Harry Potter Novels

[Darthshearer]

Are these any good or are they pants? I aint seen the films, and I was wondering what all the fuss was about when people are queing up at 2am to get a copy.

So are they worth a read?

 

[Doh_boy]

They're enjoyable fluff. I usually read them really quickly for some light entertainment. Good stories but not particularly deep.

 

[Covenant]

They're enjoyable fluff. I usually read them really quickly for some light entertainment. Good stories but not particularly deep.

Agreed, they're a good read. Don't expect anything like Magician or Farseer, but for enjoyable, lightweight reading, they're worth the money.

That said, I read HP5 in 8 hours when it came out

 

[Darthshearer]

HP5!!! Man how many are there? I only thought there was a couple of them!

 

[Vae]

5 books at the moment and I think 7 are planned in all to conincide with the 7 years he spends at school. Oh and they keep growing in size. The 5th is about 6 times the size of the first one. JK Rowlings so popular and thus has so much power the publishers couldn't get here to reduce the length of the story.

They are a good childrens book and enjoyable for adults too, but as mentioned above don't expect Magician etc. The themes are very much aimed at children/teenagers.

JK Rowling has managed to combine several themes together which has made them so successfull.

Boarding school away from parents (a la Billy Bunter).
Boy who is rejected by family now has magic powers.
The wish of all children to have something special and be able to do something others can't.
The whole magic/fantasy ideas which attract the imagination.

 

[Yoni]

I think each book gets deeper. For me The Goblet of Fire was fantastic (that is the fourth book) the fifth book Order of the Pheonix rambles a bit but it is the preamble to the finale which will occur over the final two books.

 

[leggy]

Formulaic, predictable pap imo

If you want to read some excellent "childrens" novels get a hold of Philip Pulman's Dark Materials trilogy. It takes Harry Potter and uses him like some charmine ultra.

I have not been gripped with books like this for years.

 

[Vae]

I thought I should read TDM to see what all teh fuss was about and although I enjoyed them I didn't rate them that highly tbh. HP is more targeted at children than TDM but HP I think is, imo, superior.

 

[Jupitus]

If you want to read some excellent "childrens" novels get a hold of Philip Pulman's Dark Materials trilogy. It takes Harry Potter and uses him like some charmine ultra.

I'd strongly recommend the latest offering from Louise Arnold, tbh.


No pressure now, eh Damini?


/pimpage

 

[Uncle Sick]

*attack of teh suck ups!!1*

I wish he would talk about me like that. But I have only my body to sell.

 

[Doh_boy]

While I've only read the first of HDM I like it but don't think it's as good as HP. I prefer the main character (can't remember her name) and the concept is kinda cool but comparing how much I enjoyed each book hp is miles ahead.

 

[leggy]

While I've only read the first of HDM I like it but don't think it's as good as HP. I prefer the main character (can't remember her name) and the concept is kinda cool but comparing how much I enjoyed each book hp is miles ahead.

with that logic it would be fair to judge the entire harry potter series on the first novel. Which we all know was an average childrens novel. The series didn't really pick up until book 3.

If you had taken the time to read the second two novels of HDM you would have seen how totally superior it is to HP. Pullman's imagination and attention to detail is astounding.

/edit

sorry I didn't mean for this to become a "who's best" thread as it's all personal opinion. Please carry on with the Harry Potter discussion.

b00k 4 4 teh wi!n!

 

[Covenant]

If you had taken the time to read the second two novels of HDM you would have seen how totally superior it is to HP. Pullman's imagination and attention to detail is astounding.

HDM is a good series, however (DON'T read the spoilers if you haven't read the books yet!) :

Spoiler

The ending, what with everything else that has built up through the series, felt rushed when I read it. Almost like he was under pressure to finish and got writers block.

The whole war against the Authority and the Metatron, and yet the Authority's glass box gets smashed and whump, he's gone - no special event, nothing to show that they've just killed God - wouldn't you think something impressive would happen?

Like I said, it's a good series with a caveat. Personally, I think JK Rowling does a better job in the later books of the series. She does a good job of keeping the recurring plot elements together through the books, as well as developing the characters.

All in all, we could go round and round forever . I've heard the Artemis Fowl books are pretty good, too - anyone read them?

 

[Doh_boy]

with that logic it would be fair to judge the entire harry potter series on the first novel. Which we all know was an average childrens novel. The series didn't really pick up until book 3.

If you had taken the time to read the second two novels of HDM you would have seen how totally superior it is to HP. Pullman's imagination and attention to detail is astounding.

/edit

sorry I didn't mean for this to become a "who's best" thread as it's all personal opinion. Please carry on with the Harry Potter discussion.

b00k 4 4 teh wi!n!

I would but I refuse to buy anymore books since I have a pile of more than ten which I bought and have not read yet. I can't find them but when I do I 'll read them THEN buy the second (Two?).

 

[inactionman]

Tried reading the first HP book, failed miserably! I found it extremely derivative with no new ideas at all, or even a new slant. Have no idea why it's doing so well, as it just seems to be an update of the worst witch. Maybe I read too many fantasy books!