Book 5: when "Harry Potter" nuked the fridge

[Silvercrest]

Good points!

Wikipedia says that Charlie's task in the Order was to rally support abroad. I have to admit that covers some of my objections, even if it isn't discussed very much.

I don't think it was ever discussed whether Durmstrang was compromised. But I just looked them up on harrypotter.wikia and it says they were known for teaching the Dark Arts, so I guess they could have been. As for their headmaster-- he wasn't "compromised" in the way you mean. He betrayed the Death Eaters during the previous war and was eventually killed by them during this one. Unfortunately it looks like he was a little too cowardly and self-serving to ever work with the likes of the Order, either.

 

[Smiley]

The points from the OP should never enter a reader's mind on the first time through, and they can be explained easily enough, as other posters have already done. If there's a main fault to OotP, it's that the angst is turned up to 10, and the reader feels miserable and angry on Harry's behalf.

The fifth movie is still my favorite in the series so far.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Personally, Book Five's my favorite.

Mine too. It was one of the few reads that I've just HAD to finish in one sitting. And, given its length, that meant one evening and the better part of the following morning.

 

[Starbreaker]

OOTP was my favorite too. I loved the beginning at the safe house It was quite different from the first four books and very entertaining.

 

[Owain Taggart]

What exactly made OotP so damaging, you ask? Let's take a look...

- It totally blows Rowling's last chance at describing Wizard Britain's government.

Oh, who cares? Harry Potter was a coming of age story set in a fantastical world. A chapter on the inner workings of the British government and its politics with the rest of the world would hardly be essential or even appropriate.

Well, she could always take the opportunity to write a book, maybe short stories set at some of the different wizarding schools throughout the world, and I'm sure people would gobble it up. Not a bad idea either. Could be done like the Captain's Table series where each story has an underlying theme connecting them all.

 

[Kelthaz]

^ I can't agree with that. Harry Potter is not hard science fiction. The entire series is about the wonder of the magical world and explaining away every little detail or mystery in an attempt to make the magical world seem as mundane as real life would have been a tremendous mistake.

Although I do agree that a little more focus on the other countries would be nice. It's a very small complaint, but it would have been nice to see, say, Chinese or Brazilian wizards helping out in the war against Voldermort.

 

[Thestral]

Well, she could always take the opportunity to write a book, maybe short stories set at some of the different wizarding schools throughout the world, and I'm sure people would gobble it up. Not a bad idea either. Could be done like the Captain's Table series where each story has an underlying theme connecting them all.

Like a "Tales of Harry Potter" type of anthology. Maybe even with some guest writers?

 

[Owain Taggart]

Well, she could always take the opportunity to write a book, maybe short stories set at some of the different wizarding schools throughout the world, and I'm sure people would gobble it up. Not a bad idea either. Could be done like the Captain's Table series where each story has an underlying theme connecting them all.

Like a "Tales of Harry Potter" type of anthology. Maybe even with some guest writers?

Yeah, something like that. Maybe something like "Tales of the Harry Potter Wizardry World" And Kelthaz, I agree. Explaining every detail would make it rather tedious and leave out some of the imagination, but I was leaning on making sure they feel consistent and connected. That's more or less what I meant.

 

[MNM]

I always thought OotP was great, second only to PoA. It's book six that really nukes the series. That one (and book seven to a slightly lesser degree) are complete crap.

 

[Kemaiku]

Aside from Book 6, I thought every book was better than the one that came before it. I loved 5... I loved 7 even more. The entire series was completely satisfying to me.

Same here.

 

[iguana_tonante]

While I somehow agree with the OP about the lack of exploration of the Wizardry World at large, I understand that's not the tale Rowling wanted to tell, and I'm ok with it.

from Twilight when Bella went to Italy

Just for the record, from the little I've seen and read, the trip to Italy in Twilight is total crap. Complete fantasy-land, with little relation to actual Volterra or even real-life Italy.

I always thought OotP was great, second only to PoA. It's book six that really nukes the series. That one (and book seven to a slightly lesser degree) are complete crap.

How opinions can be different. I hated OotP (mostly because Harry is a whiny bitch in that one), and loved HBP.

 

[flemm]

I do think book 7 was a mess for a variety of reasons. I enjoy books 1-6 to varying degrees, though I think the series probably peaks in books 3 and 4. The mass memory-wiping engaged in by the wizards is the opposite of clever and cannot really be dwelt on to the extent that one wants to enjoy the story. There are a few other bad ideas like this (though that one does stand out to me as both uninteresting and rather sinister).

That said, at the end of the day it's much harder to create a universe that so many find compelling than to pick it a part and decry its shortcomings. Sure, HP is a mishmash of fantasy tropes, not everybody can be Tolkien, that goes without saying.

It's still fun, and the basic concept of Hogwarts is pretty brilliant, though it works much better when approached with the lighter tone of the early books than the would-be epic of the later volumes.

Also, I can't help but love Hermione, one of the most endearing characters that I have encountered in the genre.