We keep seeing this canard that "Tolkien is SO long-winded." I suspect they think this because his book is so long it's in three volumes. But really Lord of the Rings snaps right along - Tolkien's prose is spare and to the point.

If you want verbose, read Lovecraft. He can describe

Look at the two sections below. Not a single word of Tolkien's page can be dropped without worsening the meaning. Look at the last sentence even - if it had simply read "Rohan had come." it would have a different impact. But "Rohan had come at last." puts the emotion on the defenders, not Rohan - a sensation of relief and hope.

Now look at the excerpt from Lovecraft I included. This whole thing is kind of unnecessary - it's adjective-heavy and delighting in the language and words itself. Instead of saying "Burned ruins of the old manor lay top the hill" he says "The abode of the race whose scions are here inurned had once crowned the declivity which holds the tomb"

Don't get me wrong. I'm not "attacking" Lovecraft. Part of the greatness of Lovecraft is that he DOES delight in language and words and swimming through his prose is one of my chief delights as a bibliophibian.

And isn't it glorious that Tolkien and Lovecraft are so different, and thus call out to different aspects of our souls?