Harry Potter

[seebs]

I enjoy them. They're not great literature, but better written than many books written for children. Harmless fluff.

 

[realitychick]

I just pre-ordered the final book >>>EXCITED<<<

 

[Morcova]

If this stuff promotes witchcraft, it certainly is doing a poor job. Not one of us has become a witch, nor have we shown any interest in doing so.

Read the books again. But only read every fourth word.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

i would disagre to a point. Jordan does borrow from quite a bit in themes but that is nothing new. That is actually one thing i liked about the series is connecting the paterns. Seeing king arthur and dune and LOTR in the series was neat.
As for the lotr connection. the only connection i saw was that they were being chased by badguys. Same as in starwars. same as in harry potter.
There is no doubt that he was inspired by past literature but i would hardly call it stealing, inspired maybe.

Well, what of that old beggar (forgot his name - it's been a while since I've read the book) who was twisted by the Dark One in order to become his unwilling tracker, sensing the presence of the hero? - Gollum, gollum!

The mentor and the farm boy-turned-superhero are indeed clichés that can be found elsewhere (*cough*Eragon*cough*), too, but that doesn't necessarily redeem them.

Well, fantasy depends upon intertextuality, without doubt, but if you choose templates that are too obvious and cannot manage to make them your own rather than just presenting them as random snippets borrowed from here or there, the whole thing doesn't work.

That said, I could have lived with the stereotypes if Jordan had made up for it by introducing strong characters. Unfortunately, his bossy females didn't accomplish that.

 

[ImaginaryVoyager]

Read the books again. But only read every fourth word.

Hmmm. I just tried that with the first couple of pages of the first book, and I must admit I do have a strange urge to go to the zoo and talk to the snakes

 

[Rebekka]

Read the books again. But only read every fourth word.

That made me laugh out loud. BTW I love what your character is wearing on his head.

 

[elsbeth]

I've read them all, as has my oldest son (who was Harry's age when the 1st one came out). My younger son lost interest after the 3rd or 4th book. The first few books were better, in my opinion. I think that, like a lot of authors, Rowling is having a hard time keeping everything tied together and wrapping it all up. I still think they are a good read.
Like pretty much anything that my kids read/watched when they were little, we talked about the good and bad in the stories.
On the movies: like the other works of fiction mentioned, the movies NEVER are as good as the books.

 

[KittyPryde]

Not my cup of tea. No problem with it. My kids love it.

Of course, I have no problem with children and adults having active imaginations. It is a good thing in moderation.