LOTR and Wheel of Time

[Orual]

Wheel of Time has more in common (to put it mildly) with the Lord of the Rings than just genre. It's been a while since I read the first nine, but I'm glad I didn't have a soda with me when I read the tenth, because I snorted when a character going incognito gave his name. Talking to him and using his pseudonym, one character says:

Why are you so interested in them, Master Underhill? Is that an Andoran name?

Crossroads of Twilight, page 82. Emphasis mine. Sorry, but that is beyond the possibility of coincidence. Tribute, maybe, but it came off as laziness to me. Heaven knows Robert Jordan makes up names for unnecessary characters who exist only to confuse his readers.

On the other hand, I have read all ten books, so that either says something about the hypocrisy of the above statement or my complete lack of things to fill my time. Take your pick.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 7:43 PM January 05, 2004: Message edited by: Orual ]