Harry Potter Series, use spoiler tags please

Gamingway said:
I love the series, in my mind it is second only to Lord of The Rings as far as fantasy books I've read; however, I lost a lot of my respect for Rowling when in Book 5 she
started killing off major characters
, claiming in her interviews that there were very good reasons for it, and then including none of those reasons in the actual books.
Killing off characters
is not necessarily a bad thing in fantasy stories, but if
you get the readers to actually care about these characters first, pick them off randomly
, and then explain that it's because it makes the story more "realistic", then you've got a strange notion of what "fantasy" means. Honestly--she can have house-elves creating crazy-looking food out of thin air, but not
make a happy ending for Harry and Sirius
? That just irritated me. The level of detail she put into creating the magical world was really cool, though, and it would befit her to write further books based on the lore she teases us with in those History of Magic lessons.
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I think there's a difference between house elves creating food from nothing, and the plot. Plots have to be realistic in all genres unless the writting is surreal, and Harry Potter definitely isn't.
Things have to have some sort of logic to them, dragons in a fantasy novel make sense, having a whole group of friends fight the most powerful baddy in the world and never getting hurt doesn't make sense.
However the final battle does kill off too many characters. It seems like she has just made a list and decided that x, y and z must die. But I have no problem with Sirius' death.
 
Harry Potter is and probably forever will be one of my all time favourite series. I pride myself on knowing more than the average person about the series. Even though its over and I'm sad to see it end I will probably still re-read the entire series multiple times. To date I've read the first book probably about 50 times. I'm not exaggerating either. That's just a rough estimation. I started reading Harry Potter when the first book was released in the States. Since then I've been hooked. The thing that I think I like the most about the books is the way that it's written. The story is presented in such a way where you really do have to keep reading til the end of the series to actually understand it and be able to walk away satisfied.
 
I started reading this series when i was a kid, probably about the time that The Prisoner of Azkaban came out. Well anyways to say that i wasn't a bit obsessed would be a lie. I own all of the books, movies and books on tape. I have read all of the books multiple times and can probably quote any like. I stood in line that night until midnight to get The Deathly Hallows, and wow what a surprise that book was. Anyways, loved the series, hated to see it go. Maybe she'll start a series about Harry's kids XD.
 
I read it when I was between 10 and 14. I really enjoyed the first and second book, the third was okay, but for some reason, the fourth just lost my interest and I stopped reading all together.

I own every book though, hard covers too, thanks to my grandparents. But I have yet to read anything passed four. I like the movies a lot, though.

They're a good story and an amazing read. Just not my thing.
 
I like the first four books. The last three kept my interest but didn't entertain me as much as the first four. And I really did not like the romance that started in book six, because let's just face it, Rowling can't write it.

Book three is probably my favorite. It wasn't the usual, "kill Voldemort!" storyline and it had a lot of cool twists. And it introduced Sirius who was one of my favorite characters. Ironically, I hated the third movie because I thought it was poorly done XD.
I'll agree with Gamingway, I didn't like how Rowling just randomly killed off characters. I think it was the way she killed them off. It felt too much like "omg! (insert name) is dead! moving on! I thought Sirus was killed off way to early. He was in what? Three books? I think he should have survived until at least book 7 because he was an interesting character and we hardly got to see him. I didn't like the both Remus and Tonks were killed either because it felt like she was just trying to make another orphen with their child. I honeslty thought that Hermoine or Ron should have died XD that would have had a big emotional impact on the readers

I did like how Snape was always on Harry's side. His story was always one of my favorites.

A lot of people complain about the epilogue in book 7 because it wasn't dramatic or had a real plot. It wasn't supposed to be a whole different story, just a window in to the future so we can see what happened to the main characters.
And people complain that Ginny and Hermoine became mothers. Seriously wtf? They were in their thirties, what was so wrong with them settleling down and having kids?
 
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The only annoying thing I found about
Harry and Ginny getting together is that Ron didn't kill Harry. I know I'd kill my best friend if he started dating my sister XD

I've seen people argue about the deaths in the final book, some like Rydia think they were just irritatingly arbitary and there for shock value, others have argued that it's mean to show how arbitary death can be. I did feel that
Snape's death got a bit of short shrift though.

As for the epilogue, though I would have preferred them to have done away with it and stretch out the final chapter, I didn't hate it in the way a lot of people did.

Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire definitely still my favourites.
 
EDIT: One or two of my spoiler tags don't seem to be working, apologies in advance but you may not want to read this if you're using a white background for the site :hmmm:

Rydia said:
I like the first four books. The last three kept my interest but didn't entertain me as much as the first four.
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I have to admit, I liked reading through the last three and there were a lot of good action scenes (especially in 7); but after
Sirius died
, my whole mindset on the story changed and I lost a bit of interest in it. Because throughout the whole story, especially the first part of the series, there's so much emphasis on
the tragedy of Harry's parents being killed that ideally the way to resolve it would've been to have Harry develop a strong bond with Sirius and then go and live with him at the end of the series.
While I can understand that
Rowling wanted Harry to heal through the friendships and other relationships that happened throughout the series, it felt somewhat like Harry had gotten over his parents by the end of the series and was more concerned with what went on with his peers.
It felt too much like a change in plot direction, like it was going slightly off topic or something :hmmm:
Rydia said:
And I really did not like the romance that started in book six, because let's just face it, Rowling can't write it.
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Too true. I was completely blindsided by that, especially after there seemed to be no feelings there on his side in Book 2 :confused: And I can understand that tastes change and all, but I agree, it felt kind of forced and it was more awkward than romantic IMO. (I had actually been thinking it would be
Luna
:lew: Oh well.)

Rydia said:
Book three is probably my favorite. It wasn't the usual, "kill Voldemort!" storyline and it had a lot of cool twists. And it introduced Sirius who was one of my favorite characters. Ironically, I hated the third movie because I thought it was poorly done XD.
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I agree 100% with every word of this :yay:

Rydia said:
I'll agree with Gamingway, I didn't like how
Rowling just randomly killed off characters. I think it was the way she killed them off. It felt too much like "omg! (insert name) is dead! moving on! I thought Sirus was killed off way to early. He was in what? Three books? I think he should have survived until at least book 7 because he was an interesting character and we hardly got to see him. I didn't like the both Remus and Tonks were killed either because it felt like she was just trying to make another orphen with their child.
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Sirius
should definitely have been in longer, like I said above I really think
he should've survived the whole story :mokken:
And I actually heard somewhere that this is the exact reason
she killed Remus and Tonks--that she was trying to recreate the atmosphere of what had happened during the first bout with Voldemort when Harry was a baby. I don't really understand why she wanted to do this, because we could already get a feeling for it from listening to characters describing what had happened back then. We didn't need to see it done over :mokken:



Rydia said:
I did like how Snape was
always on Harry's side. His story was always one of my favorites.
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I LOVED his backstory :awesome: I'd always figured
he was good anyway because Dumbledore trusted him, but the part about him loving Lily from afar was really interesting.

Rydia said:
A lot of people complain about the epilogue in book 7 because it wasn't dramatic or had a real plot. It wasn't supposed to be a whole different story, just a window in to the future so we can see what happened to the main characters.
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I was very disappointed that we never learned
where Harry lived when he got out of school though :sad3:
That was something I'd been really anxious to know, since
Sirius was no longer an option but Grimmauld Place was still a vestige of him, of sorts.
And she'd said in an interview that she was going to explain what was so important about Lily's eyes, and she never did :mokken: Please, to any author, don't promise information and then leave it out :rage:
 
Surely the importance of Harry having his mother's eyes (if that is what Gamingway is asking) was
that it meant Snape didn't just see Harry's father whenever he saw Harry, and so this strengthened his vow to protect him and make sure Lily didn't die in vain.
 
Spoiler tags are not working for me, you'll have to highlight to read what I wrote.

Hmm from my understanding, the importance of Lily's eyes was that Harry had them. Snape was in love with Lily. When Harry was in his class he had to stare at them. So while he hated Harry for being his father's son and looking like him, he always saw Lily's eyes when he looked at Harry and couldn't help loving him (not in a pedo way!) and wanting to protect him. Having harry as a student was actually quite painful for him. That's why when Snape died, he wanted to look at Harry's eyes one last time so that he could see Lily. It was kind of a neat complicated relationship that Snape and Harry had.

I know that people also complain about the name Albus Severus. I thought it was sweet that Harry acknowleged that Snape was a good person in the end and honored him by naming his child after him. Who cares if the full name is ugly! He's Harry Potter's kid ffs!
 
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Oh yeah, I didn't think of that with the eyes :ffs: That makes sense though.

And I agree with Rydia, the name was really sweet ^_^
 
Harry Potter was epic. I grew up reading those books. They were partly responsible for getting me hooked on reading, so I'll always remember them for that.

I liked all of them up until The Deathly Hallows. That was just brutal to read. The fact that it didn't really involve Hogwarts as much was a huge letdown for me and the killing spree Rowling went on...*Shakes head* Pointless, pointless deaths some of those were.

Despite the subpar ending(I hated the fact that she put in Harry Potter's kids) I think I'll still rate the series as one of my favorites. Definitely worth a read.

P.S. Sirius Black is my favorite character.

P.P.S I hate the movies with a passion.
 
ive been reading HP cense I was a Kiddie!!!!
spent years waiting for books
I only ever got to get it once at midnight, and that was for DH
there was a literal MOB outside the bookstore. Fighting through it to get to the car was like straight out of a horror movie, with they're reaching clawing hands and screaming mouths. ugh

not to mention me and my sisters had out ears plugged the whole time because we were woried some dick would scream out the ending of the book. (like you know how they would do)

(P.S. I hate the movies with a passion too)
 
I do love the Harry Potter series, but only the books--the movies, not so much. D:

When The Sorcerer's Stone arrived here in Manila, my mom bought me one. I was in grade four then. It was the first novel I ever finished. :wacky: I was instantly drawn by the story and who Harry was, and when The Chamber Of Secrets came out, I was ecstatic to find out it was a series.

By far, it's the best series I've ever read/collected/finished. The mere fact that each book could have stood alone only makes it more amazing because as a whole, it all fits. After reading the last book, The Deathly Hallows, I was in tears and unlike most series I've read, I felt that the book was finished well. No loose ends.

The movies, however weren't all that great for me. I understand that the movies are only to last as long as two hours and they cater to those who haven't read the books, more than those who have but even so, I only liked The Sorcerer's Stone. It was the only one that didn't seem compressed and rushed. Unlike all the movies that followed it. I think they could have spent more effort into the details of the story, and not only the effects. I have no problem with the casting though. If anything, they were exactly as I had imagined they would be. Except for Cho Chang. LUCKY SONOFA-- :hmph:

Despite the fact that the majority of my comments on the movies were negative, I'm very sure I'll still be watching next Harry Potter movie anyway. :wacky:
 
I just started re-reading the first Harry Potter book (this time in English rather than Danish) and I have to say that I had completely forgotten what a fun little book it is. Initially I actually abandoned the series after The Prisoner of Azkaban because I thought that the books were all a bit too similar, but I might pick it up again once I finish The Philosopher's Stone. I think I was 14 when I read the last one, so perhaps I should re-read the next 2 as well :wacky:
 
you should. they are all really good books.
and after the third book the series starts to take a darker turn as Harry gets older.

the fourth book is one of my very favorites :)
 
I was actually just watching the Prisoner of Azkaban movie again yesterday, and even though it's my favorite book in the series, something about it has always irritated me: it has probably THE biggest loophole in the entire series :sad3: I just really, really can't understand why towards the end, when
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and Lupin had cornered Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack and finally captured him, WHY didn't anyone think to petrify him while they were taking him back to the castle?????
:rage: I mean ffs, they did it to Neville in the Sorcerer's Stone, and he was their friend :mokken: If even one of them had thought of it, they could've
delivered him to the dementors as planned, Sirius's name would've been cleared, and he wouldn't have had to hide out in Grimmauld Place, which has everything to do with why he gets killed in Book 5 :banghead: His death was by far the worst thing in the series for me, not only because it was sad, but because it screwed up what I had wanted to happen for Harry throughout the rest of the series :sad3: Voldemort could've come back by the hand of someone other than Pettigrew, and they still could've had to fight him at the end, but Sirius wouldn't have had to die and the Order might've had more time to prepare for Voldemort's return, if he had to take extra time to find a new servant and a new method of resurrection :mokken:
It just irritates me--and the fact that none of the characters pointed it out afterward as an afterthought (from what I recall), like "Oh crap, we should've just
thought to petrify him and float him up to the castle unconscious"
--the fact that no one mentions that in the book makes me think that Rowling either didn't think of it before she published the book, and then had to write the rest of the series around that mistake, or else she did it on purpose and was hoping no one in the audience would catch it >_> I don't know what the truth of it is, but either way, it's still irritating :jtc: Not to mention that they also had a
Time-turner introduced in that same book which could have been used to try to save Sirius in Book 5 :mokken:
It might have been more difficult than in POA but no one even mentioned wanting to try something like that. Aargh! :rage:
 
I've worked my way through the Goblet of Fire and I'm now a couple of hundred pages into The Order of the Phoenix. Did it strike anyone else as odd how long the books after The Prisoner of Azkaban are? It's not as if they include any plot points or anything else that warrants 100's of additional pages. To me it seems like the editors just stopped reading JK Rowling's books and just started publishing them as they were.

I still find them fairly enjoyable, but think they would have been better if they had been edited into a more concise format akin to the 3 first novels.
 
Order of the Phoenix is way too long (it has more than a fair amount of filler) - I think even Rowling realised that and it's no surprise that the final two books were a lot shorter.
 
charliepanayi said:
Order of the Phoenix is way too long (it has more than a fair amount of filler) - I think even Rowling realised that and it's no surprise that the final two books were a lot shorter.
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To be honest I thought that the Goblet of Fire was way too long too. I admit that it doesn't drag as much as Order of the Phoenix does (300 pages in and still not a lot has happened) but it still could have been shorter without leaving anything of vital importance out.
 
Harry's not an insufferable git though in Goblet of Fire, which may be one reason why I didn't mind the length of that book. Plus I think in general it's a lot better than Order of the Phoenix, it's my second favourite behind Prisoner of Azkaban.
 
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