on the heels of the last one

[slammerkinbabe]

But oo oo oo, I have a more interesting poll! That is to say, it's more interesting to me. That is to say... oh, hell with it.

It's the battle of the children's books! And Lord of the Rings. Um, so most of these are fantasy novels, but some are not; most are series, but some are not; most are at least somewhat specific (i.e., a specific novel or series) but sometimes it's a question about an author's general body of work. I don't know, do the best you can. It's not a perfect survey, as if one were to get nitpicky one could argue that it's hard to evaluate an author's body of work as if it were all of a piece, as it is often not. But none of you are going to get nitpicky, right? Because you love me. And because this is a stupid poll.

I never claimed to be... anything, really. In the last five minutes, anyway, and that's about the expiration date on any of my sentences, as I am flighty and whimsical and - damn! I just claimed to be flighty and whimsical.

Um, never mind? Vote in the poll? I'ma go hide now.

ETA: OMG how did I forget Madeleine L'Engle? I must go die of shame now. You can tell me which you prefer in the comments if you want.

[Poll #533240]

Comments

[shashalnikya.livejournal.com]

Madeline L'Engle, no contest.

I love love LOVE Susan Cooper and Lloyd Alexander's books. So good! And Robin McKinley is one my most favorite fantasy authors.

Best series (even after the crushing disappointment I felt when I found out it was a Christian allegory) is the Chronicles of Narnia. No contest.

[slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com]

How come you were crushingly disappointed? (This may or may not be a sly way of getting a better sense of your religious views.)

(Which I could just ask. But it's more fun to do it through kids' lit.)

[shashalnikya.livejournal.com]

Well, I just wanted it to be itself, you know. At the end, I felt like some annoying adult had been trying to Teach me Something throughout the book. But then I was able to put it behind me.

I've had moments of spirituality, some Christian and some not. At this point I'm not a particularly religious person.

[idonotlikepeas]

I had a similar reaction. Particularly in the later books, where he became so much more blatant about it; once you get down to virtually quoting passages from the Bible and sticking them in the mouths of talking animals, you've lost your touch.

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

See, I knew it was Christian allegory most of the time and wasn't too bothered. I don't think he was trying to foist his views on other people, but perhaps tell a rather universal sounding story in a different way.

It still doesn't bother me and I'm a lot more wary of Christianity now than I was as a kid (and the child of missionaries)--I still love the basic stories.

[archaica.livejournal.com]

See even though Lewis is using the Hammer of Doom I don't mind. I mean, I don't know that I want to argue *for* heavy-handed Christian allegory. But in this case, I'll let it slide.