[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I quite like Marion Bradley: The Mists of Avalon and Firebrand, and Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy The Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur are classics. Then, of course, there's David Gemmell...
They're not much like Tolkien, but they're of similar quality.
Then if Douglas Adams tickles your funny-bone, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul had me in stitches.