How are the Harry Potter books, /lit/? I've watched the

The first two books are for kids so remember that when reading them. Book three is alright but it's the only one where the movie was better. Four and five are mediocre. Six is pretty good and seven is really good. Overall the series is good whenever they're not in Hogwarts.

i have same question

>>9890443
Nice post, may I ask you the reason of this statement:
>Overall the series is good whenever they're not in Hogwarts
?

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They're good it you view them a mystery genre fiction in a fantasy setting. They're not high fantasy, or morality tales.

Through the lens of a mystery narrative, things make a lot more sense. Lots of worldbuilding hints towards the conclusion of the book, or serves to distract you.

The actual reveals, just in case you need prodding. I'm pretty sure you'd be better off not reading these(even if you have seen the films, as they aren't mystery films).

Philosophers stone - Quirrel is a bad guy(Hagrid's a red herring, including fluffy in the dungeon to 'confirm' this)

Chamber of Secrets - Dual mystery of diary being cursed and cause of murders. The diary being the cause is certainly the better mystery, as the basilisk is clearly hinted at

Prisoner of Azkaban - Pettigrew's existence, and Sirius as good guy. Lupin hints at this throughout, and his involvement is also a surprise.

Goblet of Fire - Moody being a plant is the primary revelation. The explicit mystery is how Harry's name gets in the goblet.

Order of the Phoenix - I'd put the prophecy as the big reveal. This one is mostly exploring the backstory, and setting up the next book.

Half Blood Prince - Here it's mostly the question as to the prince's identity, and the extent of Dumbledore's knowledge.

Deathly Hallows - This one has the series spanning mystery as to why Hally speaks parseltounge and is able to resist Voldemort. Seriously, him being a horcrux is pretty neat at wrapping things up. This also explores both Dumbledore's life story, and the true allegiance of Snape. However this information is very much a mystery throughout.

Obviously there's a bunch of other subplots, but I feel those are all hinted at throughout, and form the main current of the story. They're almost as good as the Holmes books at what they do.

People here don't give these books enough credit. They're no epic morality tale like Moby Dick and they have no exceptional prose like Joyce, but they're damn good stories for kids and young adults.

They all join together fluently with few plot holes, which a lot of extended series fail to do. The earlier books are certainly children's books, but the latter have a very dark and grim feeling to them. Personally I hate the 5th book where Harry is an insufferable teenager but i guess we were all like that at some point.

Definitely worth reading, the movies give the books no justice at all.

>>9890443
Bruh how is Goblet of Fire mediocre. It's my favorite in the series.

>>9890652
Red Herring in Philosopher's Stone is Snape you dummy

>>9890734
Snape and malfoy are the red herring in every book
except for the half blood prince

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB963270836801555352

>>9890432
Any answer that is not "They are all utter shit even for children's book" is a reddit tier answer

>>9890432

In general, they aren't very well written and there are better children's/YA books. That being said, it's main strength is that the plotlines and background characters are more thoroughly planned out that most similar books.
1-2 are good but not great children's books.
3 is where the series looks like it had some actual potential
4-5 is where the series is actually good, since the books mature a bit and the background characters receive a lot of development for a genre book
6-7 The book get shit again. The main problem is that Voldemort ceases to be credible as a villain with any kind of realistic motivation.

HP is probably the only series where I'd read fanfic over the actual books, because of the sheer volume produced, there are some gems.

>>9890776
>5
>angsty teen who's angry at father figure keeps making irrational decisions and getting mad at his friends - the book
>remotely near the best

They're very light mystery books, except for the last one which is all over the place. They're alright.

Just read them quickly and forget about them desu.

>>9890718
this. they come nowhere near the best childrens books, and they're probably not the best YA. but for shallow, easy books, they're quite good.

6 is the comfiest book ever.
I don't know what it is, but I still come back to 6.

I can say this: the films leave out a lot of details.