[Waylander]

Thanks for the suggestions. I do agree that a lot of the fantasy written in the 80's was highly derivative of Tolkien, especially The Sword of Shannara etc. However, I do think that there was other fantasy written around the time of Tolkien and after that followed a different path and was different in style and influence. Also, modern fantasy, even epic fantasy, has been breaking away from Tolkien's influence to a much greater extent. Think Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, Daniel Abraham, Joh Gwynne, L.E. Modesitt, Peter V. Brett, Brent Weeks etc. No elves, Tolkien Dwarves, orcs etc. The plots and themes in these books are also different. I'm sure there are many more but these were just the ones off the top of my head.