A Trinity of Fantasy Literature Quiz

Answer: Rowling and Tolkien

Eoin (pronounced "Owen") Colfer was born in Wexford, Ireland. He lives in Ireland with his wife and children. Ireland is also the home of his main character, Artemis.

Tolkien was born in South Africa, but spent only his early childhood there. He came from an English family, so after the death of his father he lived in England. Rowling was born and raised in England, and settled in Scotland following some time spent in Portugal with her first husband.

to be clear, the United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ireland is a separate country.

Answer: both "Harry Potter" and "Artemis Fowl"

On his eleventh birthday Harry Potter discovers the existence of witches and wizards who live hidden from the "muggle" (non-magic) people. Artemis Fowl uncovers the secret of an underground world, inhabited by fairies. The story of the One Ring takes places in Middle Earth - a place that isn't recognizable as being a part of our world, but which includes humans.

Answer: Lord of the Rings

"Lord of the Rings" is a trilogy, i.e. it has three volumes. "Harry Potter" is a seven-part series. The "Artemis" series has already surpassed "Lord of the Rings".

Answer: Yes

In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", the sixth book in the series, we learn of the ring of Marvolo Gaunt - Lord Voldemort's grandfather - that appears to be one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes. In part seven it is revealed that the ring bears the Resurrection Stone - one of the three "Deathly Hallows".

Answer: Sindarin - an Elvish language from "Lord of the Rings"

Sindarin is one of several Middle Earth languages made up by Tolkien. Being a philologist, he made detailed descriptions of the different aspects of both spoken and written words. Thus, fans have the possibility of speaking an Elfish tongue, similar to learning a "real-life" foreign language. These descriptions enabled the creators of the "Lord of the Rings" movies to coach the actors playing elves for their dialogs.

Parseltongue is described as hissing sounds, intelligible only to Parselmouths. Though a made-up version of the language is spoken in the movies, there is no further description of it in Rowling's published works.

The Gnommish words found in some of the "Artemis Fowl" books are in fact a cypher rather than a separate language. They can be "translated" into English by substituting the symbols from the code with the respective Latin alphabet characters.

Answer: both "Harry Potter" and "Artemis Fowl"

In "Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony", Artemis and Holly Short go to the demon island of Hybras which is trapped in limbo. They later return to their own time, but by mistake "land" three years in the future, respective to the time they left.

In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" Harry and Hermione go back in time to save Sirius Black and the hippogriff Buckbeak. They use the time-turner Hermione got in order to be able to take several lessons at once.

The journey of the Fellowship of the Ring is long and difficult and it takes Frodo far from his home. There is, however, no mention of time traveling.

Answer: both "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings"

In both series there is a Dark Lord - Lord Voldemort and Sauron, respectively. They threaten to destroy everything that the hero holds dear, making the world they live in a bleak and gloomy place. Harry Potter and Frodo both have to destroy certain objects - the Horcruxes and the Ring of power - so as to be able to kill the tyrant and save the world.

The story of Artemis Fowl is not so much an epic journey as it is the story of the adventures of the young protagonist. Although Artemis usually saves someone in each of the books, his motives are often far less altruistic than those of the classic hero.

Answer: both "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter"

The wizards Gandalf in "LotR" and Dumbledore in "HP" easily match the description. The advice they give to Frodo and Harry is of great importance to the heroes' later decisions.

Interestingly, Sir Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf in the "LotR" movies, and the fictional character of Albus Dumbledore are both homosexual. The latter fact is not mentioned in the "HP" series but was disclosed by author J.K. Rowling months after the publication of the final book. These facts have started among fans a worldwide discussion of gay rights that reaches far beyond the canon works of both authors.

Answer: False

Mulch Diggums, from "Artemis Fowl", and Gimli, from "Lord of the Rings", are both important dwarf characters in their respective series. J.K. Rowling chose to merely mention this type of creature in a scene from the second "Potter"-novel, where an unnamed dwarf recites Ginny Weasley's Valentine's Day poem to Harry.

Instead, she gave some "traditional" dwarf characteristics, such as skills in magical crafts, to the more prominently featured goblin race, who are the keepers of wizarding treasures in the bank Gringotts. One particular goblin, Griphook, plays a key role in events from the final novel of the series.

Answer: Harry Potter

Love is, of course, important in all three series. However, in the "Harry Potter" books it is often pointed out as the most important quality that Harry possesses, and the one that will help him defeat Lord Voldemort. In his childhood, his mother's love saved him from the Dark Lord's attack. In the final battle against Voldemort, Harry's love saves him and all his friends.

The three fantasy series represent different aspects of the genre. The wonderful storytelling in each of them make these books a must-read for every true fan of fantasy literature.

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