I know, right? I mean, sure, there was some inspiration, but back when it was written, wasn't LOTR pretty much the only "epic fantasy" around?

And I always hate it when people are like "derr, Allannon = Gandalf, Flick = Samwise", etc.
I mean, most of the characters compared have barely anything in common.
The worst part is probably how they dismiss the first book as a ripoff and don't even give the others a chance though. The rest of the books have a ttoally different feel to them.
Oh, and Shea > Frodo.
