I think the article somewhat belies some of the assumptions underpinning your comment. It's pretty clear that Tolkien was not being terribly _original_ in creat

I think the article somewhat belies some of the assumptions underpinning your comment. It's pretty clear that Tolkien was not being terribly _original_ in creating his universe; his style was quite directly a pastiche of historical styles nearly the whole way through, and all the things he included there are pretty direct adaptations of the Northern cultures and folktales he liked so much. Beowulf and the Anglo Saxons, Germanic folklore and the Germanic tribes, et cetera. Not that this is really a knock against Tolkien. But I think it's important to deal with the notion that instead of creating something new, the man mostly was very, very adept and very _dilligent_ at synthesizing the epic poetry and folklore of the various northern traditions into a huge and accessible tapestry. Which is good, and is very appealing to the sort of kid who spent much of his childhood eagerly reading RPG sourcebooks and monster manuals (like me). But I think it's very short-sighted to claim that all fantasy is a Tolkien rip-off. <i>Tolkien</i> is a Tolkien rip-off.