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Movies & TV / Re: Rate the last movie you've seen
« on: July 17, 2011, 11:28:55 AM »I've only read the first three, but they were all basically "meh" -- a fun setting but despite some nice bits of humor in the first book, and some appealing supporting characters, seemed very mechanically written.
They are children's books. You can't expect too much out of them or the films. I've always been surprised by the number of adults that are truly engaged by the series. Though I suppose Twilight also achieved a similar status.
They're childrens' books the same way books like The Hobbit are. They're well-written, enjoyable adventure stories people of all ages can enjoy.
Er, I can only speak for the first three, obviously, but they are certainly a grade or two below The Hobbit on the "well written" scale...
The HP books seem to go out of their way to throw in themes that are clearly intended to appeal to typical childrens' insecurities -- "even if you feel unloved by your family, and are not successful at school or very popular, you might be a legendary wizard...!" That likely explains some of the popularity amongst kids, but it also makes them a bit painful to slog through sometimes (though JKR tries to use humor to make it go down more smoothly).