I voted for CoN, and Narnia.

Like De_De said, I started reading it, and I just got bored. Also, LOTR is a bit dark compared to Narnia, if you get what I mean.

~Queeny

yeah there are parts of the lotr books where not much happens, whereas in the CoN it moves very quickly.
But just thinking about the stories alone (and not the movies or how the books are written), I like Lotr a little bit better (I play the lotr onine game every night after all, lol).
Both are the best two fantasy worlds ever created though

it wasd really hard for me to choose.....I love LOTR and Narnia almost the same amount!

Narnia all the way!

LOTR did nothing for me.

I did not find any female character in LOTR that I identified with- to the point that my fave character in it is Gandalf the Grey.

On the other hand, Narnia has Aravis Tarkheena

I vote Narnia!!!!!! I never cared much for Tolkien, I read the Hobbit as well as all the LOTR books and they didn't do much for me. Also reading Narnia was easier Lewis uses a simpler language i guess

This one is a tough one. LOTR is a more detailed world (and I love the LOTR movie), but Narnia is my first love. So I voted for Narnia.

With myself knowing more about Narnia than LOTR, and having only just recently watched the LOTR movies, I voted for Narnia.

Narnia is indeed much easier to read than LOTR; I've tried reading The Hobbit, and that was even hard for me; I've heard the LOTR books are even harder to read.
But because of that, LOTR is so much more in-depth than Narnia is.

I also agree that the LOTR movies are better than the Narnia ones, for various reasons. So I suppose that I should of voted for LOTR in the poll - but seeing as I am such a fan of Narnia, and know so little of LOTR, I decided to vote otherwise. =]

Zohmigosh this was SO hard to decide on. In the end I went for Narnia, for the oure reason that I'm on a Narnia website at the moment and I've been having a Narnia themed day today! But to be honest, you can't really compare the two books, they're both so different. I love them both personally- the Lord of the Rings had such an epic adventure, and it gave my imagination a lot to work with. It also gave me lots to read, and a whole new new language to learn (i ADORE elvish.) Then there's Narnia, with all it's mythical creatures, that give the books a beautiful atmosphere, and the religious side to the books. I also loved the way C.S Lewis created such a being as Aslan- his realness and awesomeness in unparalleled in anything I've ever read or heard about.
I applaud both authors for creating such incredible worlds.

I voted for Narnia because I find it an easier and there for more enjoyable read when compared with Tolkien's LOTR but I have to say that I believe the LOTR deserves serious credit. The LOTR is not just a story, it is a work of art and it contains so much. There are so many lessons to be learned from the LOTR. It is deep and complicated but that is all a part of it's beauty. I read an essay today in Ursula LeGuin's "The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction" about how Tolkien's stories were beneficial because they held so much truth in them in that the characters are seemingly good or bad but in reality they are reflections of each other and that...well, I am not that best at explaining such things but reading the article really helped me to have a greater respect for the stories.

I voted for Narnia.

I do really like LOTR, it's up there in my favourites pile, but I couldn't vote for it over Narnia, for several reasons. Firstly, I read Narnia first, when I was still quite young - I built up the world in my head (and it's pretty awesome). I don't have to really think about it anymore, it's just there. Whereas with LOTR I'm like 'Ok, so they're walking this way because someone's cutting them off over here and they're meeting so-and-so and this looks like that and it's cold and the ground's like this . . blah . . mulerblu' . Sometimes it can get a little full-on, but that is one of it's redeeming factors too.

Also, I only read LOTR after the films came out - I don't think I was able to really submerge myself in the books and create a little space in my mind for them.

So, basically, my answer isn't to do with the books, per say, but how lazy I am and when exactly I read them!

I voted Narnia.

I loved The Hobbit. About five years ago, I tried to read LOTR: Part 1 and had nightmares ... twice. I gave the book away and haven't missed it.

I was exposed to Narnia first. I saw the BBC movies in the late 1980s. Then I read the books. I love the biblical parallels--allusions and themes. There's nothing like this in LOTR.

I thought I'd share the following quote by C. S. Lewis. He compared marshwiggles to hobbits. Letter to Francis Anderson, 23 Sept 1963, Collected Letters: Volume 3, ed. Walter Hooper, pp 1458-60:

I don't think a marsh-wiggle is like a hobbit. The hobbit is essentially a cheerful, complacent, sanguine little creature. If Puddleglum is like any of Tolkien's characters, I'd call him 'a good Gollum.' (1460)

So ... your thoughts?

I love the biblical parallels--allusions and themes. There's nothing like this in LOTR.

A minor curiosity here but if you've never finished reading the story... how would you come by that conclusion? LOTR does have multiple Biblical themes; some of them are rather obvious. True, they aren't as blatantly allegorical as some of Narnia's illustrations but they are there.

Maybe you could give it another try sometime?

Hmm... I kinda wish there was an "I can't decide!" option for this poll because I don't think I can choose. It really is a tough question once you go through all of the cultures, worlds, and characters that each author created. Each one is so unique and well-crafted that it's hard to determine which one is better.

If it were a choice of favorites... well, that would still be hard too.

Didn't the last Narnia v LotR poll have a third option?

I guess I can't vote if I can't vote for both .

Both series are exceptional in their own right, and each author has their own style of telling us these archetypal stories. I love the historical and linguistic depth of Middle Earth (though we get a hint of that in The Magician's Nephew too); and I love the cozy comforting feeling (like drinking Hot Chocolate) of Narnia (though I kind of get that feeling from The Hobbit too).

I have to hand it to TOM for her excellent (and lengthy ) post a few pages back. Brilliant Analysis. Not certain I agree completely with Tolkien that his Valar and Maiar are precisely analogous to angels though. As TOM points out he was rather stung by barbed queries regarding a Christian writing books with Wizards in, so it would be only natural for him to be a little defensive about it.

In his original concepts as recorded in earlier versions of stories in the Silmarillion, Tolkien's Valar were more like Nature Spirits and the Maiar had yet to be conceived of. Also, unless I'm mistaken, I don't recall Biblical Angels taking an active part in Creation. That act of co-creation by the Valar definitely makes them sort of "sub"-gods (though they are themselves created beings) and Eru the Godhead. Which definitely makes Middle Earth's Cosmology a blend of Christian and Pagan thought (a "Baptized" form of Paganism though, with a clearly Singular Godhead).

Likewise with CS Lewis, for all the obvious Christian elements in Narnia he has many equally obvious Pagan elements, including fauns, centaurs, Naiads and Dryads, a "river-god", and a "god of Time" who would awaken at the End of Days, among many other characters and concepts. Accordingly, Lewis also saw his beloved Myths as "Baptized" in Christ.

It's these Magical Mythical blends that drew me in as a child and keep me captivated as an adult to both series. Choose one above the other. As If...

GB

I had to vote for LotR... I LOVE Narnia, but having read the Hobbit and The Fellowship first (I was a very advanced reader), I had to vote for them. It's a hard choice, really. Narnia was kind of my 'dream world', but Lord of The Rings was like a refuge to me.

Each series has it's own style so to speak. Narnia is a beautiful land, while Middle Earth is war torn.

If I could I would vote for both! But for now, it's LotR!

--Melian

PS: My name comes from the Silmarillion. It's the name of the Maia who was the wife of King Thingol the Elf at Doriath.

Hmm, that's a hard decision since they are both so epic. But I think I really don't have much reason to say the LOTR is the best because I've only seen the Movie, and haven't read the books (well I read most of the Hobbit, and part of The Fellowship) And since I'm pretty sure that this is going by books and not the movie, I'll probably have to vote Narnia. Plus the Christian Message is much more clearer in Narnia.