Writing The Green Rider and The First Rider's Call

[Artemis]

Has anyone else read those two books? They're some of my favorites (although, the endings tend to piss me off: cliffhangers). They're well-written (compared to quite a few other fantasy books I've read) and have a good setting. They contain occassional Tolkien rip-offs, but that's to be expected. Karigan, the lead character is very strong and likable.
So, if you've read them, which do you like better and what do you like about them?
~art~