Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?

[ElishevaSavela]

That's a hard decision.... I would probably say that some of the Harry Potter books are equal to the Lord of the Rings, but not better... Lord of the Rings is probably better......... BUT IT'S SO HARD TO DECIDE!

[Lauripri]

Harry Potter !

[eniger_hp08]

Both are great..

[BrianSeverus]

BOTH!

For movies, LOTR, though I do like the Harry Potter movies...to some degree.
For books, though, the choice is obvious. Tolkien writes like Tolstoy, and if you ask me, that just isn't a good thing. At all.

[captain Sparrow]

The books ---> HP
The movies ---> LOTR

[Rich]

I think there are some similarities between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but I don't think they are intentional. I haven't read the LOTR books, but I have read of the Potter books, so my opinion might be slightly biased.

I have also seen all the current Potter movies as well as the LOTR movies, and as much as I really like LOTR, I like Harry Potter better.

[Miss_Bellatrix]

I think the Lord of the Rings-movies are better than the Harry Potter-movies. I tried to read LotR once, but I tought it was a bit difficult, so maybe I will try when I'm older. For now, the HP-books are absolutely the best!

[echo1034]

I definitely enjoy Harry Potter moreso than LOTR in both the movie and book sense. However, I feel the LOTR movies were more well-thought-out than most of the HP movies. Also, I could not really get into the LOTR books very well simply because of the way Tolken wrote--it was difficult for me to stay focused on what I was reading. Of course, I may have felt differently if I didn't watch the movies before reading them. xD

Overall, however, I do like the HP movies and books better than LOTR. I just enjoy the characters more, even though LOTR is up there among my favourite movies of all time.

[poundpuppy29]

as some who has only watched the movies I think both are awesome

[JackFish]

Personally, I prefer HP to LOTR. I'm not a huge fan of either set of films, so that's just based on the books.

However, I absolutely love the Silmarillion, so if we're talking about Tolkien's legendarium as a whole, then I'd have to say that. The sheer size and depth of it is amazing.

[LionsDisciple]

I agree with everyone saying that the Harry Potter books are superior, but the Lord of the Rings movies edge out the Harry Potter movies just a bit. I loved the Hobbit, enjoyed Fellowship of the Ring, tolerated Two Towers, and was bored to tears by Return of the King, book wise. I would not read them a second time (though perhaps the Hobbit, which I have already read three times anyways), while I have read each Harry Potter book 11 times (except for the most recent ones, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, which I have only read 4 times) and am now on my 12th re-read. I tried to read the Silmarillion, but it was so boring to me that I just couldn't get through the first half of it. I like a story, not a documentary. The Silmarillion took (if memory serves) two pages to cover the whole of the three main books. As for my problems with Two Towers and Return of the King, well I just think that large scale battles, like the battle for Helms Deep and the war at Gondor, translate much better in a visual format then a literary one, unless you focus on just one character like at the end of Deathly Hallows, rather then trying to cover everything at once. The chapters with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum were much more fun, but then they weren't my favorite characters (except for Sam), so it was still not as much fun as Fellowship or Hobbit. I know that this might sound like a rant, but I was really very dissapointed with the Lord of the Rings book series in general.

[JackFish]

I actually really enjoyed reading about the Pelennor in Return of the King, but I do agree that it probably translates visually with that many things to keep track of.

The Silmarillion is difficult to get into, the whole Music of the Ainur concept and the creation is pretty heavy, but definitely worth it for what comes after IMO.

[Korhil]

The Lord of the Rings is way better than Harry Potter, it just is, kind of like the sky is blue.

Now I love the Harry Potter books but I love Tolkien more always have always will and the Lord of the Rings movies were also better than the potter films which were excellent but Lord of the Rings is just better in every single way. Its just a simple statement of fact kind of like what goes up must come down.

[rahmaniacc]

its a tough choice, but i will choose Lord of the rings

[LoonyLovegood77]

I like the harry potter books better than the lord of the rings books but i like the lord of the rings movies better than the harry potter ones

[FleurduJardin]

I like the books equally - maybe LotR a bit more because they're much better written (though some people may find Tolkien's style boring) and because there are no internal inconsistencies/contradictions like there are in HP.

Both sets of movies are exceptionally good, at least the first 3 or 4 of HP. Both deviate a bit too much from the books for my taste. It's a bit unfair to compare 3 movies to 6 (to date) and eventually 8, but right now, despite disagreement on some changes and some, IMO big omissions, I'll go for LotR. The last two HP movies changed too much, and omitted too much from the books. Though I watched the first four time and time again, I stopped my second watching on OotP after a half hour and I never even bothered to buy the HBP dvd. Of course that's highly personal.

[LoonyForMoony]

I'd probably say the Harry Potter books over the Lord of the Rings ones; it's hard! I still love LotR, but Potter wins just by a bit. And I do think they're so different that it's kind of hard to compare them as far as style/plot goes. Now as for the movies: LotR wins by about a bazillion miles. I personally think of the trilogy as the apex in movie-making to date. They're just so awesome I can't express it!! I think they were an incredible achievement in almost every aspect; continuity, acting, special effects, sets, etc. Whereas the Potter films are just mediocre adaptions full of plot holes, gaping inconsistencies, terrible acting, and cheesy special effects.

Just my two cents.

[Tonks_Animagus]

Totally Harry Potter fan!!!!!!!!!
I find them more enjoyable and full of humor too.

[Pearl_Took]

Originally Posted by seeker15

I personally think of the trilogy as the apex in movie-making to date. They're just so awesome I can't express it!! I think they were an incredible achievement in almost every aspect; continuity, acting, special effects, sets, etc.

That is true, but this jaded Tolkienista can also think of some painfully cheesy moments in Peter Jackson's LotR.

Overall, I love the films, and they are certainly an amazing achievement but some moments do truly make me go 'ouch'.

I enjoy the HP films but think they could have been better.

[Nandi]

Tolkien is for those who love to read.Harry Potter are for those who want something easy to read.Its like comparing a five star restaurant (Tolkien) to a McDonalds (Rowling).I would recommend people to start with Harry Potter then Robert Jordan and then Tolkien. I read Harry Potter because it was talked about so much and stayed with it because people said it was getting more interesting further on in the story.This was true but i think JK could have done it in fewer books.Tolkien is superior but i agree not simpler and not as funny as HP sometimes is.But by far more unique and if it had not been for the movies i doubt HP would be as popular as they are now.Although i like most real fans and i am one of those may wonder why.