Literature Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?

[Meredith]

LOTR seems to have a more 'adult' tone and audience but descirbed every blade of grass in the entire world - I had a very hard time getting through it - so I'd have to say Harry Potter because at least it was enjoyable.

What do you guys think, and why?

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

I've read the moria part of the fellowship and watched it on the big screen way back when, and I gotta say both are equally amazing. Lord of the rings is dense,but its also subtle as well. When Gandalf invokes the power of arnor, I still get chills. This series was what inspired me to roleplay in the first place or partially is responsible anyways. It struck a good balance between super natural and reality. Making it feel more organic and richer because of it. Then you look at the themes behind the ring itself, such as the greed and folly of man. Or how even the littlest of guys(frodo and hobbits), could do things not even the greatest warriors could do because of their innate greed and longing for power.

Harry potter on the other hand, well it doesn't inspire much awe. Not when I was 9 and not now as an adult. Watching hermonie say " A tripicus totalis", was probably the most boring thing ever.

But this is just one dude's opinion and from someone who basically only reads when he roleplays lol.

 

[The Chronicler]

Neither. They are both terrible series' of movies.

 

[Tove]

I would have to say LOTR because J.R.R Tolkien is a creative genius. He made his own languages and races for the LOTR and even now other works of literature have spawned from what he created. Although a bit on the hard side to read, I have to give credit where credit is due.

 

[JayTee]

Tolkien was a bad storyteller but a fantastic world builder.

Rowling was a bad world builder but a fantastic storyteller.

 

[Vorkaysus]

LOTR, because Gondor

(not going to type 8 paragraphs of why, so I'll give you this treat instead)

For Gondor!

 

[Napoleone the Kiwi]

Considering Lord of the Rings was written nearly 70 years ago with completely different literary tastes in mind and has still maintained a presence that has an august presence in the shaping of Fantasy (inspiring such popular fantasy series as World of Warcraft, Warhammer, ASOIAF, The Inheritance Cycle etc etc) I'd definitely say Lord of the Rings has a better quality to it.

Harry Potter may have defined a lot of this generation of readers, by so has Lord of the Rings, and it also affected the generations before us as well. I don't think Harry Potter will ever have quite have the staying power and literary scrutiny as Lord of the Rings. That and I appreciate the detail Tolkien puts into the world he crafted. Rowling's later books kinda railroaded into ham-fisted teen drama imho, and I didn't really enjoy Voldemort's final end as much as the climax of the fall of the great tower of Barad Dur.

 

[Shalalong]

Kinda surprised, no one mentioned the obviously superior movie trilogy "Percy Jackson". It has both excellent story telling and a fantastic world.

 

[cupidcreep]

harry potter because of my husband draco

 

[Avari]

Lord of the Rings Movies > Harry Potter Movies
Harry Potter Books > Lord of the Rings Books

Tolkien is an amazing world builder, but his writing style is insanely dry (excluding the Hobbit, that one is pretty great)

 

[Windsock]

Use the force, Frodo - Spock

 

[GargarrofHillppl]

LOTR seems to have a more 'adult' tone and audience but descirbed every blade of grass in the entire world - I had a very hard time getting through it - so I'd have to say Harry Potter because at least it was enjoyable.

What do you guys think, and why?

While I do love reading LotR and the movies, I have to say I am more easily immersed in HP. The characters are easily touchable for me and the place environments in HP, for me.

 

[Alyroa]

Well I like both, but if I really have to choose then I'll choose LOTR.
J.R.R Tolkien has created an amazing world, with its own language etc

 

[CastoffCaptain]

Neither.

 

[Somebody]

I could never get into LOTR, so it's HP all the way.

 

[Nomad]

Harry Potter.
I love the lord of the rings movies (Not the hobbit trilogy though), but I find them boring to read. There is zero sense of tension in the books. For instance, in the movie Gandalf shows Frodo that the ring is this big evil thing, then disappears for like 15 years while Frodo sells the house, sells some stuff, moves to a different home, etc...

Tolkien will spend pages describing things that have nothing at all to do with the story and half the book is him doing that kind of thing. It's just not an enjoyable read for me.
All that being said The Hobbit (the book) is pretty good and got me really into fantasy to begin with.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Lord of the Rings
Roleplaying with ring pops is more fun than roleplaying with sticks because you can only eat one of them afterwards.

 

[Project Naiad]

LOTR, both books and movies. (Except the Hobbit ones ew).
I never really saw that much in the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series.
To each his own *shrugs*

 

[MechanicalHeart]

Harry Potter resulted in an uninterested 'meh' for me. As do most stories involving teenagers as protagonists.

 

[Ryanblorpblorp]

When Gandalf invokes the power of arnor, I still get chills

I thought Gandalf was from The Hobbit.. is he?

 

[Project Naiad]

I thought Gandalf was from The Hobbit.. is he?

He is. He appears in both books.

 

[Ryanblorpblorp]

oh.

 

[Lovelace]

Massive Tolkien nerd here. I enjoy Harry Potter but I will always unequivocally choose Tolkien.

 

[Noble Scion]

I personally enjoyed The Lord of the Rings more than Harry Potter, but both were decent