I liked the first book so much that I'm awaiting delivery of the second book, Eldest.

The influence of LOTR is very obvious but doesn't detract from the achievement of this young man. For his age he has a very mature style of writing and is wise enough not to venture into areas in which he has no experience - there is no real 'love interest' in the book for starters.

I will be interested to see how this lad developes over the next few years.