DarthTimmy84 t1_iujcksj wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:38 PM

Depends on how you define "Impact". If you're talking about children/young adult/fantasy literature and the Impact of stories in that genre, the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's influence and impact on writers such as George R.R. Martin and Neil Gaiman who have both released some of the best fantasy stories of all time kinda deserves to be mentioned..Tolkien also influenced the creating of famous video games such as Zelda! JK Rowling has been tight lipped on Tolkien's influence on her works, but you see it here and there as well. That being said, I do believe that JK Rowling is indeed the best selling fantasy author of all time, and there is a good reason why. The Harry Potter stories are fine works, but she hasn't yet reached the status of influencing others to create works that are considered classics in their own right or transcend genres and entire mediums, like Tolkien has. She'll get there though..in time.

TelemachusBaccus t1_iujf8kn wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:55 PM

Rowling is the best selling author because she took the more exciting bits of LOTR, essentially dumbed them down and made them highly marketable. Not a criticism but i think it explains her success

DarthTimmy84 t1_iujhuof wrote on October 31, 2022 at 8:13 PM

Yes, you might be right! Also, perhaps part of Rowling's success stems from the change in global markets, economy and digital media since Tolkien's time. Rowling, along with other newer writers, are able to tap into a literature market that is part of our now globalized and digitized economy which makes their works accessible no matter how niche of a work they may publish. Rowling's works, even when initially published, were able to be purchased and read by folks on opposite ends of the planet in a matter of seconds at best, or in a few weeks' time at worst. Also the tightly interwoven relationships between internet, film and literary media that we now take for granted, gives newer writers such as Rowling the advantage in getting seen and known easier over older writers such as Tolkien who had to wait for a ship to leave the docks or a plane to leave the airstrip for his books to travel...