As a lover of the fantasy genre, I have always had a hard time considering myself a true fan of the genre since I never had read any of Tolkien's work. Well, I can finally deem myself worthy of being called a fantasy fan, now that I have read The Hobbit (I have read 1/3rd of The Fellowship of the Ring, if that counts for anything).
The Hobbit was definitely a pleasure to read, considering Tolkien wrote the story for his children, it's not surprising that the style it is written is is very much as if he was sitting by your bedside reading the story to you. Breaking the fourth wall and teasing the reader of future events in the book that have yet to happen. His description of characters, their voices, and the world they live in serve as a buffet for the imagination. You can hear Gollum's hissing within all his lines and the goblins grotesque descriptions and their aggressive chants created a clear image of what they looked like in my head. Tolkien's world creation is really the highlight of his story, as well as every fantasy story ever written. I do believe a well developed world is the core to creating an escape from reality into fantasy. Whether it be a world we would want to go to (ex. Middle-Earth) or a world we would rather stay clear from (ex. Westeros). Though, considering that these worlds still contain the as many dangers as the real world possesses, along with the struggles and hardships the characters must face, it's hard to consider some of these stories as a way of escaping reality. In the end, it's just a reflection of our own world, plus a dragon or two.
Tolkien has obviously influenced other fantasy writers, so as a fan of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, it was a nice to see where a lot of his inspiration is drawn from, even if he writes "low fantasy". Even J.K. Rowling follows the tradition of the hero's quest in the Harry Potter series.
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