Lucky me, I also got the latest Gunslinger book by Stephen King for Christmas. I've had little sleep due to the fact that I've been enthralled to be back in Roland of Gilead's world again. If you haven't read the books yet, check them out. They're pretty good.
However, I don't know if it's just because I read Tolkien's The Return of The King the other week, but SK's Gunslinger series does bear striking similarities to the former's trilogy.
I could tick off these similarities one by one but I won't bother. For those who are into it, read it yourself and make your own list. The point that I am trying to make (and one that others have made before me), is how often it happens; that many books can't help but carry on some of Tolkien's themes, settings and characters. Aren't King's Dementors a little like the Ringwraiths? In The Wheel of Time Series isn't the setting of Rand's hometown reminiscent of the Shire? His innocence is parallel to Frodo's as well.
The Lord Of The Rings was the ultimate in quest-novels. One can't seem to write a quest-novel without somehow picking up something from Tolkien and throwing it in. I'm not particularly upeset about this. Hell, anything new thing that reminds me of TLOTR is a good thing to me.
Why? Because I specifically recall a point in time while reading TLOTR series when I was already feeling nostalgic before I had even finished reading the whole thing. I knew that eventually the book was going to end and it was never going to be new for me again. I wanted to prolong the moment and recognize it for what it was. A time where I could marvel at being able to be in a world where anything could happen. Where the question about the fates of these characters were unclear. Where I looked forward to turning the next page. I knew that once I finished reading it all, that I would lose something after closing the book. What? A bit of wonder, I guess. If any book can make that happen, there's gotta be some good in it.