I often hear Mr. Martin called "The American Tolkien." I can see why people say that. Both write (or wrote) extremely complex fantasy novels, both have very passionate fan bases (with a great deal of overlap), both have created British Isles-inspired worlds rich with invented history and languages, and, well, both authors have the initials "R. R." in their names. But honestly, I think the resemblance ends there. The similarities are superficial at best.