And it looks like someone has sneaked Harry in as a competitor despite the fact that he's three years too young. But the good news is that the Hogwarts Quidditch season is cancelled so that Hogwarts can compete against a couple of European magic schools in the Tri-Wizard tournament. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) - Do you looooove the fictional magic sport of Quidditch? Too bad! This one starts with the Quidditch World Cup. So wait, is Dumbledore just straight up trying to lure evil wizards to the campus of his school for children aged 11 to 17? Also, when Hagrid became the Care of Magical Creatures instructor, did he have to submit his syllabus for approval? If so, why was it approved? Will Harry solve the mystery of Sirius Black, or will the villain explain it to him at the novel's climax? Meanwhile, Harry has a magical map that shows the location of everyone in the school and somehow doesn't even notice that there's always an extra person in his dorm. Hermione really shows up Ron and Harry by carrying approximately double the course load of your average third year and figuring out that Professor Lupin is a werewolf. This year, Headmaster Dumbledore has upgraded the security system to include malevolent soul-devouring spirits who are nominally at the school to protect Harry from the escaped prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black, who allegedly sold Harry's parents out to Voldemort twelve years ago. Also, he attended Hogwarts at the same time as Harry's parents, the asshole potions teacher, Severus Snape, and the novel's (other) title character (more on that in a moment). What it does feature is Remus "I'm not a regular professor, I'm a cool professor" Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who shows the kids that learning can be fun. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) - The first HP book to break formula in any significant way, this book does not feature Voldemort (spoilers?). Will Harry be able to balance school work, sports practice, and stopping an evil wizard from returning from the dead? Will he do accomplish this through some bullshit eleventh hour deus ex machina? Will Ron's facility with chess ever be important (or even mentioned) again after the first book? Is Hermione actually such an amazing detective that she's able to give Ron and Harry the final clue about the Chamber of Secrets while in a magical coma? Anyway, both these books both revolve around mysterious rooms in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the solution to both mysteries is that the evil Lord Voldemort is trying to get his physical body back (turns out that when he killed Harry's parents, he didn't count on the power of love). When Harry and Ron also befriend school know-it-all, Hermione Granger, their detective club gains the two major elements it's been missing: smarts and a work ethic. Harry Potter discovers he's a wizard and is whisked away to a magic school where he finally makes a real friend for the first time ever. Harry Potter and the Sorlosopher's Stone (1997) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998) - These are, essentially, the same novel. I suppose, but I feel like you're selling Harry short.Īnyway, let's look at the first four Harry Potter books or the pre-millenium tetralogy. While Harry usually just stumbles across information or has the antagonist explain the plot to him outright. I mean, c'mon, she usually figures out a key part of the mystery before anyone else. He's the boy who lived.īut Hermione is the better detective.
The Harry Potter books are a series of boy detective novels. Hypothetical Reader? But I usually keep you out of the Monday/Friday features! Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there, Lucas! Who'd have thought that the public would be so hungry for a series of girl detective novels set at a British boarding school that also occasionally features magic in a manner that affects the plot. Rowling (look, on Monday I talked about how and the Deathly Hallows made me cry, and this week I blog-viewed (hmm, needs a better word) a book about someone discovering their magical heritage so this seemed to be the time to do Harry Potter, or at least the first 4 books (watch this space for books 5-7 in the near future)).īackground Info: Look, we all know that Joanne Rowling was a single mother when she published Harry Potter and the Philorceror's Stone and proceeded to make roughly all of the money. The Harry Potter heptalogy, part 1 by J.K. Here's the pitch: quick synopses (I'll try and keep them spoiler-free, but, you know, most of these are past the statute of limitations on spoilers) of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth this feature: Simplified Series. The correct order to read these books follows a "Z" pattern from top left to bottom right, like Zorro!