien for libel , and it was only lack of funds ( in terms of english pounds - he had some wealth in ultima thulean currency , apparently ) that prevented him from taking this lawsuit to a successful conclusion .