[Cailín]

Now why do you feel so strongly that Snape is evil, Glirdan? Personally, I have never doubted him, but I may be blinded since he is my favourite character. It all comes down to trusting Dumbledore, as is said by Lupin in book six too - if Snape is evil, Dumbledore has failed in the end, and not only that, he has shown weakness by pleading for his life. I just cannot believe that. But that is not entirely relevant here, I suppose.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

One thing both Tolkien and Rowlings do have in common is their ability to leave us wanting more, from leaving us hanging by a thread. Rowlings has developed this in the later books of the series which have been much more accomplished and dark, whereas Tolkien seemed to have developed this ability from the start - was this a result of his having written all three books at once, in comparison to Rowlings' more gradual writing process?

It is evident from JK Rowling's writing that she, unlike Tolkien, did not know how exactly things were going to end from the start. She obviously had a general idea, but she has herself admitted that some things did not work out the way she wanted them to work and there are several continuity mistakes to be found in her novels. They are few, though. I'm not sure whether I agree Tolkien leaves you hanging by a thread as much as Rowling does - I actually find the cliffhangers and red herrings in the Potter series far more agonizing, but that may be because Lord of the Rings is such a familiar story. I do agree that JK Rowling has grown as an author since she started writing the first book, while Tolkien's style remained consistent throughout (arguably not in the first few chapters that seem to have some "Hobbit" influence).

What makes Tolkien, in my opinion, superior to most and possibly all fantasy authors is that he wrote his trilogy in one go. It happens so often that a series goes astray just because the author wishes to publish and thus sell more books or does not dare to abandon a familiar setting… Of course, Tolkien did the same thing but Lord of the Rings is still done and can easily be read and enjoyed as a complete work.

As for their return to Hogwarts... well, whether Harry returns or not, JK Rowling has to (and has already gradually been doing that) let go of the structure of the previous novels. It should be interesting.

Now, this from Cailin makes me feel really old. I was a fan of the Lord of the Rings long before there was a Harry Potter.

Tar, it has little to do with feeling or being old. I just read Tolkien rather… later than most people here. You can actually look up the exact date I started reading: it's the same day I made my 100th post on the Downs.