Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?

[Sierra-san]

Okay, we knew it was coming. My unpopular random not-quite-of the week is doing this poll. XD

If I were backed into a corner with a gun to my head, I'd have to say LOTR. But it's still pretty dead even for me.

[Big Albowski]

Lord of the Rings!

Al

[Lindsey]

Harry Potter! :D

[j03superbat]

Smallville! :p

[axisoftime]

This is a tough and somewhat unfair question.After all LOTR has been the unquestioned(usually) king of fantasy for over 50 years!Harry Potter has been around less then 10.As far as 'sweeping epic'-LOTR is the greatest-THE classic tale-personally I dont think it will ever be topped!However I enjoy HP more then LOTR these days.HP is just plain fun-I would rather be at Hogwarts then Middle Earth-unless I was Gandalf lol.And can u make a distinction between the books and movies?I liked the LOTR books better then the movies,and while I havent read any HP books-it seems the movies would be better.So,in conclusion-I would say LOTR is the all-time greatest,but HP would be a very close 2nd.

[Jellie]

Harry Potter by default (i havnt seen lotr)

[BoDuke]

I have never been a Harry Potter fan, Lord of the Ring rules!!

[Queen_Sarah]

i have 2 say harry potter!!

although lotr was filmed in my home country...

[Summers]

gee, this is a toughie. I chose both. They are awesome fantasy tales that show realism and human emotion to the extreme. I love them both.

[loistickyfingerz]

Are we comparing the books or the movies?

[Indigo]

Hrm.

On the one hand, for over 25 years now (!!) I've read LotR at least once a year, and I loved the movies. As works of art, and as epic fiction, I think Tolkien's Middle-Earth books are more-or-less unmatched.

On the other hand, I do also enjoy Harry Potter, though I don't put it in the same literary class, nor compare the films directly. I mean no offense by saying this, but the Harry Potter series is written for children, so it's more comparable to the Hobbit than the LotR. Having said that, I've enjoyed all 5 books, have reread them all a few times, and liked the 3 movies thus far.

I'll say both, though if I had to choose just one, it'd be LotR with no question.

[loistickyfingerz]

I think it's hard to compare two different mediums such as film and books. As far as books go, these two are kind-of in separate categories, HP qualifying as more children's/Young adult while LOTR is more of an adult fantasy novel.

I've tried reading LOTR but it was too wordy/fantasy for my tastes. Harry Potter, on the other hand, I've read multiple times, but then, I just like children's/Young adult books in general.

Film-wise, LOTR hands down wins. I mean, the first two HP movies were blah, in my opinion; the third was really good, but it's only a step in the right direction. The books nor the movie series are finished yet, so again, that's an advantage that LOTR has over HP.

The LOTR films were just fantastic, and there aren't enough words to describe how good it was,really.

So, I'd say, this is a hard call to make if we're talking about both the films and the books.

[Sierra-san]

Weren't the LOTR books originally for children? 0.o;;;

[Summers]

The Hobbit was. Reading LOTR makes my head hurt even when I'm 24 years old. Macevelli(sp?) work's seemed easier for me to read through lol.

[Zungas]

LOTR. I missed the Harry Potter craze by a couple of years.

[Chi Town]

Uh Dragonlance?

I choose both. HP has the magic aspect that I love so much which really does it for me in the Fantasy realm.
But
LOTR has a much better world but not very magic intensive. I think magic I think people throwing wround fireballs and the such. If LOTR had more actual magic involved it would win hands down.

[Indigo]

Originally posted by Sierra-san
Weren't the LOTR books originally for children? 0.o;;;

Nope. There's a substantial difference between the style of the Harry Potter books and that of the Lord of the Rings, really. HP is very much written for children - though do I enjoy the series, it uses fairly simple vocabulary and grammar, and features nothing that would earn more than perhaps a light "PG" rating. LotR, on the other hand, often has very dense prose and a remarkably complex vocabulary (often including terms or phrases in the languages Tokien invented), and is fairly mature content throughout.

[Sierra-san]

Originally posted by Indigo
Nope. There's a substantial difference between the style of the Harry Potter books and that of the Lord of the Rings, really. HP is very much written for children - though do I enjoy the series, it uses fairly simple vocabulary and grammar, and features nothing that would earn more than perhaps a light "PG" rating. LotR, on the other hand, often has very dense prose and a remarkably complex vocabulary (often including terms or phrases in the languages Tokien invented), and is fairly mature content throughout.

*read LOTR when she was nine*

[axisoftime]

That is slightly incredible reading LOTR at age 9 Sierra.I know I couldnt of.I dont think I read the whole thing till I was about 20.
Tolkien begin writing the Hobbit for his nieces/nephews,who were fascinated by hobbits.While its true it is more for kids while LOTR is for adults-the ending with Smaug could easily have been in LOTR.Too bad there couldnt have been a Smaug-Sauron battle.Or Smaug-Gandalf.If they ever do make a Hobbit movie,they can find ways to make it more adult.

[Sierra-san]

Originally posted by axisoftime
That is slightly incredible reading LOTR at age 9 Sierra.I know I couldnt of.I dont think I read the whole thing till I was about 20.
Tolkien begin writing the Hobbit for his nieces/nephews,who were fascinated by hobbits.While its true it is more for kids while LOTR is for adults-the ending with Smaug could easily have been in LOTR.Too bad there couldnt have been a Smaug-Sauron battle.Or Smaug-Gandalf.If they ever do make a Hobbit movie,they can find ways to make it more adult.

To pun a movie title: "Lost in Description"

I didn't fully get it until I was about 12.

[Indigo]

Originally posted by Sierra-san
*read LOTR when she was nine*


Originally posted by Indigo
for over 25 years now (!!) I've read LotR at least once a year

I'm 34... so I started at around the same time you did. :)

Sure, kids can read LotR, but it's a lot harder than HP. For instance, Rowling defines any difficult terms for the reader, while Tolkien leaves you to work it out on your own.

For an example thereof, consider:


J.R.R. Tolkien wrote
A! Elbereth Gilthoniel!
silivren penna miriel
o menel aglar elenath,
Gilthoniel, A! Elbereth!

[DarkseidX]

I say LotR!!!!!!!

[jpfort1957]

LOTR, followed closely by Harry Potter.

[Tabularasa]

I have to go with LOTR. Harry Potter is great, but no where near LOTR.

[Canary]

Harry Potter!

[Iluvgreen]

Lord of the Rings movies were put together way better than Harry Potter movies. Even though I like the Harry Potter books better than Lord of the Rings... but I cried during the third LOTR!

[Kal26]

I like harry potter, but between the two, I have to go with rings.

[rebecavaldez]

Lord of the rings

[Clois4eva89]

Lord of the Rings no contest for me

[myankskent]

Lord of the Rings. I can't get into Harry Potter. It's too much of a children's story.

[Supermania]

Lord of the Rings is easily the best.

[LoveHurts38]

Both

[Violet-Shadow]

Lotr.

[Glove]

Lord of the Rings by far. The Hobbit will probably be even better
the Lord or the Rings. I realize that Smog will be done similarly
to Eragon or Dragonheart, but it will still be pretty cool.

[Queenrocks77]

Harry Potter!

I couldn't even make it through the first LOTR

[number8]

LOTR for me. 10x more epic than Harry Potter too.

[smallvilleaddict15]

Dude, Harry Potter is waaaaay better! For one thing I don't fall asleep in it like LotR!!

[Marissa]

Both, can't choose..

[Clark/Lois-fan]

definately lord of the rings by miles!!

can't wait for the hobbit :)

[ClubXerxes]

LOTR...no doubt about it...Harry Who?

[amalie]

Both.

I started reading Harry Potter when I was 10 years old back in 1998 and I've been hooked ever since. The movies aren't as good as the books but they're still great and I'll always have a soft spot for anything HP.

LOTR is totally different. I really didn't like the books, I thought they were a bit dull but the movies are fantastic.

[PacificNWBuckeye]

Harry Potter by a long margin. The wife and I rented all the LOTR movies once, so we could see what everyone was raving over. Both of us fell asleep 1/2 way through the first one, never bothered with the others.

[Dr. Curt Connors]

Harry Potter, it just amazes and fascinates me completely. LOTR is fun too.

[amberdawn]

I love both, but it's gotta be LOTR.

[super_j_man]

Lord of the Rings FTW! All three movies were fantastic and the books (if you have time and the nerve to read them) are even better.

The Harry Potters books are good, but the movies have been hit and miss IMO. The 5th movie was no where near as good as the book and I have yet to see the 6th movie.