Book Review: The Mythmakers by John Hendrix

Two of the greatest literary voices of the 20th century – and certainly two of the most influential voices in the realm of fantasy literature – are undoubtedly J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. There aren’t many readers in the Western world today who haven’t been influenced by their work, even if they don’t directly realize it. How remarkable it is then that these two men not only lived at the same time but were in fact close friends.

John Hendrix’ lovely graphic novel depicts the friendship between these two men and just how much they influenced each other. It offers a light overview of each of their lives but doesn’t try to be an in-depth biography. There are plenty of those already for both Lewis and Tolkien and Hendrix wisely assumes that the reader who picks up The Mythmakers already has some knowledge of the two writers.

Instead he focuses on where Tolkien and Lewis’ path intersects while also outlining the importance and uniqueness of each of their works. He draws out (metaphorically and literally through illustrations on the page) their similarities and their differences and charts the course of their friendship. As someone who grew up steeped in the writings of both Lewis and Tolkien and has returned to their works over and over again, I had a fair bit of knowledge of their lives and knew they were friends and knew of their literary group, the Inklings. But there was still a good amount of new information and perspective offered here and I enjoyed learning more. The book humanized them in a way that I hadn’t come across before.

One thing that really struck me and has stuck with me since finishing The Mythmakers was just how unique Tolkien’s and Lewis’ voices were for their generations. Both men served in and lived through World War One and both came home afterward to write their famous fantasy series. Lord of the Rings for Tolkien and The Chronicles of Narnia for Lewis. What Hendrix points out though was that both men wrote stories of hope. Many other stories and voices coming out in literature after the war were bleak – a lost generation. But both Lewis and Tolkien wrote stories where good won out, even as both created worlds where tragedy and darkness certainly existed. For both men, as Hendrix delves into, their Christian faith was central to who they were and I found it fascinating to read more about how this influenced each of them and their writing. I’ve wondered sometimes why, although I adored the Bagginses and the Pevensies as a child, I didn’t grow up to be a fantasy reader. And I think Hendrix illuminated for me just what I still love so much about Narnia and Middle Earth.

The illustrations are charming and while he book has an outline and narration by the characters of a lion and a wizard (obvious stand-ins) that I didn’t entirely love but might make it more approachable to a younger audience. It has some very good outlines and definitions which would make it a great book for teen readers. The Mythmakers is certainly a book for those who already know and love Tolkien and Lewis but fortunately there are plenty of us out there. It has some very good outlines and definitions which would make it a great book for teen readers.