Rating: 
Summary: Awful.
Review: Many words spring to mind in reading this ( not that I finished) - dull, lifeless, no sense of passion, no sense of epic, predictable, cliched, plagerised, not a shard of orginality, terrible songs, poorly sketched villians- and the writing -eerrk!- to quote:" " Slath" lashed out a command from behind her, the hissing voice hideous, and Lauralin felt as if vipers slithered over her spine" *cringe* No.
Rating: 
Summary: the iron tower
Review: McKiernan has a gift of drawing you into a story line, and he doesn't fall short on this novel. The story line flows evenly from one saga to the next. I strongely recomend that you read the entire series from first to last.
Rating:
Summary: Like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
Review: McKiernan in his foreword tells us that he is paying homage to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Homage? Hmm. According to the American Heritage® Dictionary "homage" is defined as: "Special honor or respect shown or expressed publicly." I fail to see the "honor" to Tolkien in McKiernan's "The Iron Tower" trilogy. While it is true it is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, McKiernan's books are less like flattery and more like regurgitation. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind if a writer is heavily inspired by the work of another. Even Tolkien himself drew much of his thematic elements and ideas from other ancient and mythic sources (Beowulf for example), but he reconstituted those ideas in such a way that they seemed fresh; not copied or reprinted. He was reinventing not simply rewriting. Unfortunately, such is not the case with McKiernan's work. His ideas are directly lifted from the pages of "The Lord of the Rings" without any attempt at originality. In McKiernan's story, a Warrow (Hobbit) named Tuck Underbank (Frodo) embarks on a quest to defeat an ultimate evil, Mordu (Sauron) who dwells in the evil land of Gron (Mordor). Along the way he encounters a dwarf called Brega (Gimli), an elf named Gildor(Legolas), a human warrior (Aragorn), etc, etc, etc...The Tolkien plagiarism's go on and on. He even includes a scene where some of the main characters have to pass through an abandoned Dwarf city called Kraggen-Cor. The city is abandoned because some terrible monster (Ghath) drove all of the dwarfs out long ago. The only way into the subterranean city is through some magical doors that they have some difficulty getting open. While waiting at the doors, a monstrous squid/octopus-like creature attacks them. And yes, there is even a battle with the Ghath in the dwarfin city on a narrow bridge over a bottomless cavern. I have a one hundred page rule when it comes to books; if the book can't engross me, can't keep my interest by the hundredth page I give it up. In this case, morbid curiosity kept me reading these books; like a horrible car accident, I couldn't tear my eyes away. Page after page I kept telling myself "it can't get any worse" and page after page I was proved wrong. As bad as the plagiarism is, the writing is even worse. The epic scope of Tolkien's story is GONE. Tolkien's writing was marked by mystery, grandeur and a poignant sense of loss and realism. All of this is missing from McKiernan's work. The characters in "The Lord of the Rings" (and the "Hobbit" for that matter) were three-dimensional; they seemed almost to have stepped out of the history books and not a novel. Tolkien made us care about his characters and what happened to them. McKiernan is incapable of doing this with the cardboard cutouts that populate his world. For example, Tuck Underbank is written to be a tragic/heroic figure and spends A LOT of time crying and sobbing about this or that. The narrative, time and time again, tries to make us feel sorry for him. After a while, I just started rolling my eyes and hoping someone would put him out of his misery. Throughout the story the dialogue is stilted, completely unnatural and pathetic. This may be one of the only times in history where a story would have been improved if none of the characters spoke. Rather than "honoring" Tolkien with "The Iron Tower" trilogy, McKiernan dishonors the great writer. For those looking for a well written, enriching story in the style of Tolkien or just a good epic fantasy: Look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of fun.
Review: Ok people. I may not add much to whats already been said, but I can't help adding my two bits! This was a fun story. Was it a copy or not? Who cares! It was fun. As good as Tolkien? Most people including I will say no. Does that mean you shouldn't read it? Heck no! Read it and have fun, because that's what readings about. So what if it's similar? Stop comparing to Tolkien and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: for what it is, this is a great trilogy
Review: Regarding the similarities to Tolkien, the author makes it quite clear in the Forward that he was setting out to create an epic good vs evil trilogy modeled after the master himself. While McKiernan may base the overall story on the cookie cutter epic fantasy trilogy model, the style and presentation are his own. I found the series to be refreshing in a way because it was told well and was entertaining. I might have known what I was going to get beforehand, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of reading it at all.
Rating: 
Summary: DONT JUDGE MITHGAR BY THE IRON TOWER
Review: The Iron Tower is the first book in a long and popular series. The author readily admits that he was greatly influenced by Tolkein (and what modern fantasy writer wasn't, in some capacity or another?). McKiernan's writing is slightly simplistic in this first book, but it is a good story and it is worth the read. The rest of the Mithgar books do get better as the world of Mithgar and the other planes are better developed and the history of the world is written and explained. Don't overanalyze the book, and don't judge all of the books by this first one. You also have to get past the first bit, because it does seem at first that it is blatantly copied from Tolkein. I promise, it's worth the read, if only to establish the setting for the other 12 or so books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: DONT JUDGE MITHGAR BY THE IRON TOWER
Review: The Iron Tower is the first book in a long and popular series. The author readily admits that he was greatly influenced by Tolkein (and what modern fantasy writer wasn't, in some capacity or another?). McKiernan's writing is slightly simplistic in this first book, but it is a good story and it is worth the read. The rest of the Mithgar books do get better as the world of Mithgar and the other planes are better developed and the history of the world is written and explained. Don't overanalyze the book, and don't judge all of the books by this first one. You also have to get past the first bit, because it does seem at first that it is blatantly copied from Tolkein. I promise, it's worth the read, if only to establish the setting for the other 12 or so books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Story by an Author that knows how to write
Review: The Iron Tower trilogy is one of the best of it's kind, and believe me, I'm not joking. The way that McKiernan writes his tale is told in such a way that everyone can relate to at least one of the characters. Although the story in itself borrows heavily from Tolkien's world, it's definately worth reading (that is, if you enjoy fantasy). If you picked up the Lord of the Rings and found the writing too dry or too slow but you were still interested in reading the story (in a general sense), give the Iron Tower a try. I personally prefer the ancient air of Tolkien's writing style, but if you're not into that kind of thing, McKiernan is the one for you. Also, if you didn't like the Iron Tower, I suggest that you give McKiernan another shot by reading the Hel's Crucible Duology (the story on the War of the Ban) or any of his other books for that matter. Peace out.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tolkien Zealot's View on "The Iron Tower"
Review: The only question that really plagues me after reading "The Iron Tower" is simple - why was it written? Mr. McKiernan is obviously a fan of Tolkien and, to be more precise, "The Lord of the Rings," which he even admits in the preface. No shame in that. I too adore Tolkien's work, and, in my mind, "The Lord of the Rings" is the greatest fantasy story ever told. But in spite of McKiernan's admiration for said genre pioneer, he was content to take "The Lord of the Rings" and recycle it, albeit with a handful of different character names. And while he was busy attempting to pass this story off as his own, he forgot everything that made Tolkien so wonderful in the process - and anything that makes good fantasy in general. "The Iron Tower" isn't only a shameless copy of a beloved tale, but it's also quite poorly written. One has to wonder if McKiernan was out of elementary school when he began jotting it down. Dialogue between characters is particularly absurd, and again it is because McKiernan attempts (and severely fails) to copy the more classical style of Tolkien. One example of thousands is this: "Hai! You have named it well; for Jet it was: no horse is blacker!" And aside from the poor quality of this tidbit, any Tolkien fan, even unfamiliar with McKiernan, will think to themselves, "Hmmm... Shadowfax, anyone?" The book opens with very clear parallels to "The Lord of the Rings," but, at first, there are at least a few interesting touches to keep things mildly entertaining. But things get steadily more offensive as the story progresses. Complete with a party of three Warrows (or Hobbits, if you prefer), an Elf, a Dwarf, and a future King with a magical sword, the party of heroes is forced by perilous circumstance to enter an abandoned Dwarven mine (aka, Moria) that was evacuated for fear of the Ghath (aka, Balrog) - a beast who still lingers in the mines. But as McKiernan might say, "Hai! Lo! That be not all!" For as the companions are debating a course of action, they are attacked by a tentacled beast that lurks in the water just outside the magically concealed gateway. Where have I heard this before? Except, of course, it was much more thrilling in its original format, to say the very least. Yet there's more still. "The Iron Tower" is complete with its own version of Ringwraiths, wargs (called vulgs), orcs, and more. Surprisingly, the only thing that's missing is a Gandalf character. But I can assure you, had McKiernan included one, the company would have temporarily lost him in the Dwarven mines to the dreaded whip of the Ghath. For goodness sakes, the book even comes complete with an appendix at its conclusion! Perhaps McKiernan thinks that his world of Mithgar is as detailed and as rich as Middle-earth just because every creature, character, or place encountered has a different name to each race. ("Kraken!" cried Galen. "Maduk!" shouted Brega.)And just to note, to fuel further audacity, Tuck (aka, Frodo) carries a short sword called Bane that glows at its edges when enemies are about. Stings, doesn't it? Get it? STINGS? Simply put, "The Iron Tower" is a fraud. It should never have been published. In fact, there should be some sort of law against it. I have in my day read and even enjoyed many Tolkien knock-offs ("The Sword of Shannara," or "The Eye of the World," for example), so I am open-minded about these matters. But "The Iron Tower" goes too far. It is shameful. It is outright theft. Fans of Tolkien should heed this advice well: steer clear unless you're looking for a good laugh. And for those who are not familiar with Tolkien, don't you dare accept McKiernan as a suitable replacement, for your own sake. There are a handful of interesting moments, but not enough to outweigh the wrongs that were done in allowing this series publication. With more work, McKiernan might have paid homage rather than desecrating sacred ground.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story
Review: There are very few books like this and they are far and in between ie....tolkie, terry brooks, duncan, etc....This book is a joy to read. Very few, if any slow parts. The characters are clearly defined and you get a sense of who they are. There are a plethora of creatures and sub-humans. If you like Tolkien, or High Fantasy in general...this is a book for you to read. I am not looking forward to reading the last book in the trilogy....what am I gonna read then?
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