[Boromir88]

There are a couple things Tolkien does that stands out from other authors that I've read.

At this current time, I'm actually not reading any Tolkien, I'm reading The Chronicles of Narnia (for the first time). I finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and am about to start Prince Caspian. Now I enjoyed reading C.S. Lewis, but I just didn't get the same feel as when I read LOTR. Maybe it would have been better if I read it when I was a kid, but to me The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe just seemed childish. Before that, I read The Hobbit (for the first time), and though that's a book for "children" it really didn't seem childish. When I read LOTR, though it is a fantasy, it just seem real, and seems like something that's believable. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe just didn't seem real.

There is this certain characteristic of a book called plausibility...does the story make sense, is the story believable? Not even believable in our own world, but believable within the book. When I read TLTWTW, in Narnia I just got a sense that anything can happen and certain things seem unbelievable, it's like Lewis' characters are superhumans and can withstand anything.

When I read LOTR, though there is "magic" in the stories, and certain characters seem unstoppable, everything and everyone has limits. NOTHING or NOONE is all-powerful/superhuman (besides Eru)...even the Ring can be defeated. Gandalf can't sit their and launch 50 fireballs, he gets tired, he gets physically worn down. Everything has limits. When I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I just didn't get that feeling of plausibility that LOTR has.

Another thing I think Tolkien works well with, and one of my biggest attractions to books (as well as movies) are the characters. Tolkien gives all of his characters a mind of their own. He reiterates it in a letter that I forget, I'll see if I can find it when he's talking about Treebeard, in that that's Treebeards opinion on why trolls were created "in mockery of ents" and that isn't necessarily the truth but Treebeard's own opinion. In Tolkien he gives each of his characters their own minds and their own personalities.

For example, I'm going to take Hama and Beregond. Both of whom are servants/guards of their lords. However, despite being guards, they aren't like the typical "guard of a lord" which are mindless robots that say "yes master." They are both able to judge for themselves what the right thing to do is. Though an order was made that Gandalf had to set aside his staff, Hama made up his own mind and through his own judgement let Gandalf in with his staff. Beregond I hope I really don't have to explain, he disobeys his lord, kills people just to save the Captain who he is so fond of. Everyone in Tolkien has a mind of their own and are able to make their own decisions...again not being mindless robots..."Yes lord."

Anwyay, those are the things that I think puts Tolkien above other authors I have read.