In 2002/2003 I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on DVD with the BuDaBro, and I really enjoyed myself. Kegs'n'Eggs was the first person who said that the Harry Potter books were very good and that he enjoyed them, and I told him he was ridiculous. When I saw the DVD of the first movie, I never looked back. I didn't read any of the books until AFTER I had seen through about 4 and a half movies, so in some way my ideas were skewed while reading the books.
Were the Harry Potter books worth the craze? Abso-freakin-lutely.
There are seven Harry Potter books, and some are better than others, yet I am going to review them as a whole. When you isolate a particular book, it becomes obvious which are the better books (more interesting, easier to read, etc.) but my official position is that you could not possibly remove one book from the series without severely crippling the overall story and world created by J.K.Rowling.
The first book, like A New Hope, is your standard introduction to the basic characters. This book is the shortest of them all, has the least character development, yet it gives you a great idea of the Harry Potter World, and who the players are. After the first book it's established that (A) Harry Potter has a lot of issues he'll have to deal with (B) Lord Voldemort is a bad dude, and (C) Albus Dumbledore is your prototypical protagonist wizard ala Galdalf, Merlin, or even Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The books are as follows, along with my abbreviations for the books:
Year 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (SS)
Year 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (CoS)
Year 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (PoA)
Year 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (GoF)
Year 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (OotF)
Year 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HBP)
Year 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (DH)
I have personal opinions regarding the books, and I will be giving them, while at the same time not trying to spoil any of the story lines. We'll see how well that goes!
To pick up where I left off, after reading all of the books, I have to say that J.K.Rowling did a truly amazing job in answering every question I could have possibly had with regards to the series. I was actually upset at the end of the books, not because it wasn't enough information, but because I enjoyed drilling through these books so much that now that I was done I was quite annoyed! After finishing the 6th book, which at the time had been my favorite book in the series by a long shot, I had a list of questions that I needed to have answered in Book 7. If those questions weren't answered, I would have been very annoyed.
The reason I think J.K.Rowling did such a great job with the series of books is because all the questions I had in finishing Book 6 could have been answered in the first 50 pages of Book 7, but they weren't. I was denied those answers, and in return I was given another series of issues that made DH a complete book in its own, not just a conclusion. At the end of Book 7, all the questions were answered, so yeah, I was happy. I had MY questions answered in spades, and I had other issues I never thought I'd care about brought up and resolved as well. The Harry Potter books represent a progression of Harry's maturity. As the books progress, the issues become more intense and less juvenile, and there is more information. They're written almost as though someone reading Book 1 could grow up and always be age appropriate for the Books as the issues became more "mature". I am 25 years old. I enjoyed the books.
For those of you that don't know, Harry Potter is raised by his aunt and uncle (who essentially treat him as an indentured servant/slave). Harry finds out on his 11th birthday that his parents were wizards and that he is to be trained at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason Harry is raised by his (strictly human) aunt and uncle is because his parents were murdered by a powerful dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. And guess what biotches, Lord Voldemort was never matched as an equal until he met Harry's parents, but when he attempted to kill the infant Harry, something happened that gave Harry a scar, and destroyed Lord Voldemort. And guess what now, Lord V ain't dead. He's just plotting and gaining power. That's what the books are about. Lord V making Harry Potters life a living hell, Harry learning more about his and his parents past, and constantly being thrust into risks and responsibilities that shouldn't be his, especially at his age.
Here is my list of favorite books from the series:
#1: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This book was just a complete book, and it didn't disappoint. As I said before, issues were brought up that I never cared about, but they were what MADE the series. Can't say anymore, read books 1-6, then read 7, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
#2: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
This book occurred late in the series, and after a lengthy 5th book with seemingly minimal substance, this book was filled from cover to cover with substance. Book 6 and Book 7 were possibly written or at least outlined at the same time, because there are absolutely no holes between the books. Flawless. The issues brought up in this book are incredibly well thought out and never once did I feel as though this book was going on for too long.
#3 & #4: Books 2 & 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets/Prisoner of Azkaban
I would have to give Chamber of Secrets the edge, but only because it is a book that has effects through the rest of the series that aren't quite clear while reading it. The events that occur in these books are complex, but they are still the shortest books other than Sorcerer's Stone. The final events in CoS have a direct impact in the series finale, and PoA marks the point where the books begin to really involve Harry's dark past, as well as underscoring his darker future.
#5: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The "New Hope" of the HP series. If this book fails, the 2nd book is never written, and you never get to the penultimate Book 7. Mad props. Starting the book, even though I had seen the movie previously, Harry's questioning of the events before him was quite clear. Hagrid's first appearance, and then the walk through Diagon Alley are probably the scene's that sold me on the book. Also, the scene in front of the mirror (SPOILER ALERT) with Harry and Dumbledore has future references of being probably the only time that Dumbledore lied to him, awesome.
#6: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This might be longest book (page and word-wise) in the series, while at the same time having so little happen. (SPOILER ALERT) Seriously, if Lord V and Harry are the only two who can obtain the prophecy, and Lord V shows up at the damn ministry anyway, why would he need Harry to go there at all? Answer me that, and then I will bump this up in the ratings. But you can't, because I'm correct. My opinion of this book is that most of the actual plot could have been covered in about half the amount of actual book, but the truth is that this book is incredibly important to setting up the final two chapters. There is a lot of nothing that happens, while at the same time this book is heavily referenced in Books 6 and 7. It's just unfortunate that while reading this book the actually plot has nothing to do with it's actual worth.
#7: Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Three, count them, THREE event in the Tri-Wizard tourney, AND NO QUIDDITCH?! WHY?! Only two people out of the school couldn't participate in Quidditch for that particular year because they had to participate in three events (with months in between), and there had to be no Quidditch for the entire school? C'mon! The BuDaBro told me this was his favorite book, it is by far and away my least favorite. Harry spends most of his time slacking off, and unlike the movie, does very little for himself to achieve (SPOILER) total victory. The beginning and end are the best part of the book because of how vivid they are, but the middle (Chapter Two thru the final Tri-Wizard event) are fairly boring.
All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed this series. Even the "bad" books kept me interested. Favorite characters would be difficult to list, especially without giving anything away, but Harry is definitely worthy of having a series of books named after him by the end of the series. Beyond that, you'll have to find out who to love and hate for yourself.
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