The Tolkien scholar
Colin Duriez states that Martinez has written about many aspects of Tolkien's writings, and has "a loyal following of readers" on the
World Wide Web.
David Bratman writes in
Tolkien Studies that
Understanding Middle-earth is a "somewhat rewritten... collection of Web-published essays by a popular online writer on Tolkien."
Robin Anne Reid, in
Journal of Tolkien Research, notes Martinez's statement in his essay "What is the Munby Letter?" that Tolkien affirmed in that unpublished letter that there were "
Orc-women". Reid adds that this agrees with Tolkien's mentions of "half-breed Orcs" and that they could reproduce.
Thomas Honegger, also in
Journal of Tolkien Research, writes that a single word can often be crucial in Tolkien scholarship. In the context of a discussion of whether Tolkien was envisaging late-medieval knightly
chivalry, he quotes Martinez's essay "Was Imrahil's
Vambrace Made of Metal?", noting that the key point is Martinez's statement that calling the forearm armour metal "is merely a product of wishful thinking" by people with an image of medieval knights in "
full plate armor". Gregers Einer Forssling quotes Martinez's defence of Tolkien from the charge of
Nordicism, the racist ideology of Nordic supremacy. He notes that Martinez quotes Tolkien's own rejection of "this Nordic nonsense", and that Martinez mentions Tolkien's regret that "the term Nordic had become associated with 'racialist theories'", thus rebutting Stephen Shapiro's assertion that "themes of cultural and biological Nordicism can be recognised in
The Lord of the Rings". == Works ==