This is just idiotic. Until you have a master's degree in literature you aren't really qualified to say who's a great writer and who's just good. As if there aren't passages in shakespeare that a lot of people will just skip, and the same for all great writers, you're telling me milton doesn't go on at all? While even I can't reasonably claim to be the authority on who's good and who isn't, all I can say is that I'm an english major whose favourite genre is fantasy, I've read countless authors, and Tolkein IS both a great storyteller and writer in my estimation (which is FAIRLY educated, and will become more so). I know 5 people who are either former profs, masters students or have their PHD in english, and 4 of them agree that LOTR is, though not the best THING ever written, nonetheless the best story, and easily the best fantasy work (The fifth one has some strange infatuation with Cervantes). Maybe that's a bit fallacious, being ad verecundiam, but if I were going to ask someone about writing quality, I'd ask profs.
Besides, as I pointed out earlier, Tolkein is a reknowned literary critic so it's hard to argue that he isn't a great writer. To say so sounds like ignorant elitism... denying the popular view simply because it's popular.
PS.This post isn't aimed specifically at the guy directly above me.
