Read the Ice and Fire series a long time ago its no better and no worse than a lot of other writers in that arena i thought, but to compare it with LOTR that spawned the whole high fantasy thing ? sorry but its not even in the same arena GoT is primarily political intrigue and as braet says low fantasy with very little resemblance to LOTR at all, people have a dragon in a book or series and suddenly they are comparable to Tolkien, ho hum.
Tolkien not only was a professor of Oxford etc but a member of The Inklings, a kind of literary group with such contemporaries and friends as C. S. Lewis (chronicles of narnia ) to bounce off and other well known poets and writers that inspired each other in the day..an expert on Beowulf he virtually rewrote how writings of those exploits and poems were seen and understood as not just childish and trivial monsters but crucial tribal struggles and very deep meaningful poetry to the Danes. Now commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.
Tolkien also revealed how highly he regarded Beowulf: "Beowulf is among my most valued sources," clearly this influence can be seen throughout his Middle-earth series.
I love these stories about Tolkien.
Tolkien had an ingenious means of beginning his series of lectures on Beowulf:
He would come silently into the room, fix the audience with his gaze, and suddenly begin to declaim in a resounding voice the opening lines of the poem in the original Anglo-Saxon, commencing with a great cry of Hwæt! (The first word of this and several other Old English poems), which some undergraduates took to be 'Quiet!' It was not so much a recitation as a dramatic performance, an impersonation of an Anglo-Saxon bard in a mead hall, and it impressed generations of students because it brought home to them that Beowulf was not just a set text to be read for the purposes of examination, but a powerful piece of dramatic poetry.
Decades later, W.H. Auden wrote to his former professor,
"I don't think that I have ever told you what an unforgettable experience it was for me as an undergraduate, hearing you recite Beowulf. The voice was the voice of Gandalf."
Imagine listening in a hall or local bar with the crackling in the hearth and halflight of the fire casting shadows on the walls,bathing Tolkien in part darkness as he narrates the exploits of Beowulf, such as the encounter with Grendel the "troll" or fatally battling with a dragon in such a commanding, precise and foreboding voice as we have come to picture Gandalf having in his books ? captivating is probably an understatement.
Probably the best series I ever found to compare with LOTR was the ongoing shannara series by Terry Brooks and that really only adapted the same world ideas and never surpassed the original, I don't see how its even possible tbh.
