[Gothmog]

It's somewhat unfair to compare the work of Tolkien with anything else. No-one comes close to his achievements!

I find myself drawn into a world described beautifully and detailed. A world where all the stories is connected and where there is an explanation behind most things. There is no other world ever created that is as complete as the world of Tolkien. There's not only one language, there's at least two (Quenya and Sindar) created specially for Middle Earth. Plus there's fragments of Adunaic, Dwarven speech, the toungue of Rohirrim and the dark language of Mordor. And that's only one example of the diversity and wealth of details in this world.

There's a complete story of creation, a well developed mythology with "gods" at least as living as the roman or norse. And the history, from the creation to the War of the Ring, is almost as comprehensive as the history of our real world. As soon as a character in LotR mentions an old legend or hero, or even sings a song, there's a story behind it. Aragorn isn't thinking Beren and Luthien up, they're real and there's a story as complicated and rich as any legend in our world. If an elf sings about events in some distant land and time, it's all there in Silmarillion, or UT, or BolT or.... That immense and thrilling world leaves me wanting more and more. One can't get enough! And that's why were all here, to get more of this fantastic world that we all share. No other writer can challenge Tolkien on that point, creating a world that feels more real than my own history.

But I really enjoy Eddings too! He succeeds in a thing Tolkien does not (criticizing prof T? Unbelieveable! Hope you can forgive me sometime) and that is making his characters personal. Tolkien's story (-ies) is an epic one and nothing beats it's complexity. But the characters feel a bit unpersonal, at least according to me. But they do not have to be personal, it's not that kind of story. Sure, you're worried the hobbits are in danger, and sure you can feel the love between Sam and Frodo but it still feels distant.

Eddings' characters on the other hand feels like a group of close friends. I can't resist to smile when Silk makes a joke, or feel the embarrassment of Garion in some situations, or the strange love between Belgarath and Polgara etc... When I finish the books it feels like I've lost contact with some of my dearest friends. And yes, it's sad when LotR ends too, but not in the same way. Even my sister, who is not interested in fantasy at all, have read The Belgariad with much enthusiasm.

I have to say that I enjoy the two book series about Belgarion more than those of Sparhawk, so the views above concern mainly those books.

WOW, that became one long post, even if it wasn't my intentions. A little defence for Edding, but in no way any hard critic of Tolkien, whom I still consider number 1. Nothing can compare to his work, even if I enjoy the personal touch of Eddings' characters.