I thought it was very derivative of Lord of the Rings in terms of worldbuilding - invented language, names, races etc. It was a bit too distracting for me - I like books I read to be both interesting and original (although I accept in fantasy there are derivative works everywhere).
I don't really see his age at the time of writing as an excuse (though I suppose it's a somewhat mitigating factor) - bad writing is bad writing, and lifting ideas is lifting ideas.
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And really, the argument could be made that every fantasy novel since LoTR is a ripoff of LoTR. Because it really was the forerunner of the genre.
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True, but that doesn't mean people should do it ;)