[Dwarin Thunderhammer]

Welcome to the forums Elfkor! I myself am fairly new here also.

As to your question. Everything! (how is that for general? [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ). But something tells me you want something more spesific.

Well firstly and most importantly IMHO I think the books communicate on a very basic emotional level. He writes his novels in such a way that you can feel Sam's pain and anguish when he leaves frodo. You feel the sorrow of the elves and the awe and amazement of moria.

Next, one thing that I find very rare is the type of storyline. The entire history of middle earth is epic in proportion. It has a gradure and dapth that is uparralelled. LOTR especially. The wisdom of the elves, the valour of men, and the innocence and hardiness of the hobbits (which in the end turns out to be the saving factor of middle earth) It's simply amazing. All Tolkiens works are subtle and not blatant overblown attmpts at spectacle. There is no "You're a wizard Harry!" or "He is the chosen one who will bring balance to the force." Tolkien's works are balanced. But I digress.

His imagination is also amazing. True he borrowed elves and Dwarves from mythology, but that's about the extent of it. The brilliance it took to create all the languages in his books alone is unparalelled.

Lastly, his writing style is great. It's not simplist as opposed to most literature written today. It isn't overcomplicated either, his books were simply well written.

Well I hope this helps you some on your report. Forgive my rambling, I hope I wasn't too long winded.