Harry Potter was good for the first three books and I still stand by that. They were a simple and enjoyable “who dunnit” type of series with a fantasy twist. Nothing groundbreaking but still fun. I didn’t go in expecting a complex story and it scratched enough of an itch to leave me satisfied.

Then Goblet of Fire came and the series started taking itself too seriously. This is where most of the complaints begin and this is where the lore really got stupid. Had it maintained the original tone of the first three books, Harry Potter would still hold up as a good middle-grade fiction series.

[–] BanMeFromPosting@hexbear.net 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

You can see when she became big enough to say no to her editor.
The first one is good, crimping Roald Dahls style, telling a cute little power-fantasy story.
By the Fifth book she's really far up her own ass.

edit: It's been much longer since I've read 2 and 3, but I remember them as being pretty decent. I've read the first one a bunch of times because I grew up with it, so it's good for when I wanna practice another language. I think I've read 2 and 3 2 or 3 times, because reading the first one has made me want to go on a nostalgia binge (this is like 8 or 9 years ago, be nice). I haven't read any of the other ones more than once, but I remember being very disappointed with the movie version of the fourth book because it didn't really dedicate a lot of time to the quidditch thing a good part of the book is about. Past that is a complete mismatch. I remember the bus scene from the fifth movie because it's a cool idea and I remember the sixth one having Snape in a book and the seventh one having Ron be worried he's going to get cucked or something.

[–] AssortedBiscuits@hexbear.net 11 points 11 hours ago

Then Goblet of Fire came and the series started ~~taking itself too seriously.~~ to become tomes of middling quality.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 16 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

i find it started really taking itself too seriously by the 5th or 6th book. i can excuse the goblet of fire for trying to appeal to an audience that grew up a little bit since the first three.

i think it could have worked if the writer was more competent as she transitioned it to a YA novel, but then again maybe i shouldn't have reread some of them as an adult and let it stay in nostalgia instead of reading too much into it.