: : I'm pretty sure Brian Crawford's fan fiction has been hanging around longer than that. I read somewhere that he wrote it in like 1978. I don't know if that was correct or not.

: : : This is only my opinion, but I found the writing to be rather
: : : lack-luster and in no way comparable with Tolkien's works.

: : [snip]

: : I am equally unimpressed by it. His research into Tolkien's history was either very bad or else he felt he could just ignore many things Tolkien had written in THE LORD OF THE RINGS and make up stuff as he went along.

: : But the story has its fans, and they show up every now and then.

: I actually found the link (see below), and although I personally find the story weak, I suppose it is the duty(?) of a critic to point others toward the source and allow them to make their own decisions.

I read the story also. I must ask if you read thewhole thing? Granted his history is a little messed up and the beginning is a bit slow but all in all he did a good job on it. IT wasn't anything to be compared with Tolkien but I don't think any of us could have done better. I have always wanted to know more about The Last Alliance and I thought that it was pretty good. I especially liked the battle scenes because they went into much more detail then Tolkien does. The scene where they fight the Nazgul and then later when they kill The Sauron are probably the best parts of the story.(Very Realistic too) I am not saying it has no weak points because it does. In the beginning I had to stop reading every so often because it was boring. I never had to do that with Tolkien.
However, when I got to the part where they retook Osgiliath and started against Sauron I couldn't stop reading. WE can't judge this piece as if Tolkien wrote it. It was an ametuer job but I doubt anyone but a professional writer could have done much better. All IMHO of course.
-Thentaran