[Shostak]

The problem with going with art that has a bit too much realism (with a small letter r) in it is that it makes everything very specific--usually too much so. One of the reasons Tolkein's own illustrations are among the best of his world is that they are stylized. They depict a world that is real in itself--familiar through our experience of our own world--and yet its own unique self-consistent universe. I'm afraid Miller's art is too far into the camp of making look as real as possible. Don't get me wrong; he's got chops. But his images (particularly his color work) shows rather than evokes. The best illustrations always leave room for the viewer's imagination.