As a fan of both series (Breaking Dawn was highly disappointing though) I am perplexed and a little annoyed by the constant comparisons made between J.K. Rowling's masterpiece and Stephenie Meyer's vampire love story for teens. I like both for different reasons and they are very different books yet certain lazy journalists can't see past the fact that both series are written by women and have a fantasy theme. With the impending Twilight movie sending the rabid fans into hypertension, I thought I'd do an equally lazy smack-down!
The leading men:Harry Potter - The eponymous wizard with the iconic scar and wild hair is going to be remembered for years to come. He's a brave young man, a guy who will do anything to protect those who he loves. He's had a lot of hardship and occasionally sinks into angst (which was annoying in OotP) but you can't help but love him. The final 100 pages of Deathly Hallows showed just how much Harry meant to me.
Twilight - Edward Cullen is your typical 108 year old virgin vampire, one with issues. He's incredibly loving and passionate about Bella but knows he is dangerous. He can't decide whether to love her or eat her alive! In Twilight I adored him, Breaking Dawn not so much. He sort of became nothing. He's in many ways your typical Victorian style leading man. One that sparkles in the sun.
The leading ladies:
Harry Potter - Forget all about the movies and remember how amazing Hermione Granger is in the books. At first she was a show-off geek but she matured into a wonderful, loveable, smart and ambitious character. In many ways I related to her, from boy troubles (and the best case of yearning love ever) to school worries and desperation to do your best. With her frizzy hair and mismatched teeth, there was nothing perfect about her and I loved that!
Twilight - In the first book, I loved Bella Swan. She was the epitome of teenage desire and isolation as well as your typical Miss Average with wishes to stand out. But in the later books, she turned into a completely whiny, self centred, manipulative cow! By Breaking Dawn, she was almost unbearable, thank god the narrative changed sides for a bit.
The supporting goodies:Harry Potter - There are too many fantastic characters here to name - Ron, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Luna, Neville, Lupin, Sirius, Tonks, The entire Weasley clan (not so much Ginny), they were well written, all brought somethying unique and special to the series and I grew to love so many of them. When the series ended, I was so sad. I knew I'd never get to hear anything from then again and if you think that's weird, fine, but they lightened up my life so much.
Twilight - The Cullens are perfect. Almost too perfect. The whole point of being a vampire is that you become superhuman but it was a little boring to read in places. I loved Alice because she was fun, enjoyed her life and was dedicated to her family. But they don't resonate as much with me as anybody in HP. Jacob Black - don't like him. He was a manipulative little sod. I didn't mind him so much in BD but he did something really creepy that made me hate him again.
The baddies:Harry Potter - You-know-who... how many times have you heard that over the years? Did you get as scared as me when he rose back to life in Goblet of Fire? Or did you scream with anger when Wormtail escaped? How about Bellatrix's murder of Sirius? Or Lucius Malfoy's basic sneering? The baddies are the ones you love to hate. Rowling did that so well. The ambiguity of Snape was amazing, it kept me guessing to the end. Draco's different side in Half Blood Prince was a favourite of mine. It wasn't all about 2 dimensions with this series, you could see the characters as you read along. And when you're reading the books at 3am that's scary!
Twilight - The villains suck! They're so dull, have no motivation of any originality, and they weren't scary. A mis-step for Meyer. She's stated that the series isn't about the action but the romance - then why write it in?
The action:Harry Potter - From the search for the Philosopher's Stone, to fighting the Basilisk, the Tri-Wizard tournament, Dumbledore's Army, searching for the Horcruxes and the final battle, it never stopped! The final Hogwarts Battle is one of the best things I've ever read. I cried, I cheered, I gasped with shock and disbelief. If it got any more intense I would have been using my book as a shield. Perfect.
Twilight - As I've stated, the series isn't about the action. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it really annoyed me in Breaking Dawn because she just drops it at a high for no reason.
The romance:
Harry Potter - We spent 7 books waiting for Hermione and Ron to admit they were made for each other. It was worth almost every page. I loved the chase, the yearning looks and the denial that continued until that kiss! Harry's love life was less exciting - Cho was a whiner and Ginny is a bit of a slut.
Twilight - Love is where Meyer is in her prime. I loved hearing Bella's love for Edward, their difficulties and the knowledge that they were truly meant to be together. It was best in the first book before they introduced Jacob and made it a triangle. You know perfectly well that he isn't for her. He was just a third wheel. My only snag with Bella and Edward is that Bella really riles the screaming feminist in my head. She gives up everything for Edward, doesn't care that it might hurt her family, becomes a self pitying emo-like mess without him and really goes against the belief that you don't need a guy to be happy. She was obsessive. The love is best in book 1.
The fans:Harry Potter - I read the book for the first time aged 8 or 9 and it was the first book that made me change my thinking about the entire world of literature. I wanted to talk about it all the time but nobody else ahd read it. I've always loved seeing what the fans have to say, enjoying the theories and the fanfiction for characters. I felt the pain shared by millions when it all ended. I am so damn proud to call myself a Potter fan.
Twilight - The Twilighters, or Twi-Hards are mental. There's no other word for it. I actively encourage enthusiasm for literature but the rabid ones scare me. They just can't fathom that people are allowed to dislike the books and they get mad! They get too vicious with people who don't have the exact opinions that they do. They're so weird that they've inspired the Anti-Twilight movement! That isn't the point of fandom, they give book sluts a bad name!
The Winner!
No question. It's Harry Potter. I can't place enough importance on these books in my life. Without them, my childhood would have been a lot duller and more difficult. Twilight was a nice little rest stop but no other series will be was important to me as Harry Potter.
