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