I'm not sure how many are still interested in debating this book, but doesn't hurt to start a thread about it!
In short: I didn't like it. Although this could be merely my increasing lack of interest in fantasy or just an extension of what I felt when I read "The Lord of the Rings" itself. That one too was a book I had to drag myself through some parts. (not "The Hobbit" which basically reads itself, very fun book)
But either way, it's a book I'll never reread. The language is archaic, could be the translation but I doubt it, and the story just isn't all that interesting. (which ofcourse LoTR doesn't suffer from, to say the least)
It reads a bit like a bible, which perhaps is done to keep a reference to "The Silmarillion" but it seriously bothered me.