Boatman story set in a Tolkien realm (9)
I believe the answer is:
gondolier
'boatman' is the definition.
(gondolier is a kind of boatman)
'story set in a tolkien realm' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'story' could be 'lie' (story can mean a fabrication) and 'lie' is located in the answer.
'set' could be 'do' (synonyms) and 'do' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gondolier that I've seen before include "Venetian waterman" , "Singular SO" , "Craftsman" , "Venetian boater" , "Venetian waterworker" .)