I think the fantasy genre almost HAS to follow certain formulae to be fantasy - and a lot of that formulae was developed by Tollkein who arguably was the first great, 'in depth' fantasy writer of the 20th century. Probably every good fant writer out there read LOTR somewhere down the line - probably in his/her early years - and that it had had some influence on their writings.
I can also see the similarities, tho you'll see a lot of the same plot settings in other novels, not just REF's. You almost have to have..
An evil leader of some kind, bent on conquering the world thru the use of magick and/or force.
An army of nasties, usually, but not always, linked to the big nasty.
A magickal talisman or two (or three) like the One Ring, the plant Silverthorn, the Sword of Shannara, etc, etc.
A protagonist who is, or is working with, a magician. (Arutha and Pug, Frodo and Gandalph, Flick Ohlmsford and Allanon.)
The similarities are there, but fortunately, good writers can take the same basic themes and create worlds that are unique enough to keep us interested.
Well... most of them can keep us interested. I know a place where the Wheel of Time keeps turning, and turning.. and turning..... and is still going nowhere. lol
