There are so many different fantasy books out there that it's impossible to say. You'd have to read all of them to make that judgement and who wants to do that? LOL.

@col-klink 

Narnia is better than certain books of fantasy such as Tarzan of the Apes and John Carter of Mars because Lewis was a better writer than Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I’m not sure about J. K. Rowling, but maybe the Narnia stories offer something better for the mind than Harry Potter.  But fans of Harry Potter might believe that Ms. Rowling is a good author, although I would say Lewis would probably beat her.  He was certainly more of a scholar, and his books show much more intellect. Other fantasy I can either love or hate.  Philip Pullman’s criticism of Narnia has driven me away from his books. I tried The Golden Compass but couldn’t get beyond the first few chapters. The “daemon” and the girl living at the college were a bit too demonic for me.  I would rather read a book of fantasy that distinguishes between good and evil, and Lewis is certainly better at doing that.  🙂

I've been a friend of Narnia since childhood as a ten year old, though I've enjoyed other fantasy as well. I am an equal fan of Lord of the Rings. It makes me to have a lot of respect for Lewis and Tolkien.

Then there's a series of fantasy books called The Chronicles of Prydain by Llyodd Alexander. It is loosely based on Welsh Mythology, and has similar elements to Lord of the Rings. If you have seen the Disney movie The Black Cauldron, it is a loosely based on The Chronicles of Prydain series. (Though I think is a combination of The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron).

And of course the writers from long ago were better at mastering fantasy.  The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling were far better than most modern fantasy. There is probably nothing like the fantasies of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells in modern literature. I don't think Narnia has ever been surpassed in stories of talking animals, although some modern picture books are quite good for children with their animal characters. Narnia is very similar to the older fairy tales which also featured the talking beasts.

The Harry Potter books have depth and they are cleverly written in that they grow up with the reader.  I enjoy Harry Potter but for different reasons than I do Narnia.   Each of them evokes something different in me.  I think all books should be that way.   As for who is a better writer?   I think each is good in their own way.     

@cyberlucy 

I guess there is a certain amount of depth. A Harry Potter fan recommended the book Looking for God on Harry Potter by John Granger.  The book discusses some references to Christianity in the books and other symbolism. It is quite a well written book.  But I think Lewis and Tolkien offer so much more and their books are all different from each other.  Probably J. K. Rowling made a lot more money from her books, but Narnia and Middle Earth may be better quality  literature.   I enjoyed Edgar Rice Burroughs too, but I don’t think his books are as well written as Lewis’ and Tolkien’s.  The characters and plots invented by Lewis and Tolkien have so much more meaning and depth, and I think the same is true when comparing the Narnia books or The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter.  Hundreds of years from now Narnia and Middle Earth will most likely be remembered as classics of great literature, but Harry Potter may not be so highly regarded.

There are Christians who enjoy Harry Potter and there are Christians who are not comfortable with it, since it has a major concept on witchcraft and sorcery. Now some Christians might feel the same way about Narnia and Lord of the Rings.

I think it's that while it's true that Christians should not take part in the occult, we should examine ourselves. No writer is perfect, we're not perfect. Even both C.S Lewis and J.R..R Tolkien were not perfect. Both their stories, Narnia and Lord of the Rings, are not without flawed characters.

@Narnian78

For me it's like comparing apples to oranges. Rowling is writing popular literature that was accessible to a wide swath of people from a background of being a young woman growing up in modern Britain.  Lewis and Tolkien were academics writing passion projects with the intent to communicate something from a background of producing scholarly papers and books.  To me they each have their own appeal. Perhaps it can be argued that Narnia and LOTR are better quality because of their training in writing,  It remains to be seen where these works will be in the future.  

I'll be honest. I don't really like this topic or at least this topic's title. It seems like it's designed to make me people mad. I can see a lot of people who prefer other fantasies, or at least consider them equal, getting mad and then people who like Narnia best, or only like Narnia, getting mad at them in turn. 

I'd rather it was "Does Narnia Have Something (Good) That Other Fantasies Don't?"

I changed the topic’s title so that is a comparison of what Narnia has to offer with other fantasies. Then that would take away any possible bias from the topic itself and consider people’s different tastes more. Hopefully, this will encourage a more friendly discussion.  It is true that some people like different authors for their own reasons, and all of those reasons may have their own values and standards. Col. Klink, I did not deliberately design the thread to make people angry even though my views may differ from others here, including yourself. You have completely misunderstood my intentions. Why not just accept the difference of opinion?  Someone can disagree with another person’s views, but that is no reason to be angry.  Please be more tolerant and respectful of other people’s opinions.   I have to be honest about my own views and express them. Changing the title of the thread will hopefully promote better discussion.

Has anyone read Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy? How does that compare to Narnia in your opinion? I think the two are extremely different. I've enjoyed both, but think I admire Earthsea more than I "like" it. I wouldn't want to live there.

I read the Earthsea decades ago (in my 20s), but wouldn't want to go back.The 4th book was weird. Le Guin wrote some very strange stuff, and I stopped looking for her books at the library. 

Another writer whose books I read once and vowed not to read again was Susan Cooper's 5-book series. It was intriguing, and is set in our world, overlapped by pre-Christian elements of spirituality and evil forces. A well-written series that flows on from other mid-century British kids' books. I vowed to leave them alone as I could see the temptation in the Old Religion, the Celtic, and what people call Wicca. I turned away from what attracted me in those. Narnia helps me keep my face turned towards Christ.

Yes, that fourth Earthsea book was awful. Some authors just shouldn't try to build on their earlier work.

The weird thing is, even though Narnia was written in the early 1950s, and Earthsea in the early 1970s, Narnia is actually more feminist and progressive!

@coracle 

I haven't read Earthsea, but from what you've said, I guess I didn't miss much. And don't we live in a time where almost anything is acceptable? Kids are exposed to witchcraft and Wicca, thanks to books, board games, TV, and movies.

Both Lewis and Tolkien did a really good on using fantasy, Narnia and Lord of the Rings, to present a spiritual warfare that we are in the midst of.