www.flickr.com
Maid Mirawyn's Photos Maid Mirawyn's Photos

Sunday, December 02, 2012

An Unexpected Fan of Harry Potter

As has been established, I'm a geek. I love scifi, fantasy, science, gaming, reading, gadgets, and even (gasp!) math. (I used to do geometry proofs for fun, but that's not really the point . . . )

One of my fandoms is the Harry Potter universe, written by J.K. Rowlings. Now, I was a latecomer to this one. I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone years and years ago, but wasn't impressed. So I never read any further.

Then I met Roswenthe (as she's sometimes known online), and we quickly became close friends. Except she's a huge HP fan, and so are almost all our mutual friends, especially those on our forum, TechnoChicks! So after being left out of about a zillion conversations (online and offline) in anticipation of book seven, I gave in and decided to give Harry Potter another chance.

 I checked out book one and read it again; still just okay. Then I read book two, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and decided it was actually pretty good. So I read book three. Then book four. Book five. Book six . . . at least I didn't have to wait for Deathly Hallows! (I devoured it at light speed, though I hated to finish it.)

As you can no doubt guess, I had become invested in the story. I cared about the Rowling's characters; they are well-written, demonstrating real depth and complexity. The plot is well-developed, providing surprises while still meeting the need for a story you can follow.  I was infuriated by the injustices. I wanted good to triumph over evil.

And in the end, that's what got me. I am a sucker for the epic battle of good versus evil, righting injustices, making the world a better place. And on that score, J.K. Rowling delivers.