How about more fantasies built on old tales from areas other than Northern Europe? Tolkien had made a lifelong study of those languages–can’t somebody pick another area & do the homework? Of course, somebody using a fake-Celtic name probably won’t.
J Gregory Keyes wrote two books in his “Chosen of the Changeling” series. In the continent of the fantasy world we visited, there was a great Egyptian/Mesopotamian civilization & a sophisticated Mongol/Comanche nomadic culture. The male protagonist was the only “white guy”–member of a humble farming people who lived far to the North; the female was a civilized (dark skinned) princess. Pretty good–but didn’t become a hit. Tolkien ripoffs are easier to write–and to read.
By the way, Tolkien’s dwarves weren’t villains…and Tolkien gave a rude answer to Nazi enquiries about his own racial “purity.”