"If The Lord of the Rings is about the rise of fascism and the trauma of the second world war,"<p>Incorrect on both counts. LoTR has nothing to do with fascism and if there's any trauma that influences the work, it's from the First World War not the second.
> It has sold millions of copies, is perhaps the greatest novel in the science-fiction canon and Star Wars wouldn’t have existed without it.<p>I genuinely believe the Hyperion saga (Dan Simmons) has produced greater novels than Dune.
Also, I don’t think implying an Hollywood movie series wouldn’t have existed if not for Dune is a sharp argument to praise how influent it is.