The book that started it all. Virtually everything that is loved about the Harry Potter series began in this book.
The question of is Sadistic Teacher Severus Snape a Villain or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold starts with this book which has Harry and the others originally believe him to be an extreme Jerkass but then come to suspect he was Evil All Along act as if he were a villain, shockingly discover that he was Good All Along and was actually protecting Harry the whole time. That sounds familiar.
It has Quirell be the twist villain who serves Voldemort strictly for the sake of power. The plot twist works well enough though Quirell is an underwhelming villain in comparison to the villains of the sequels.
It still well sets the stage for the Fantastic Racism through the bully character of Draco Malfoy. It establishes Ron as a sidekick who is ever loyal and often comic relief but isn’t stupid and is in fact The Chessmaster. And Hermione works as a genius who has a hard time socially speaking and is capable of losing her head in a crisis.
Dumbledore works quite well as the Mentor Archetype. And the book well sets the stage for sequels based on Voldemort’s eventual return.
And Neville’s character arc in this book is quite good.
If I were to nitpick something with this book, it would be that Harry is a bit of a Vanilla Protagonist. Sure his being an orphan who wishes for parents, giving a rousing speech to his friends and standing up to Voldemort/Quirell are impressive acts. But several of them are indicative of a generic hero character and he doesn’t get as much development as he does in the later books. But he’s still a good and likeable enough hero. Also I love the Gentle Giant Hagrid.
Literature There is neither good nor evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it
The book that started it all. Virtually everything that is loved about the Harry Potter series began in this book.
The question of is Sadistic Teacher Severus Snape a Villain or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold starts with this book which has Harry and the others originally believe him to be an extreme Jerkass but then come to suspect he was Evil All Along act as if he were a villain, shockingly discover that he was Good All Along and was actually protecting Harry the whole time. That sounds familiar.
It has Quirell be the twist villain who serves Voldemort strictly for the sake of power. The plot twist works well enough though Quirell is an underwhelming villain in comparison to the villains of the sequels.
It still well sets the stage for the Fantastic Racism through the bully character of Draco Malfoy. It establishes Ron as a sidekick who is ever loyal and often comic relief but isn’t stupid and is in fact The Chessmaster. And Hermione works as a genius who has a hard time socially speaking and is capable of losing her head in a crisis.
Dumbledore works quite well as the Mentor Archetype. And the book well sets the stage for sequels based on Voldemort’s eventual return.
And Neville’s character arc in this book is quite good.
If I were to nitpick something with this book, it would be that Harry is a bit of a Vanilla Protagonist. Sure his being an orphan who wishes for parents, giving a rousing speech to his friends and standing up to Voldemort/Quirell are impressive acts. But several of them are indicative of a generic hero character and he doesn’t get as much development as he does in the later books. But he’s still a good and likeable enough hero. Also I love the Gentle Giant Hagrid.
All in all, it’s quite good