Monday, August 16, 2010

Book Review: Harry Potter Series Part 1

Hi all, this is my first post and it will be a review of the whole Harry Potter series.
As most of you know, the Harry Potter series has achieved global acclaim, selling 400 million copies worldwide. Imagine that. There must be something within this seven thrilling books that draws the reader to read more and desire to know what is coming next, to satiate their taste for more. Read on.

Important characters:
Harry Potter (duh)
Lord Voldemort
Albus Dumbledore

The Books:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

First, a simple introduction of the protagonist of this whole series, undoubtedly Mr Harry James Potter. Harry Potter was a baby when his parents were killed by the antagonist of the series, Lord Voldemort. Voldemort tried killing Harry Potter but his curse rebounded and it left him in a near-death state, and only leaving Harry with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He reaches instant fame in the wizarding world for ending the reign of terror of Lord Voldemort. Howeverr, at the request of his patron, Dumbledore, he lives with his relatives, totally ignorant of his past and that he was actually a wizard.

If I were to talk and go into specifically all seven books in the series, it would take me ages to complete the review. Hence, I would just give a brief summary of each book. In the first book, Harry discovers the truth of his past and that he was a wizard. He leaves his relatives and heads for Hogwarts, his actual home in his opinion. However, he is thrown into a frenzy as one of the teachers has fallen victim to Voldemort. The teacher, Quirrel, has allowed Voldemort to share his body. Quirrel tries and plans to finish Harry Potter but is thwarted time and time again. However, Harry knows that Voldemort is seeking the Philosopher's Stone as it contains the Elixir of Life which will give him immortality. Harry then seeks out this elusive stone to stop Voldemort from rising once again. He ends up in the dungeons where he enters a trap door guarded by a Cerberus. He overcomes obstacle after obstacle created to protect the stone alongside his two mates, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. He eventually makes it to Quirrel but he is all alone as his friends have fallen before the final obstacle. In the final room, stood Quirrel and a magical mirror. As Harry stands before the mirror, the stone is magically transported into Harry's pocket. Harry tries to bluff his way through but Voldemort sees through his bluff. Thereafter, a battle ensues between Harry and Quirrel, which Harry obviously prevails as Quirrel is unable to touch Harry. Voldemort leaves Quirrel to die. However, Harry faints and ends up in the school hospital. The stone was destroyed and Harry returned to his relatives for a another long and dreadful summer.

Onto the second book. The second book involves a 50 year-old mystery in the school. The main characters in this book are once again Voldemort, Harry, and Hagrid (Harry's good friend). The mystery begins as strange words appear on the walls of the school, saying that the heir of Slytherin will kill all the Muggle-borns in the school (Muggles are normal humans like you and me). Harry discovers a diary and finds more about the myth through the memories stored within the diary. He learns about Tom Marvolo Riddle and how he blamed Hagrid for the accident that occurred 50 years ago. He also finds out that he can understand snakes. Soon after this strange wordings appear, numerous cases of petrification occurs and Hermione was one of the victims. However, when Harry goes to see her in the hospital, they discover a note clutched in her hand. She has found out the creature responsible for the petrification occurrence within the school. She determines accurately that the creature, in this case the Basilisk, is moving around the school via the piping systems and it is released through a specific female toilet in the school. Suddenly, Ron's sister Ginny has been taken away by the heir of Slytherin and the teaching staff unanimously votes for the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to settle the issue. However, the teacher is found to be a fraud and Harry and Ron has no choice but to take action themselves. They enter the Chamber but is separated through a freak accident. Harry has to venture into the Chamber alone and finds Ginny's body and the diary lying lifeless on the floor. He discovers she is unconscious but soon after, Tom Marvolo Riddle appears. Harry finds out that Tom is actually a memory from the book and is Lord Voldemort himself. Tom unleashes the Basilisk to kill Harry. Harry is obviously unable to challenge a monstrous snake but Dumbledore's pet phoenix appears in the nick of time to give Harry a weapon. The weapon is a sword made for Godric Gryffindor himself and Harry uses it to kill the Basilisk but he is unfortunately bitten by the snake. However, the phoenix cries into the wound and magically heals it. Harry uses the fang of the snake to stab the diary and therefore removing the memory trapped within the diary. All is saved and the novel ends here.

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