This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

"I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way."
-- Frodo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

"There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it."
-- Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

In the late 1920s, J.R.R. Tolkien started writing a fantastical story about magical creatures known as hobbits, elves, and dwarves, in a made up world he called Middle Earth, for the benefit of his children. The work he completed, The Hobbit, became the prelude to one of the great literary masterpieces of all time -- The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some 70 years later, J.K. Rowling started writing a fantastical story about a different set of magical creatures known as witches and wizards, in a not so made up world called England, for the benefit of her daughter. That book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone here in the States), and the six books that followed in the series, have made Rowling the wealthiest woman in the world.

The authors share many similarities. Both are British, use initials in place of their first names, are famous for one major literary contribution (although Rowling, having the benefit of still being alive, will have many years to change that), and have had cinematic empires based on their works.

Continue reading Money Face-Off: JRR Tolkien vs. JK Rowling

Money Face-Off: JRR Tolkien vs. JK Rowling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Harry Potter ending: A water cooler cheat sheet

Harry Potter ending: A water cooler cheat sheet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Spoiler alert - if you have not yet read the conclusion to the Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, you may want to skip this post, in which the ending is discussed.

For companies such as publisher Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ:SCHL), the US publisher of the books, Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), whose Warner Brothers Studios produces the hugely profitable Harry Potter movies, and General Electric's (NYSE:GE) Universal Studios, which will open a Harry Potter theme park in 2009, the seventh and final Harry Potter book must have come as a great relief.

Despite rumors to the contrary, the title character did not die, and thereby cast a pall on the series and its offshoots. Rather, as I expected, Harry prevailed, and in general the core cast lived happily ever after. Even Snape, as I predicted, achieved redemption, but at a mortal cost.

In the coda to the novel, Harry Potter and his wife, the former Ginny Weasley, watch their children depart for Hogwarts. Also placing their children on the Hogworts train are Harry's best friends, the married couple Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger.

This final scene, nineteen years after the climax of the book, will no doubt inspire a great deal of conversation, as it keeps open a couple of possibilities for future novels in the Potter universe. Harry is still young enough to have more adventures, perhaps as he takes on the role of the era's greatest wizard, much as Albus Dumbledore was in Potter's youth. Rowling could also, should she decide to continue the series, reboot the series with the next generation of Hogwarts students.

I don't expect her to return to the Potter storyline for a long time, if ever, but the lure will always be there; a huge, thirsty audience ready to demonstrate their devotion with their pocketbooks.

Gallery: Everybody loves Harry Potter

Rowling safeguards Potter empire originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boy wizard to magically lift Scholastic shares again? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.