'Young Wizards' superiority acknowledged?!

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

I think some/many of us here abhor Rowling's immense commercial success because it wasn't truly 'earnt' or deserved. She was fine with the early books for the kiddies in waving her hands about and fabricating a whimsical magical universe in which things happened because MAGIC! but when it came down to the crunch in writing a satisfactory conclusion to her series, where the hero had to win in a way that made sense and not BECAUSE, she showed us all that she'd put very little thought into what she was doing ... and that she couldn't properly finish what she started.

I've always compared Rowling's series with another young-adult set of books - the 'Young Wizards' series by Diane Duane. The latter being novels where the author *has* done her homework, *has* actually thought things out ... where magic makes sense and the wizards have to put serious effort into their spells, versus waving a stick and shouting a couple of nonsensical faux-latin words.

I've mentioned the 'Young Wizards' series in this community a few times, and I know from their comments here that Terri Testing and Mary J are big fans of Duane's work too.

Anway ... a mammoth HP fan fiction story, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Less Wrong is making some waves in the fandom at the moment because it's (finally!) nearing completion. It's a great story - I think it's the most-reviewed story on fanfiction.net/the planet - but could be seen as one where the author has hijacked HP as a vehicle to float a lesson on principles of logic and science - 'rationality' - and sometimes gets bogged down in the pedagogy. The I.Q. of the fanfic exceeds my own but I've enjoyed reading it anyway (and learnt some things along the way).

The story is nearing its conclusion; just the aftermath of the big final battle to go. In the confrontation between Harry and Voldemort chapter 109 included a very satisfying acknowedgement of Duane's 'Young Wizards' series:

"Wow," Harry whispered, and meant it. This was Magic with a capital M, the sort of Magic that appeared in So You Want To Be A Wizard, not just a collection of random physics-violating things you could do with a wand.

'So You Want To Be A Wizard' is the first volume of Duane's series.

I reckon there's something of a put-down of Rowling's work, a statement avowing the 'Young Wizards' novels' superiority, in that mention. Magic with a capital M ... it's good to see others note Rowling's failure for what it is (and isn't).

'Methods of Rationality' itself is one of those fanfics wherein the author is putting Rowling to shame in plot, logic, magical mechanics and most other things, although it's perhaps too clever/complicated for its own good.

Duane has noted the mention here.

Comments

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

Great post! (Thanks for the link!)

I've only read one of the books, the first one ("So You Want to be a Wizard"). It was a long time ago, so I don't remember everything that happened. But I definitely remember the scenes with the car as well as the scene where Nita glances guiltily at her book while talking to a tree.

I liked everything in your essay, but the section about the Lone Power vs. Voldemort made me realize that I'd forgotten all about him! And your post made him seem very interesting. Not only did he come off as a Paradise Lost!Lucifer figure, but also reminded me of Melkor/Morgoth from "The Silmarillion" (who is, in his own way, a type of Luciferian figure).