Which Fantasy Book Series is Better?

[Zarn]

I like LOTR best here. Tolkien is a genius. They have to be some of the best fantasy books, ever.

Harry Potter is horrible. I saw the movie and I didn't like it at all. Someone told me the book was better. I starting reading it and was still disgusted by the stupidity of it. I stopped reading it.

 

[Thadlerian]

Originally posted by FearlessLeader2
After seeing Thadlerian's passionate praise of J K Rowling's mouse-turd-piece Harry Potter, I gotta say it.

Potter is for kiddies. Little kiddies. It's in the JUVENILE section of the library for a reason. If you're an adult, and you're buying these books for yourself, you really need to take the diapers and/or training bra off and get into big-boy (or girl) underpants, and try to stop wetting the bed.

It's for kids. I saw the first movie, out of sheer curiosity. My curiousity was summarily executed and replaced by my guardedly optimistic desire to discover new things immediately afterwards.

Troll bugies? Troll BUGIES?!

No, I don't think so Sam I Am. Not in the boat, not with a goat, and sure as hell not in my life ever again.

I surely understand your prejudice against HP. The concept has been taken too far, to a sickening extent. When Warner Bros. has discovered the opportunity of making money, the result is rarely ever pretty. The HP movies are excellent examples of that. My feelings after seeing them were very similar to those you describe.

But the books are completely different. The beginning (first two books) might be a bit infantile. That was the point where J.K. Rowling hadn't quite made up her mind on which path to proceed on. As the three later books shows, she chose the right one.

What made these books a bestseller was certainly not them being childish. The author has a very good grip on dramaturgy, of putting exitement in the right portions. The trick of HP is the creation of a universe where one can easily see oneself in, and daydream about. That is, of course, easier to the kids, than to the rest of us. Thus the popularity among kids, even though the books (at least the three later ones) suits being read by anyone.

Very many people are mortally afraid of anything associated with children. However, children have an ability to rejoice at even the smallest matters. I believe that is an ability we adults should envy them. Life would have been so much happier then.

Leader2, you call yourself Fearless. I dare you to read a Harry Potter book!

 

[Richard III]

Polymath is right on Amber. Pageturners! Love it. It's second place to Lord of the Rings in my book; Narnia is a good little bit of children's Christian propaganda, but it suffers a little by being too cute, much as the Hobbit is, where LOTR has a dark, weary quality that makes it, in the end, one of the most adult reads I can ever remember.

R.III

 

[Shabbaman]

Amber is great indeed. Not truly fantasy, but not complete scifi either is the Hyperion saga by Dan Simmons. My best read last year!

 

[aneeshm]

I'n surprised that only one other poster has mentioned Issac Asimov's Foundation Series . Persoanlly , it's a tie between that and LOTR . If you do not classify that as fantasy , then the fantasy title goes hands down to LOTR .

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Foundation isnt timeless like LOTR. Its dated and old fashopned now. I think the Caves of Steel holds up better.

 

[Dell19]

I cannot believe that such a majority have voted for LOTR when you think of the range of books they have to chose from.

 

[floppa21]

Originally posted by Zarn
I like LOTR best here. Tolkien is a genius. They have to be some of the best fantasy books, ever.

Harry Potter is horrible. I saw the movie and I didn't like it at all. Someone told me the book was better. I starting reading it and was still disgusted by the stupidity of it. I stopped reading it.

Never in a million years would I have predicted this reply from you.

 

[deckard]

Originally posted by Dumb pothead
Foundation isnt timeless like LOTR. Its dated and old fashopned now. I think the Caves of Steel holds up better.

How dare you sir. Foundation is timeless. But I do love the robot series as well, Caves of Steel, Robots of Dawn etc.

 

[thestonesfan]

Anyone read the "Ender's Game" books?

 

[thestonesfan]

John Christopher's "Tripod Trilogy" is excellent, though it is *boo, hiss* for a younger audience.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Originally posted by deckard
How dare you sir. Foundation is timeless. But I do love the robot series as well, Caves of Steel, Robots of Dawn etc.

I know, Foundation is awesome. But it seems so 1950's now. I cant imagine a kid today picking it up and getting the same enjoyment out of it.

 

[deckard]

Originally posted by Dumb pothead
I know, Foundation is awesome. But it seems so 1950's now. I cant imagine a kid today picking it up and getting the same enjoyment out of it.

Point taken. It does not talk about nano technology or wormholes. Still they are great books. Well I enjoyed them.

 

[Thadlerian]

Originally posted by thestonesfan
Anyone read the "Ender's Game" books?

All of them exept the last one with a name I can't remember. I preferred the "speaker" branch, but they were both good.

 

[deckard]

Originally posted by thestonesfan
Anyone read the "Ender's Game" books?

Orson Scott Card. Read one of the books a while ago. Also read his memory of earth books, well the first three. he seemed to give up at the end of the last one I could not understand what happened. Very strange.