Re:Harry Potters for nerds
I seem to be reading more and more children’s books recently. Harry Potter being only one series of the many.
Of the huge number I’ve been reading, this series is certainly one of the better ones. Although i have to say that Tamora Pierce holds her own as well with her books about the Tortall universe. (her newest book is coming out in two weeks, and i’m not ashamed to say that i’ve already booked my copy, and plan to spend the day reading. yay!)
But as for HP being a rip off of star wars – nope, if anything it’s drawn from Lord of the Rings. Been reading that recently too, for a class at uni, and the number of things that jump out, being familiar from the recent readings of HP are huge.
But, for me, that just makes them even cosier. Almost familiar in a way. Because, although they may have bits and pieces of other books, they’re still pretty unique in the way they capture the imagination.
I have to say, of everything, i have two gripes:
1. A basalisk is not a serpent, it is a lizard creature. grr, all through the second book i was really angry, or at least after the part they started talking about it. I mean, that’s a really huge mistake, that could have been easily rectified. It also gives those with no idea of mythological beasts wrong concepts.
2. The fifth book is much like the second lord of the rings movie, in the sense that it’s a filler. There’s nothing really there that is huge. Sure, someone dies, Voldemort comes back to power, and Harry goes through some teenage angstyness, but it’s still all just filler. You’re really left hanging at the end of it, rather than it being a story unto itself as the others are.
Not so impressed as i was with the others, but still hanging out for the next one.