LORD OF THE RINGS vs A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE 

Don’t worry, Maddie showed me how to fix the focus issue. 😂 What series should I do next??

Daniel: "ASOIAF is an ongoing series and hasn't finished yet." We know, Daniel. We know...

Reads title and thinks, 'this is how you start wars'.

I really do like ASoIaF's magic system. Uniquely for fantasy, it makes magic feel occult and weird. You can tell Martin was a horror writer. It makes perfect sense why most people would be scared of and distrustful toward magic.

One of the themes I got from Lord of the Rings is that even the smallest person in the world can make a big difference.

*me, standing on the sidelines* "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The Silmarillion definitely reads like a history book.

The fact that there are so many series that I feel comfortable even comparing to LotR nowadays is a testament to how well the fantasy genre has evolved and proof that it is currently in its golden age.

The genius of LoTR’s plot is how simple it is. It’s a simple plot in this grand world, with an intricate story, which is why it works so well. Tolkien always knew how to balance simplicity with complexity, answers with mysteries.

Lord of the rings was the first fantasy book I ever read and always remains my favourite book of all time.

If anyone watching this has not, for some reason, watched Epic Rap Battles of History: George R.R. Martin vs J.R.R. Tolkien, do that right now! ...After you're done watching this video, of course 😋

Malazan vs The Wheel of Time

I agree with everything except for readability. I dont know why, but I have never struggled to read Tolkien, I find his descriptions fascinating and Im never bored at any point of the story, I fly through the books. I know this is not a common opinion, as far as I know only my sister agrees with me, but because of that, for me Tolkien is the winner :D

"Uses magic only as a crutch to progress his plot, as some people do" I think we all know who you're talking about, Daniel.

I find LoTR less easy to read, as it really seems it is written as though it should be read to you by your grandfather.

These comments are actually a lot more civil than I thought they were going to be lol. Nice to see nerds getting along instead of being at each other's throats! I personally like LOTR more, but then again I've only read the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series (which I am going to remedy soon) and LOTR is just kinda nostalgic for me. That being said, I completely agree with every one of Daniel's points.

14:05 I had the same problem, i'm not a naitve english speaker so reading LOTR was a very hard work for 15 years old me, the arabic translation was so bad and illogical that they translated some kind of animal to what literally means " iraqi duck" IRAQ IN LOTR!! So i had to read the english one and it was a very hard and beautiful trip, i think about reading it again to see how my english has improved.

Both Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire hold a dear place in my heart, but I think that they can’t necessarily be compared. I think Lord of the Rings being considered the standard or the grandfather of fantasy kind of makes it hard to verse it with other stories. Both are really great in my opinion; Tolkien set the standard for epic fantasy and crafted a beautiful story and world that just so awesome, while Martin has deviated a lot from those standards and seems so realistic. Both are fantastic in their own way, and I never get tired of reading them or seeing other people who love it just as much talk about it.

Love LOTR but ASOIAF is my favorite or all time. George is a great writer.

100% LotR. I love that series. My kids nursery was even Tolkien themed, complete with a painted tree of Gondor on the wall and a stylized version of Bilbo's door on his crib. Once he's out of the room to make way for the incoming child, I'll add a few more things to it.

"Gee willikers, let's pick up the Silmarillion!" 😂😂 I have actually done this on rainy afternoons! I agree on Martin getting the point for character, but ultimately I think Middle-earth will have more staying power. It's already lasted 70 some years and without it ASoIaF wouldn't exist.

Although ASOIAF is my personal favourite, I totally agree in Daniel's distribution of points and even that final one.

Tolkien reads like Poetry. It's absolutely beautiful. His writing style is instrumental to making his storys so beautiful and magical

something i like about the contrasting themes and magic systems in Lotr and Asoiaf is that they're kinda opposite in a way: Lotr deals a lot with the death of magic, while in Asoiaf magic seems to return after having been gone for a long time

The fact that is a tie while one of the stories is only half done really says something.

I love the Silmarillion! I tend to like it slightly more than LotR, both being my favourite books. I'm 23 years old, first read Tolkien at 13, and it has changed me and my life! I don't really care much for fantasy after the 1990s, otherwise.

Martin fans: SONG OF ICE AND FIRE! Tolkien fans: LORD OF THE RINGS Me: Don Quixote de la Mancha...

I totally agree with you point for point. As far as magic goes in asoiaf, TWOW will have magic amped up to levels we haven't seen yet in the series. A Dream of Spring will be the death of that magic. I believe GRRM's work will be as highly regarded as Tolkien when it's all over. It will have staying power over time as well. Tolkien is probably more favored bc it is more kid-friendly. I think people who reread ASOIAF will find more and more reasons to reread again & again. There is just so much packed in there...

I mostly just prefer the characters in ASOIAF because they are more grey. Lotr has great characters but you are either good or bad not too much in between

Honestly, I thought you were about to give the point for characters to LOTR when you warned about your unpopular opinion on that one. I thought that ASOIAF was the obvious choice? Not because LOTRs characters are bad, but it's just really well done in ASOIAF... I agree on all points with you, it's hard to compare these two, because they intend to do different things and do each of them very well. Great video!

As much as I want to clap back on LOTR readability I must admit that I slogged through Fellowship my senior year of high school and didn't return to it until after I graduated college five years later. Now It's my favorite series of all time. I've read through it twice and eagerly want to revisit it again if I can ever find a break in my TBR.

I much prefer A Song of Ice and Fire over any other fantasy series. The books are just amazing. Their foreshadowing, great history and huge lore, depth of character and the vast amount of them in the series just makes it seem so epic for me. The White Walkers, Dany and her dragons, Euron trying to literally become a god, all the other lovecraftian races and a mysterious magic system. This just resonates with me, and will always be my favourite book series of all time.

I much prefer LOTR. Asoiaf is still good tho.

That bit with the lights in the beginning... I think that officially makes you my favorite RU-vidr. It was so goddamn stupid that I couldn't help but love it.

I picked up LOTR at the age of 13 on a canal holiday in England. I devoured it, and I’m Norwegian.

I get why ASOIAF gets the point for characters. When someone asked me who my favorite character in the series is, I started off with a couple of characters, but ended naming maybe 7 characters.

Comparing high fantasy to low fantasy is a bit difficult for me as the two genres have such different feels to them. It's kinda like comparing Nine Inch Nails to Pink Floyd. While both are rock they are very different kinds of rock. That being said, what Tolkien was able to accomplish with TLOTR might never be surpassed. The world, number of races, extremely long history, overall story, languages and mythology he himself created are all stuff of legend which will never be forgotten. His style of writing and storytelling is also far beyond anything I've ever read. Reading TLOTR is mesmerizing in a way I've never experienced before. When you pick up a book and purposefully read it very slowly because it's MORE enjoyable that way you know you've got something truly special in your hands. He had the ability to say more in a few lines than most authors can say in a few pages. That being said ASOIAF is incredible. Probably the best low fantasy ever created. The amount of detail in Martin's books is beyond measure and his characters are so fleshed out it's mindblowing. The dark atmosphere of his world also has a very realistic and captivating feel to it. Every time I picked-up one of his books the atmosphere around me instantly changed. It was like everything around me became a bit gloomier. There were some pacing issues with the series thus far. While reading them I would occasionally get to long stretches I had to force myself to get through before things picked-up again. It wasn't too often but it did happen. Sometimes for quite a while. Especially in books 4 and 5. That's something you don't need to worry about with TLOTR. The two series are just so completely dissimilar though that it's just difficult for me to hold them up against each other. The style of storytelling, atmosphere, overall length and pacing, type of story (political low fantasy vs apocalyptic high fantasy) are all just very different. If they were both in the same genre of fantasy it would make much more sense to me. Please don't take offense. I love your channel and think you have great taste when it comes to fantasy. You personally turned me on to Brandon Sanderson and changed my life as a reader and I am greatly appreciative for that. (GREATLY) Keep up the good work my friend.

I disagree about Martin's writing style. I find it mesmerising. Really polished and enjoyable. But Tolkien is just.... God (Tom Bombadil).

Lotr fans pissed whenever a different fantasy series is praised instead of theirs. Game of thrones has 3d dimensional characters across the board where Lotr has like maybe 5. Don't get me wrong Sam wise is one of the greatest characters to ever be written in fantasy but again Tyrion is just as amazing. Character dialogue in got is far superior and the plot is so intricate it's not even a competition, Game of thrones is revolutionary while Lotr made the genre stale for half a century. BTW Lotr is still a masterpiece because of Frodo & Sam friendship, Depth of Tolkien's writing & Ending but that doesn't mean a song of ice and fire isn't a masterpiece. It is so ground breaking that if it ends fantastically it'll be in top 3 greatest fantasy series ever.

ASOIAF is just more my style, magic and fantasy elements in general are not as dominant as in LOTR. I just like that better.

Tolkien stands alone just for the Hobbits. If his books were destroyed in a dark age people would know what a Hobbit is.

Green Daniel: 17:27 The Hound: "Ah, come on, you cockless coward."

The Silmarillion reads like a history book, and I think that’s deliberate.

Me before the video: you fool what are you doing? Me after the video: Not bad. You narrowly avoided war

I liked GoTs but really, no contest for me, LotRs is the standard for Fantasy

I think I love Tolkien's works too much to recognise any barrier in the readability anymore. I enjoy reading LOTR so much, and most of The Silmarillion as well, so I don't think I could even judge that anymore.. 😅

Tolkien’s world building doesn’t describe food though🤷‍♂️

I see Lord of the Rings as more of the "What is Fantasy as a genre?" series. They're the books you read to learn the rules of the genre so you can break them in your own writing.

I will always go for Tolkien, his work has had such a profound affect on my life, it is the first fantasy series I read as a child, I enjoyed song of ice and fire but it felt harsh an brash compared to Tolkiens writing, when I read LotR it is almost ethereal and the themes are still so relevant to day. Did the people you spoke to enjoy the films, I wonder if different mediums can reach fantasy fans than the books can not? I have visited Tolkiens grave several times now, it is so beautiful and there is this air of all encompassing magic. I do sit and cry next to his grave, thank you Tolkien, and I wish everyone one of your subscribers ' Magic". which I still believe can be found in this world if you know where to look!

Listening to Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion on audio book, make them a lot more enjoyable, something about listening to that older way of writing is very pleasing......Also I love the Silmarillion a lot more then the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings

Agree on all points. I remember buying the LOTR books and the cashier was a huge fan and was excited for me to read them. I didn't have the heart to tell her next time that I barely finished The Fellowship. The prologue was my first indicator that the book may not be for me. Love the films and thus the story but I'm character driven, not world. ASoIaF got in my head straight away. The night I started it, I dreamt of walking the wall, it was easy to read and follow and juicy with character and plot. Each to their own.

your videos are getting interesting day by day!

Each fantasy has its great parts and it's hold backs, I like how in ASoIaF magic is a combination of tricks, illusions, human sacrifice, hive minds, skin wearing and commits. It shows that magic isn't all one thing its partly a show for religion or coin, or to create immortality and even becoming a god. Lord of the rings magic is all over the place there are no guide lines for what someone can or cannot do, and rings grant you power but different for each race, the elves have healing and nurturing powers, while men have rings for destruction, manipulation and power, all bending to the will of the dark lord, Saruman makes a ring for himself to increase his power, and hes already great at manipulating people and giving council, which he uses to change good things to evil deeds. ASoIaF in one hand is just a great read, you can see historical inspiration in alot of the characters and houses and places, but the world map itself is so unimaginative I want to rip my hair out, for Westeross you take the British isles flip it that's the north, and lower westeros is ireland upside down, the Iron Islands are the three islands off of the Jutland Penninsula essos, is the west coast of Italy, but it continues for miles west until you get to the grey wastes, the shadow mountians of mordor( I mean Ashia by the shadow) Valyria is an ancient map of Greece The map made by Christopher Tolkien looks great I don't see many things that are just real places but inverted in some way. in fact, there are several references to Lord of the rings in Westeros, in the north by the Rills you see the barrowlands. A lot of the gods in ASoIaF are taken of both inspiration from real-world religions predominantly Christianity Azor Ahai being Brutus and Nissa Nissa as Jesus. the Drowned God is a reference to baptisms in the Christian religion while drawing heavily from the cult of Dagon, and the words of house grey joy are a play on H.P.Lovecrafts "What is dead may never lie, and in strange eons, even death may die" the red god Rhlor is a play on words to the city in which Cthulu lyes in deathless sleep, and in the city of ashia there is the church of starry wisdom which is not even a play on words or referenced where a loose connection could be drawn, but the exact name of the cult in the Cthulu mythos, of Nyarlathotep, and beyond it deeper in the shadow is a gate where r'hllor resides until the ending of the world, which is another Cthulu reference. Trios is a reference to Catholicism, the seven-pointed star is the seven archangels(also Sept which is the churches for the religion translates from Latin meaning seven), Lightbringer is a reference to the warrior angel Alexander, with his flaming sword, or to Lucifer, because Lightbringer means lucifer. the obscure religion of the Sheperd worshiped by the peaceful people to the far east of Essos, is a reference to Jesus. There has also been many hints in the novels that the gods are one, the seven are considered the seven aspects of one god, R'hllor is one ("good") god against another, the Drowned god is one, which leads me to think its going to be George RR Martin ripping off Roman History, for Aurelian stating that Sol Invictus is all gods combined into one, with Constantine later painting a symbol on all the shields of his men that united the pagan gods, the Christian god and Sol Invictus, and later when he made the currency for his empire it was on one side the Chi Rho and Sol Invictus on the other. Theory Time: My thoughts are Jon in his vision in a clash of kings when he sees not an army but a people united in one cause, that might have been Mance raiders army, but I think it was an army of all peoples standing against the white walkers, because when he first gets that vision he hears Bran's voice in a warewood and the quest he was going on with the half hand, was basically so the watch could have a man on the inside of the army, and figure out their plan. The watch has known that the villages have been abandoned and that they are gathering to the king in the north, so why would Bran show Jon, something that the watch already knows about, unless he's showing him something in the future, this is the same book where Jon follows ghost into the woods where he leads him to where one of the children of the forest plants a strange horn along with obsidian daggers. When you start to look at the wolves and the dreams, the starks have its clear the wolves were given to them for a purpose so the children could control them or be controlled by them, when Jon first decides to join the watch he gets drunk and his wolf is beside him the whole time when he claims to want to join the watch, when Tyrion walks into the court the wolves growl and attack him, Arya's dog starts making a massive wolf army terrorizing the country, Robs wolf warns him about the Freys before the wedding. clearly, the Children or Bloodraven is influencing or attempting to play the game of thrones, in the leaked Mercy chapter for the winds of Winter Arya is sent to be part of a play for the faceless men, and the play is about Tyrion (which is somewhat of a rip off of Shakespeare's Richard III, but in the play Tyrion makes a deal with the stranger which is a black goatman, to kill King Robert. and then the demon possesses a bore and kills the king, now I may be reading to much into this, but Roberts death was not covered well by the books, and maybe blood raven or some powerful warg possessed the bore and killed the king, but a lot of attention is placed on the lannisters especially Lancil for killing the king, but remember all he did, was get the king drunk, which is a weird way of assassinating someone, all be it if they are also hunting, did he expect to find a bore when they were hunting?

Whilst I find Martin's work easier to read. Full of twists and interesting relationships. The sheer scale of LOTR, it's characters, lore & history just trump it for me. I also think given the time that LOTR was written it was incredibly unique! Luckily we live in a world where we can enjoy both!

This is the video I needed today! Love lotr so I’m biased lol. I also love the silm and I’m the guy that would pick it up on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It would be awesome if you could do a Stormlight Archive versus mistborn battle. I know Stormlight isn’t finished but I think it would be interesting.

In regards to your Silmarillion comment, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It's beautifully narrated and makes the 'reading' experience so much better.

Reading LOTR was kind of a task.... Reading ASOIAF.... I DEVOURED it! Depends on which style fits you best. I like the everyday, vivid writing style through the eyes of rather humanized characters. It brings the story to life to my taste.

I love both series but for me the readability point goes to lotr. I can pickup lotr and reread it completely with joy, yet when I want to reread asoiaf I never get to the 'end'...

When you dont want to alienate part of your audience *This fence is very comfortable*

I think that is not necessary compare LOTR with asoif , because tolkien's work are the best in fantasy genre.

Very good video and good points. At first I was disappointed you went with a tie, but after thinking about it, it does make sense. Both do things very distinctly their own way.

A draw?! Boo! But seriously, I wouldn't know how to parse this... I'd almost want to add extra categories as I don't fully disagree with your assessments on the given categories, but they feel lacking in what makes these two series so important to me... ASoIaF gets me on the pragmatic "this is the cruel reality of things and how you have to deal with it" side of things, while LotR gets me on the transcendent "the cruelty of reality is here, but the counterpoint is that there are greater mysteries and wonders that surpass that cruelty and give a glimmer of hope"... And I don't know how to quantify that aspect of LotR, but I know it's what makes it easier to just revisit the world and reread the books for enjoyment over and over. Meanwhile rereading ASoIaF is enjoyable, but you have to brace yourself for the roller coaster of pain inherent to the story...

Loved the 8-bit sound effects whenever a point is scored!

Loving the extra editing and the new office. I really hope going full time works out for you :)

Tolkien was so influential in fantasy I rarely even feel the need to mention him as an influence because it is obvious.

I can't believe you didn't give the point for writing style to LOTR. And I like ASOIAF's style. Tolkien's use of language is some of the best there is; I don't think accessibility for casual readers is a very important factor when judging prose.

myth vs history. Children's book vs adult only book. master vs student.

have been wanting this for ages!

Even though I am not a big fan of Tolkien nor of Martin but why I think Lotr is and should be praised that much is because Asoiaf shows how we, as people, are. however Lotr shows how we, as humans, should be.

I clicked the like button after I saw the lights

One of Tolkien's goals was to create a mythology for England-- he was writing in an era when nationalism was very important. Scandinavia had mythology, Germany had mythology, but what about England. I recommend two critics who wrote about Tolkien-- Tom Shippey and Verlyn Flieger. They'll point you at themes you may not have thought about, like how Tolkien used the Baggins'-- relatively modern people-- to ease the reader into a heroic time, or the weirdness about time-- dreams and prophecy and elves-- in LOTR. One more category for rating: emotional range. Tolkien runs from joy to horror, while Martin stays at the dark end mostly. We can hope that things get better in A Dream of Spring, but it hasn't been written yet.

English is my second language. I find that reading LoTR is waaay easier than ASOIAF.

Daniel (is it okay if i call you Daniel?) Could you cover some older Pre-tolkien stories? I have found such stories fascinating, and was wondering if you could cover such stories as Conan the Barbarian (the short stories, very different from the film) by Robert E Howard, The John carter series (which i saw you owned) and perhaps king in yellow, who influenced Lovecraft Also, i would be fascinated to hear your thoughts on Lord Dunsany, who inspired such writers as Tolkien, Le Guin, Gaiman, Lovecraft and others. It's a shame that his stories have faded into obscurity, and i think it would be interesting to see your take on it, good or ill. He does takes some getting used to, but his stories are well worth reading.

Daniel: "[GoT] doesn't use magic to blindly progress its plot like some people do." Robert Jordan: "I am aware of Mr. Goodkind."

Don't believe you find LOTR and Sylmarllion difficult to read. For me, GRRM is difficult with his numerous POVs. But like you I call it a draw.

While I love what LotR did for fantasy and I enjoyed reading it, I don't think I'd read it again. I'm glad I did because I love seeing it's influences in the fantasy I read now, but Martin's work is more my style. Also, "Gee willikers, let's read The Silmarillion!" Needs to be on a shirt. I'd wear it.

Cant argue with your take, they deserve a draw! ASoIaF will go down as a classic just like LOTR, someday, once its finally finished.. :)

For me asoiaf wins it bcz of the dialogue its too f good

Cool and insightful! Thanks!

Tolkien is probably easier for new readers as an audiobook than physically. I tried physically reading Tolkien and it was difficult but I loved the audiobook a lot and I think it brings you into the story more.

I think most of these are fair, but I strongly disagree on the Readability point. The good parts of ASoIaF are brilliant, but much of it was abject trudgery. Just how many chapters must we see Brienne wander around Westeros looking for a maid of three and ten? I enjoy both series, but I've only been able to get through Martin twice in full. Whereas I reread LOTR every year, including The Silmarillion, which has some of the best stories of all the Middle-Earth lore. Yes, The Silmarillion can be a tough read, and not for everybody, but the main trilogy does not suffer at all. The majority of A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons often erred on the side of mind-numbing and, dare I say, rambling. In my opinion, Readability is a clear point for Tolkien.

I started reading late in my life, so I started with classic literature and worked my way to other genres after that. And I must say, reading ASOIAF or LOTR is a cakewalk after something like Les Miserables, War and Peace or Crime and Punishment. Not necessary a method anyone can adopt, but for me it helped a lot.

I kinda like the poems in LOTR, I actually find it impressive. Then again, I'm not that well-versed in poems...

My dude, you've gotten so much better with your editing. Definite improvement from your earlier videos.

For a better comparison, you should read the Memory, Sorrow, Thorn series by Tad Williams. George RR Martin said the series was one of the main inspirations for A Song of Ice and Fire

Complete vs incomplete.

I was ready to go to war & fight tooth and nail for LoTR at the start of this...then by the end I just got sad again that GoT the show failed its source material so spectacularly.

What video editing software do you use?

I mostly agree with you however I would give the setting point to LotR, since in my opinion there is no setting which felt so fantastical but still so real

Those are some DOPE lights yo.

I didn't start reading ASoIaF until after GoT season 2. I fully enjoyed GoT through season 4, and overall enjoyed season 5, but that's when the big problems became evident. I enjoyed the novels, but I feel they are a bit bloated. There a quite a few side plots and minor characters which I feel could have been omitted. This is a bigger problem for me in books 4 and 5.

ASoIaF is the one series I managed to be completely hooked on. When I was reading the books everything I talked about was somehow related. I really like LotR it was awesome but I'm not nearly as invested into it as I am into ASoIaF. Martin just created a full damn WORLD and I cant get enough of that. Every little political detail, every character every map it just fascinates me like nothing else ever does. The map is amazing too imo! Not a hard choice for me :D

Idk, I always found Tolkien easy to read and so enjoyable that it reads itself. The Silmarillion I actually read like 10 times and every time I read it, it's always a pleasant and amazing experience. To me, it is definitely a rainy Saturday kinda vibe, so it's strange to see people saying Tolkien is hard to read.

Interesting analysis :) I actually disagree with the readability point - I find Martin's writing much harder to get through than Tolkien. I read LotR for the first time when I was 9, and have always loved his writing - it just fits the feeling of his world so well and I think it's beautiful. But I guess it's subjective ^^

Tolkien prose contains some of the best lines and is so undeniably...epic and grand, I actually never had a problem with it, so I personally never saw it as difficult to read :). "All about the hills the hosts of Mordor raged. The Captains of the West were foundering in a gathering sea. The sun gleamed red, and under the wings of the Nazgul the shadows of death fell dark upon the earth. Aragorn stood beneath his banner, silent and stern, as one lost in thought of things long past or far away; but his eyes gleamed like stars that shine the brighter as the night deepens. Upon the hill-top stood Gandalf, and he was white and cold and no shadow fell on him. The onslaught of Mordor broke like a wave on the beleaguered hills, voices roaring like a tide amid the wreck and crash of arms. As if to his eyes some sudden vision had been given, Gandalf stirred; and he turned, looking back north where the skies were pale and clear. Then he lifted up his hands and cried in a loud voice ringing above the din: The Eagles are coming! And many voices answered crying: The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming! The hosts of Mordor looked up and wondered what this sign might mean. There came Gwaihir the Windlord, and Landroval his brother, greatest of all the Eagles of the North, mightiest of the descendants of old Thorondor, who built his eyries in the inaccessible peaks of the Encircling Mountains when Middle-earth was young. Behind them in long swift lines came all their vassals from the northern mountains, speeding on a gathering wind. Straight down upon the Nazgul they bore, stooping suddenly out of the high airs, and the rush of their wide wings as they passed over was like a gale. But the Nazgul turned and fled, and vanished into Mordor's shadows, hearing a sudden terrible call out of the Dark Tower; and even at that moment all the hosts of Mordor trembled, doubt clutched their hearts, their laughter failed, their hands shook and their limbs were loosed. The Power that drove them on and filled them with hate and fury was wavering, its will was removed from them; and now looking in the eyes of their enemies they saw a deadly light and were afraid." Quite epic moment indeed :) hehe, and concerning the themes of the story, Lotr has mulitple layers, Tolkien himself wrote: “Anyway all this stuff is mainly concerned with Fall, Mortality, and the Machine.”

Pretty sure G.R.R.M's ability to even stand against the Juggernaut of Tolkien is a win for every fantasy reader

GoT is a political thriller, LoTR is mythology

Hi Daniel, Excellent video, and a big fan. Personally, I've found Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' to be a more absorbing read, however as a story on the whole 'The Lord of the Rings' I prefer Lord of the Rings, I found 'Feast' and 'Dance' to not quite be of the same quality as the first three books, with the world expanding just a little too much (so much so that I worry that Martin won't be able to wrap up the story in just two more books). I love the video, and I understand with all your points on both properties (I've never managed to get on with The Silmarillion, as much as I've wanted to).

I think the main problem of LotR’s readability today is because one needs a more advance or complex English vocabulary to be able to comprehend and enjoy it. Seeing as many comments with misspelled words (might be due to fast typing or autocorrect), wrong word used because it sounds similar in a sentence (like compliment when the correct one should be complement) or an inclination for abbreviated ones, which might be causing the problem in spelling words correctly, makes me think the English language education today is not that good.

i love the lord of the rings because it has languages that are rich and complex that influences the mythology and story telling. as a languages nerd that i am wholeheartedly obsessed with, i think that the lord of the rings blows the Song of Ice and Fire in this respect