Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that Tolkien is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of high fantasy. The production of such derivative works is sometimes of doubtful legality, because Tolkien's published works will remain in copyright until 2043. The film, stage and merchandise rights of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are owned by Tolkien Enterprises, while the rights of "The Silmarillion" and other material remain with The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate
Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, aimed at adult readers who enjoyed Tolkien's works. Lester Del Rey, however, sought for new books that would mirror Tolkien's work, and published Terry Brooks' "The Sword of Shannara", David Eddings's "Belgariad", and Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever". Guy Gavriel Kay, who had assisted Christopher Tolkien with the editing of "The Silmarillion", later wrote his own Tolkien-influenced fantasy trilogy, "The Fionavar Tapestry". Russian writer Nick Perumov was able to publish several fantasy novels set in Tolkien's Middle-Earth after the events of "The Lord of the Rings" (due to a loophole