Can someone explain the appeal of the Harry Potter books?

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SckizoBoy

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One point I forgot to make...

The first three books (and debatably the fourth) are just detective stories disguised as fantasy. But I'll say it now, I didn't mind that at all.
 

bdcjacko

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Can someone explain the appeal of this thing lots of people like but I don't? Even though I am guilty of asking the same question from time to time, it is an annoying question. It just speaks to some people. They are fun and easy to read. I can read the entire 7 books in 4 months, which makes me feel smart.
 

Paradoxrifts

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Every generation has it's own rendition of the Hero's Journey. There is something gravely wrong with you if at some point in your life you haven't been swept away by at least one rendition of the Monomyth. Other than that, I'm not discussing Harry Potter or any other fictional work with the internet. My brain would not forgive me.
 

StBishop

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Although you've received a number of well explained answers which undoubtedly apply to my own enjoyment, I feel the major reason I enjoyed them is because they were the first fantasy books I read and Harry grew up at about the same rate as I did.

(The first book was given to me when I was about nine and I was 17 when the last one came out.)
 

Daffy F

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SckizoBoy said:
Timmehexas said:
I mean... Dobby... I think I need a tissue.
What for?! *gives weird look*
Hahahaha, you made me laugh with that one.
SckizoBoy said:
In all seriousness, though, his character was poorly done (IMO), and when he was offed, all that went through my head was 'good fucking riddance', annoying squit.
Personally I'm inclined to agree. I think he was one of the less sad deaths in the series.
 

inFAMOUSCowZ

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I found them decent, nothing really special. I only read them all since my school was doing some type of reading thingy. Where you get points for reading the books, and can win prizes....the things they used to trick 10 year olds.
 

GrizzlerBorno

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ZeroMachine said:
Harry Potter isn't something to look to for an epic fantasy world. It's something to look to for good characters/development and an interesting coming of age/good vs evil story.
See, as a Harry Potter (book) fan, I want to agree with you on that point about good Character development (since there WERE a lot of great, well-developed characters)......but .....well.......Hermione Granger. How the Fuck does one of the Lead trio go through a SEVEN book Story arc, and Not get a drop of character development until halfway through the LAST, Fucking BOOK? It literally Baffles me.

OT: If you're anywhere from 8-17 or atleast 25+, read the books. For whatever reason People in the Early twenties DO NO appreciate this Series. Ever.

My guess would be that the "Lol, stupid teenagers doing stupid shit" phase doesn't really end before 25.
 

2xDouble

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It's a rags-to-riches, coming-of-age story about a boy who discovers magical powers and goes on to save the world.

It's every JRPG, comic book, hero movie, etc., ever... and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Here's [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/2709-Magneto-Was-Right] a brief synopsis on why that's cool. heh.
 

Wadders

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Easy to read, lots of good characters.

I think the reason why I liked them was because I grew up with the characters in the books. Like, when the first book came out, iIwas a similar age to the kids in it, and they grew up in the books as I did in real life, so it was pretty easy to get into the characters.
 

Mallefunction

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For me, the appeal came from how it could actually be a real world living alongside our own. I personally always dreamed of getting on the bus one day only to find out that I had accidentally stumbled on The Knight Bus. It's just escapism and fun. The story is really only decent, but the characters are likeable enough and you have to admit that it's better written and more plot driven than most children's fantasies on the market today.
 

Davey Woo

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I think you're only going to be into the books if you were young enough when they came out. I was 11 when the first book was published, and the books are aimed at the same age-range as Harry in the book. So the content gets a bit more dark and 'grown-up' as the series progresses.

If you're 18 or over you'll probably find it all a bit boring.
 

boyvirgo666

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its an uncomplicated kids story with no real hurdles or problems for the main characters so younger reads can project. understandable. the first 3 books are semi decent. Artemis fowl was alot better.
 

EOD Tech

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None. There is none. There is absolutely zero appeal. They are full of plot holes and material stolen from other (much better) books and movies.

They also feature an entirely British set of characters, which is infuriating because who the hell wants to listen to British people speak for any length of time. They sound like they all have brain damage. "Cor Blimey! Bob's your uncol! What's aw this then? 'Ow are you, ol' Guvnah? Chap! Mate! Lorry! Bumbershoot! Flim-flam twizzle-twazzle!" Imagine that for SIX THOUSAND PAGES.

EDIT: I've got nothing against Brits. They have a fine military and are a wonderful culture. It's just that they could all use a couple of years with a speech therapist.
 

TheYellowCellPhone

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They're very, very well thought out. J.K. Rowling had the entire series planned out when she wrote book one, so there are many mysteries in the books you will find out as the series goes on.

Also, it's simple to understand and has good character developement.
 

Gordon_4_v1legacy

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EOD Tech said:
None. There is none. There is absolutely zero appeal. They are full of plot holes and material stolen from other (much better) books and movies.

They also feature an entirely British set of characters, which is infuriating because who the hell wants to listen to British people speak for any length of time. They sound like they all have brain damage. "Cor Blimey! Bob's your uncol! What's aw this then? 'Ow are you, ol' Guvnah? Chap! Mate! Lorry! Bumbershoot! Flim-flam twizzle-twazzle!" Imagine that for SIX THOUSAND PAGES.

EDIT: I've got nothing against Brits. They have a fine military and are a wonderful culture. It's just that they could all use a couple of years with a speech therapist.
That is largely Cockney stereotype, which is the only one anyone outside the Commonwealth seems to grasp. The only character who even remotely speaks that way, that I recall, is Ron. Most of the lead actors who play important people (aside from our main three whom are all newcomers), did a stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company: they will not need elocution lessons.
 

Kilgengoor

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ZeroMachine said:
Harry Potter isn't something to look to for an epic fantasy world. It's something to look to for good characters/development and an interesting coming of age/good vs evil story.
I'm going to disagree with ZeroMachine while I try to explain why I liked Harry Potter so hard back in the day. You see, I'm er... 24 now. I was 15 or so when I first learned about Harry Potter (from my literature teacher. Go figure). I didn't use the internet that much back in the day, so for me it was just something that a teacher told us about. Now this is important, because it adds up to the impression I got from it: I liked it because it told the story about a magic, mundane world that totally coexisted with the mugglesphere so to speak. Suddenly a fictional universe opened up in front of me, being in the sweet spot between accessible and deep. There were brands, shops, schools, pubs designed specifically for mage use but regular at the core, there was magic but just the right amount of magic to make things more convenient or functional, but magic-people still had to live in cities and use methods of transportation as mundane as boats, but on top of that a new array of magic-only tricks opened up, which I admit can make a really cheap plot device, but just so you get an idea: it was the whole parallel fantastic world living right under our noses that functions similarly yet in a complete different way thing that dragged me in. Plus, they were long books, REALLY long books that guaranteed hours and hours of history. So, I guess the lore is rich enough, just... not radically different to our everyday world, so it can seem simple sometimes.

Anyway, it's actually a little ironic that the length and lore of the Harry Potter were the precise things that made me stop liking it. You see, books kept getting bigger. And bigger. By the time I finished the about 700 pages of the fourth book (in which there is one of the cheapest magic plot devices I've ever seen) I just stopped reading them. Also, the second film was about to come out by that time, and I've never been too much of a hipster, but the commercial success of Harry Potter kinda made me think the books were becoming a way to try and milk the franchise even further.

TL;DR: Lore was complete, although kinda mundane.