Why no Harry Potter, eh?

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

So I looked at ONTD's "Ten of the most Epidemically Overrated Books," and was incensed to find that books like On the Road and The Great Gatsby made the list but the Harry Potter series didn't (though at least the Twilight series did). I mean really, Harry Potter is the epitome of an overrated book series, given that there are people seriously making the point that it's so deep and meaningful and needs to be read in AP English classes. Never mind that it's a children's book series!

Well, these were the people who said that a bunch of authors besides Rowling disliked the idea of fanfiction without bothering to consider WHY they might feel that way (specifically, that Rowling is the only one who's all that fandom savvy because she's modern in a way that the others aren't). Maybe they just think Rowling is their darling author too, and you can't say anything bad about her.

Comments

[ladyzenobia.livejournal.com]

Imagine if they pretended it was 1688 and they debated whether or not to write up a Statute of Secrecy

Oh yes!! And maybe go back to the founders time and debate the whole muggleborn/pureblood thing. Because they're still hexing each other over it in the 1990s.

After all, it isn't like wizards are necessarily bulletproof.

I wonder if a shield charm protects you from pullets as well as magic :)

The series really might have worked better if she had set it in the '40s

Wait? Did she actually plan to do that?

As for research projects, I think the department of mysteries is a real wasted opportunity. She could have shown us wizarding scientist at work and explained how wizard science differs from the muggle one. But now it just looks like wizards haven't ever heard of science.

[sunnyskywalker]

No, but I'd heard it floated around the internets as an idea that would have ironed out a few wrinkles and liked it. I think it just didn't occur to her, or maybe she thought kids wouldn't feel it was as relevant if it weren't in modern times.

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

Considering the disdain that wizards have for muggle technology, I wonder if they would think it necessary to modify the shield charm for repelling bullets? I mean, what was that very dismissive reference to guns as primitive wands that muggles use to kill each other? I am probably misremembering it, but I remember thinking that it sounded rather arrogant even when I was still a fan.