Tolkien compared to other writers

[Nurvingiel]

Terry Brooks said somewhere (total paraphrase) that "The Sword of Shannarah" (his first novel, written in 1977 IIRC) was a homage to "Lord of the Rings", or that it mirrored it. There's a thread on that somewhere.

I have read all of the books in the Shannarah series, and I love them! It is kind of annoying how high the body count is sometimes, but they're extremely gripping, suspenseful, and well-written. Even though you know 90% of the characters are going to be greusomely killed by unspeakable evil, you can't predict the rest of the plot.
I didn't like his "Knight of the Word" book though, the main character pissed me off too much.
I like Tolkien better, and I kind of read these two series simultaneously (time-wise). I think I read Tolkien first though.

I'm not reading Robert Jordan until I hear he conclusively finishes the series. Tolkien may have been a little ambiguous about some things (1 or 2 Glorfindels, Balrog wings, Tom Bombadil), but at least his books have proper endings. You don't go insane after reading one. I have heard otherwise about Jordan.