I'm not much of a fan of rational fics, so I was rather reluctant to give the first one a go, but it was worth it in the end. Being a precursor of the genre, it started out some of the annoying trends that only escalated in the works that followed, but it also has its advantages.
- This version of Harry is brilliant and extremely precocious for his age, but not only is it explained in the text (eventually), but the author makes sure to keep him well challenged. Genius above his years or not, this Harry is not allowed to cakewalk through all opposition. Like him or not, he is also a complex, flawed and human character, not an emotionless robot like Lex Luthor from The Metropolitan Man or Bella Swan from Luminosity.
- Other characters are either pretty faithful to their book selves, or an interesting reimagining. Voldemort stands out in particular. He is much more rational and competent than the walking villain ball he was in the books.
- Contrary to many of the other rational fics (again, Luminosity and The Metropolitan Man stand out as unfortunate examples), HPMOR does not have bland and emotionless writing style. Eliezer's is witty and captivating.
And here are the flaws:
- The pacing. Dear Lord, the pacing! Some arcs are drawn out mercilessly, and one is completely pointless. The first one consists almost entirely of author filibusters, spouted either by Harry or by Quirrell (the two author avatars) on the subjects of morality, rationality, and everything the author feels like commenting on about the wizarding world. This can make the book seem more like an endless string of lectures, rather than a story. Later it gets better when the actual plot finally appears, but that first chunk may be a bit of a turn-off. It's nothing, though, compared to Self-Actualization arc. This is basically where the plot comes to a screeching halt and the reader has to sit through several redundant chapters of a B-plot that was allowed to hijack the fanfic. This arc may fit in thematically, but its events are utterly inconsequential to the rest of the story, nothing whatsoever comes out of them, and nothing is lost if one just skips it.
- Even though Voldemort is better than his canon self, the story still tries to frame his lack of love and empathy as his real weakness. This comes off as incredibly forced and unconvincing.
Overall, it's an interesting book that goes from thrilling to groan-enducing, but I still recommend giving it a chance. It has a real spark of life to it that other rational fics often lack.
A balanced review of a mixed bag story.
I'm not much of a fan of rational fics, so I was rather reluctant to give the first one a go, but it was worth it in the end. Being a precursor of the genre, it started out some of the annoying trends that only escalated in the works that followed, but it also has its advantages.
- This version of Harry is brilliant and extremely precocious for his age, but not only is it explained in the text (eventually), but the author makes sure to keep him well challenged. Genius above his years or not, this Harry is not allowed to cakewalk through all opposition. Like him or not, he is also a complex, flawed and human character, not an emotionless robot like Lex Luthor from The Metropolitan Man or Bella Swan from Luminosity.
- Other characters are either pretty faithful to their book selves, or an interesting reimagining. Voldemort stands out in particular. He is much more rational and competent than the walking villain ball he was in the books.
- Contrary to many of the other rational fics (again, Luminosity and The Metropolitan Man stand out as unfortunate examples), HPMOR does not have bland and emotionless writing style. Eliezer's is witty and captivating.
And here are the flaws:
- The pacing. Dear Lord, the pacing! Some arcs are drawn out mercilessly, and one is completely pointless. The first one consists almost entirely of author filibusters, spouted either by Harry or by Quirrell (the two author avatars) on the subjects of morality, rationality, and everything the author feels like commenting on about the wizarding world. This can make the book seem more like an endless string of lectures, rather than a story. Later it gets better when the actual plot finally appears, but that first chunk may be a bit of a turn-off. It's nothing, though, compared to Self-Actualization arc. This is basically where the plot comes to a screeching halt and the reader has to sit through several redundant chapters of a B-plot that was allowed to hijack the fanfic. This arc may fit in thematically, but its events are utterly inconsequential to the rest of the story, nothing whatsoever comes out of them, and nothing is lost if one just skips it.
- Even though Voldemort is better than his canon self, the story still tries to frame his lack of love and empathy as his real weakness. This comes off as incredibly forced and unconvincing.
Overall, it's an interesting book that goes from thrilling to groan-enducing, but I still recommend giving it a chance. It has a real spark of life to it that other rational fics often lack.