Literary References
The Jadawin family (or at least their names) are taken from William Blake's mythology. This mythology is referred to by the characters in the stories (mainly in The Gates of Creation, Red Orc's Rage, and More than Fire).
Many features of the world of tiers appear to be drawn from early cosmological ideas and mythologies. The structure of the world of tiers, with a central mountain or tower which the sun passes behind at night is equivalent to early Babylonian and Egyptian cosmological theories. The placement of the Lord's palace at the highest level of the world is reminiscent of the home of the gods atop Mount Olympus. The lord Jadawin uses intelligent ravens that roam across the world, observing, carrying messages, and reporting back to him, much like Odin in Norse mythology (See Hugin and Munin. Notice also the similarity in the names Odin and Jadawin).
The moon of the world of tiers is modelled after Barsoom, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels, a homage which Farmer openly admits in the third book of the series.
The novels are at least in part a vehicle to represent mythological character archetypes. Robert Wolff is a heroic character who primarily overcomes obstacles by using strength (physical and mental) to confront the Thoans. By contrast, the character of Kickaha is a trickster, who avoids the affairs of the god-like Thoans wherever possible, and who survives and defeats his enemies by cunning, trickery and skill.
The central concept of the series is the existence of arrogant beings who possess awesome powers (as a result of technology) and use these powers to play the role of gods. They are able to travel from place to place almost instantaneously by using gates to teleport from one location or universe to another.
The overall setting: a family of feuding dimension hopping immortal lords, as well as the specific plot of the first book: wherein an amnesiac immortal lord must travel from Earth to another dimension to regain his powers, bears striking similarities to Roger Zelazny's Amber series. Indeed, Zelazny himself has acknowledged that in writing Nine Princes in Amber he drew inspiration from the World of Tiers.
Read more about this topic: World Of Tiers
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