[andrew.v.spencer]

"Tolkein deserves credit where it's due him, but modern authors tend to do a bit better, I think...especially David Eddings." Manarion.

David Eddings, better than Tolkien? A controversial point. Tolkien's characterisation is probably his weakest aspect, they tend to be ciphers passing through a tale, a little like in the old sagas from which Tolkien drew inspiration. But for me the sense of wonder, the believability of Middle Earth, the language, the evocative naming, and the central drive of the story more than make up for it.