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Title: I was a Tolkien fan but I'm better now
Review: Admirers of Tolkien's work marvel at the man's capacity to create a vast imaginative world. He could certainly do that - whether he could say anything even remotely interesting with it is another matter. Tolkien appeals to the young and immature because his world is enormous, detailed, and clearly ordered, unlike our own, which is only enormous and detailed. So it's a very pleasant escape from reality, but in the end it's nothing but a padded playground for the childish. I blush to remember that there was a time when I'd learned to write in Elvish. This skill has not served me in later life. This fella wrote one good children's book and a tiresome three-volume novel for delayed adolescents; the flood of derivative and gossamer-thin drivel that has come out since his death is something I hope he would have been ashamed of.
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