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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I loved this book!
This piece of fanfiction is one of the best I have ever read. It felt as if I was reading one of the Harry Potters written by J. K. Rowling herself. Needless to say I cannot wait to read the second book in the James Potter series!
Brings you back into Potter world so you forget it's not Rowling. So that's good.
Some descriptions are better than Rowling, so you better understand what things actually look like in Potterworld, so you feel more like you're walking around there. It's the difference bw watching an animated GIF (Lippert) and a GIF (Rowling). Rowling dumped a ton of ideas into her world, that made it clever, so you think "oh, the eatery has an enchanted ceiling, cool idea"; Lippert describes the ceiling in such a way that you see it and understand it better in action. Dimly, I mean, not like you're really there, I mean he's just Lippert after all, not Mieville or Conrad.
I don't like how the Snape portrait talks. Not enough like Snape. I didn't like that he and Dumbledore portraits cdn't find a way to help James more. Various other plot holes, or more like character holes, things where the actions of the plot cd literally have happened, but the character prob wdn't have done it.
Some descriptions are better than Rowling, so you better understand what things actually look like in Potterworld, so you feel more like you're walking around there. It's the difference bw watching an animated GIF (Lippert) and a GIF (Rowling). Rowling dumped a ton of ideas into her world, that made it clever, so you think "oh, the eatery has an enchanted ceiling, cool idea"; Lippert describes the ceiling in such a way that you see it and understand it better in action. Dimly, I mean, not like you're really there, I mean he's just Lippert after all, not Mieville or Conrad.
I don't like how the Snape portrait talks. Not enough like Snape. I didn't like that he and Dumbledore portraits cdn't find a way to help James more. Various other plot holes, or more like character holes, things where the actions of the plot cd literally have happened, but the character prob wdn't have done it.
A fantastic work of fanfiction, almost worthy of the great J.K.Rowling herself. I cannot wait to start the next one.
It was okay. I wasn't exactly fond on the idea of a James Sirius Potter book but I heard good things about this and decided to read it. Didn't like it that much. it was cute, and original but it wasn't something I would read again.
This was actually OK! I started reading this with mixed feelings, not sure I wanted to read it at all. But it was fun revisiting Hogwarts. The style and tone is much lighter than the Harry Potter series.. and perhaps more modern - I'm not saying that I prefer James Potter, I'm just pointing out the differences :-)
3.5 STARS!
I'm going to begin this review with a quote from Mr Lippert, which he includes at the beginning of the second James Potter (The Curse of the Gate Keeper) in a letter to the reader:
"If you are among that most faithful of fans who simply cannot countenance any slight discrepancy in the number of buttons on Professor McGonagall's tartan dress robes (six; tortoise-shell) ... then this story might not be for you."
This quote sums up my problem with JPHEC. I agree with Lippert's statement and although I am a faithful fan, I'm not an arrogant pigheaded one. I accept this is fan fiction and I can accept little discrepancies, but unfortunately - whether Lippert wants to accept it or not based on the quote - there were BIG ones. Not so big that he gets major things wrong, like Ginny being a Granger or Draco's house being Hufflepuff, but important enough details that jolted me out of the story each time they were mentioned.
DISCLAIMER: This review gets a bit angst and annoyed, but this is my own personal opinion. It's not a personal attack on anyone, and is just my thoughts on the story. I first talk about my annoyances, which were multiple so be prepared if you read this, but then after that I talk about what I loved.
Since I'm picking, I'll begin with what I didn't like:
1) HARRY POTTER. I'm a bit in the middle on this one. There were parts that felt like Harry, but there were parts which really DIDN'T. Rowling's are giant shoes to fill and this is fanfic, and the HP series is with Harry as a teenager, not a parent. However I didn't like how Harry calls James "his boy". Maybe he's super proud or wants everyone to know James Potter is in fact a Potter, but whenever I read it, I heard it in Slughorn's voice, "Harry, my boy". Personal preference maybe, but it still annoyed me.
2) THE AMERICANS. Why were they even in the book? Seriously. The teachers, yes, I understand why they were - although I am dubious to Franklyn - but I cannot remember any of the American students' names. Couldn't there have been a teacher exchange or something else invented which didn't have to involve another school coming to visit? Plus the parts where James accompanied Harry to meet the Americans were boring.
3) FRANKLYN. Another why? I liked Franklyn's character, but I felt there were too many characters without real need for him. Plus he's apparently the famous dude on the American 100 dollar bill (I'm Australian) therefore I feel it's a bit pompous of Lippert to include him. Like, invent your own characters, man.
4) THE ENTIRE PLOT LED ME TO BELIEVE MERLIN IS EVIL BUT THEN JAMES BECOMES THE WIZARD WHISPERER AND HE'S SUDDENLY GOOD. Wow, this part annoyed me. I was doing quite well for the entire novel and then this part happened and I was ready to throw the book. I don't like being deluded into thinking an evil wizard from the past is being reborn and then the said evil wizard comes back and turns good because a POTTER spoke to him. I didn't buy it. The idea could have worked if there was more time to execute it. But no! There was more time spent on the Americans to be able to fit the ending.
5) Which brings me to: THE ENDING FELT RUSHED. It was too quick. Everything tied up too nicely. Delacroix, Merlin, the muggle reporter, Ralph's dad.
6) MERLIN. I loath him. No, I don't loath Merlin. Like Franklyn, I enjoy him as a character, but not as who he's supposed to be. So he magically turns good and suddenly, even though he's from King Arthur's time, he's able to negotiate the world without confusion, even enough to fool the modern day muggle reporters and film crew that he's a "tour guide" for the school of magic tricks. I just. No. And then to make things worse I was getting this niggling feeling that Lippert was trying to turn him into Dumbledore (not the actual, but an elderly wise wizard type character) and what happens in the next few pages? McGonagall announces her resignation from Headmistress. I really wanted to throw this book at someone after that. Aside from the fact that McGonagall is a SICK teacher, they decide to nominate MERLIN as HEADMASTER. Gosh. I can't express how pissed off this made me. The characters try to explain why he's a good choice for Headmaster but end up making it worse in my eyes. They crap on about how he could never work in the Ministry of Magic because of all the red tape and he's too much of a wild card and it's too big of a risk because he could influence too many important people, but SURE! Go put him in charge of the next generation of wizards. THAT MAKES SENSE. They also make a big deal about how a man of his reputation has to be given a prominent job. What a load of rubbish. He can earn his job in this world.
Now for what I did like...! :)
1) THE MUGGLE PLOT LINE. This was cool. It was interesting having a muggle play a central part of the story. I was never bored when they were around.
2) MOST OF J.K.'S CHARACTERS WERE DONE JUSTICE. We only got little snippets of the Weasley's and Luna, but even more of the central characters like McGonagall and Neville, I felt, were done well.
3) THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ARE STILL DEVELOPING. There's a section where Neville and Luna come to Christmas as a couple. I did a double take, knowing that they don't end up together, but Lippert explained that N & L were more platonic friends and were about to part. I liked that the adult characters haven't finished their growth and journeys.
4) THE NEW TRIO. I think Zane and Ralph worked well as James' friends. They were both individual boys.
Overall I enjoyed reading this story, even if there were parts which made me cringe. However I'm not sure I'm going to continue with the series because Merlin seems to play a big part, based on the blurb for the next book. I'll see, but I definitely won't be rushing to read it.
I'm going to begin this review with a quote from Mr Lippert, which he includes at the beginning of the second James Potter (The Curse of the Gate Keeper) in a letter to the reader:
"If you are among that most faithful of fans who simply cannot countenance any slight discrepancy in the number of buttons on Professor McGonagall's tartan dress robes (six; tortoise-shell) ... then this story might not be for you."
This quote sums up my problem with JPHEC. I agree with Lippert's statement and although I am a faithful fan, I'm not an arrogant pigheaded one. I accept this is fan fiction and I can accept little discrepancies, but unfortunately - whether Lippert wants to accept it or not based on the quote - there were BIG ones. Not so big that he gets major things wrong, like Ginny being a Granger or Draco's house being Hufflepuff, but important enough details that jolted me out of the story each time they were mentioned.
DISCLAIMER: This review gets a bit angst and annoyed, but this is my own personal opinion. It's not a personal attack on anyone, and is just my thoughts on the story. I first talk about my annoyances, which were multiple so be prepared if you read this, but then after that I talk about what I loved.
Since I'm picking, I'll begin with what I didn't like:
1) HARRY POTTER. I'm a bit in the middle on this one. There were parts that felt like Harry, but there were parts which really DIDN'T. Rowling's are giant shoes to fill and this is fanfic, and the HP series is with Harry as a teenager, not a parent. However I didn't like how Harry calls James "his boy". Maybe he's super proud or wants everyone to know James Potter is in fact a Potter, but whenever I read it, I heard it in Slughorn's voice, "Harry, my boy". Personal preference maybe, but it still annoyed me.
2) THE AMERICANS. Why were they even in the book? Seriously. The teachers, yes, I understand why they were - although I am dubious to Franklyn - but I cannot remember any of the American students' names. Couldn't there have been a teacher exchange or something else invented which didn't have to involve another school coming to visit? Plus the parts where James accompanied Harry to meet the Americans were boring.
3) FRANKLYN. Another why? I liked Franklyn's character, but I felt there were too many characters without real need for him. Plus he's apparently the famous dude on the American 100 dollar bill (I'm Australian) therefore I feel it's a bit pompous of Lippert to include him. Like, invent your own characters, man.
4) THE ENTIRE PLOT LED ME TO BELIEVE MERLIN IS EVIL BUT THEN JAMES BECOMES THE WIZARD WHISPERER AND HE'S SUDDENLY GOOD. Wow, this part annoyed me. I was doing quite well for the entire novel and then this part happened and I was ready to throw the book. I don't like being deluded into thinking an evil wizard from the past is being reborn and then the said evil wizard comes back and turns good because a POTTER spoke to him. I didn't buy it. The idea could have worked if there was more time to execute it. But no! There was more time spent on the Americans to be able to fit the ending.
5) Which brings me to: THE ENDING FELT RUSHED. It was too quick. Everything tied up too nicely. Delacroix, Merlin, the muggle reporter, Ralph's dad.
6) MERLIN. I loath him. No, I don't loath Merlin. Like Franklyn, I enjoy him as a character, but not as who he's supposed to be. So he magically turns good and suddenly, even though he's from King Arthur's time, he's able to negotiate the world without confusion, even enough to fool the modern day muggle reporters and film crew that he's a "tour guide" for the school of magic tricks. I just. No. And then to make things worse I was getting this niggling feeling that Lippert was trying to turn him into Dumbledore (not the actual, but an elderly wise wizard type character) and what happens in the next few pages? McGonagall announces her resignation from Headmistress. I really wanted to throw this book at someone after that. Aside from the fact that McGonagall is a SICK teacher, they decide to nominate MERLIN as HEADMASTER. Gosh. I can't express how pissed off this made me. The characters try to explain why he's a good choice for Headmaster but end up making it worse in my eyes. They crap on about how he could never work in the Ministry of Magic because of all the red tape and he's too much of a wild card and it's too big of a risk because he could influence too many important people, but SURE! Go put him in charge of the next generation of wizards. THAT MAKES SENSE. They also make a big deal about how a man of his reputation has to be given a prominent job. What a load of rubbish. He can earn his job in this world.
Now for what I did like...! :)
1) THE MUGGLE PLOT LINE. This was cool. It was interesting having a muggle play a central part of the story. I was never bored when they were around.
2) MOST OF J.K.'S CHARACTERS WERE DONE JUSTICE. We only got little snippets of the Weasley's and Luna, but even more of the central characters like McGonagall and Neville, I felt, were done well.
3) THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ARE STILL DEVELOPING. There's a section where Neville and Luna come to Christmas as a couple. I did a double take, knowing that they don't end up together, but Lippert explained that N & L were more platonic friends and were about to part. I liked that the adult characters haven't finished their growth and journeys.
4) THE NEW TRIO. I think Zane and Ralph worked well as James' friends. They were both individual boys.
Overall I enjoyed reading this story, even if there were parts which made me cringe. However I'm not sure I'm going to continue with the series because Merlin seems to play a big part, based on the blurb for the next book. I'll see, but I definitely won't be rushing to read it.
This book was decent. It certainly had times where there were strong Harry Potter stirrings in my soul! But, that being said, it was not a J.K Rowling book. There were some issues (for me) with the believability of the plot and the realism and likeability of the characters. It was very obvious fan fiction. I was bothered by the fact that the American school is called something different in cannon. I also REALLY did not like the way that the Americans were characterized; loud, obnoxious, and very dependant on thier wands. The twists in the story came out of nowhere, but not in a good way. They also left the whole prologue unaddressed by the end. I think that the expansions on the Harry Potter world that are accepted cannon do a far better job of capturing Rowling's style and flair. I guess I wanted this book to be more then it was. I do not foresee myself reading the rest of the series.
Ještě než jsem to začala číst, byla jsem předpojata JP ohodnotit 4 hvězdičky - příběh bude určitě dobrý, ale jak by se to mohlo rovnat originálu?
Lipet dokonale navázal na epilog 7. dílu HP, postavám, kteří v HP neměli dost místa se rozvinout se rozvinuli a i nové postavy jsou úžasné (hlavně Merlin).
Tohle považuju za plnohodnotné pokračování HP a určitě si přečtu i další díly - jen tak dál!
Tohle byla moje 1. reakce, ale teď jsem došla k názoru, že příběh nemůže být tak dobrý, protože moje nadšení netrvalo nijak dlouho a tak jsem to nakonec přecejen ohodnotila 4 hvězdičky... i tak je to ale dobrá kniha a doufám, že se dostanu k dalším dílům někdy v dohledné době.
Lipet dokonale navázal na epilog 7. dílu HP, postavám, kteří v HP neměli dost místa se rozvinout se rozvinuli a i nové postavy jsou úžasné (hlavně Merlin).
Tohle považuju za plnohodnotné pokračování HP a určitě si přečtu i další díly - jen tak dál!
Tohle byla moje 1. reakce, ale teď jsem došla k názoru, že příběh nemůže být tak dobrý, protože moje nadšení netrvalo nijak dlouho a tak jsem to nakonec přecejen ohodnotila 4 hvězdičky... i tak je to ale dobrá kniha a doufám, že se dostanu k dalším dílům někdy v dohledné době.
Despite how the author and his mega-fans might want to delude themselves otherwise, this is a fanfic. One of hundreds of thousands (if not far more). He did not invent fanfic. It's been around as long as storytelling. He got a lot of press when this came out because he happened to be ignorant of the existence of fanfic, the fanfic community, and fanfic tropes, and because he wanted to toot his own horn enough to make a whole website devoted to his fanfic (as opposed to simply posting it on one of the many, many fanfic archives, as most fanfic writers do). His books aren't the best fanfic I've ever read. They're not even the best James Potter-centric fanfic I've ever read. But they're not bad, as long as you can keep yourself from beating your head against a wall over his utter and insulting disregard for canon and the world he's working in. Which, believe me, is a real test of will at times. Still, as much as his attitude about fanfic and the fanfic nature of his own story irritates me, it's a decently entertaining read. As fanfic, I'd say it's good. Better than most, but not what I'd count among the best by any means. If you're really into Harry Potter and enjoy reading novel-length (or longer) stories of a G or PG rating, you might enjoy adding this one to your reading list (although if you like those sorts of stories, I'd also recommend the Teddy Lupin series by Fernwithy, as well as the one [and another in progress] Potter kids story she's written).
Here are more specific comments on this story, but the following does contain a lot of spoilers:
The Good –
-- Canon characters appear to remain in character. I would disagree with his interpretation of James Potter, but since it’s a character we get only a glimpse of, it doesn’t bother me too much. I actually quite like his Teddy Lupin (aside from his insistence upon calling him ‘Ted’, despite the fact that he is clearly called Teddy in the epilogue).
-- The relationship between James and Harry is quite charming.
-- In fact, the portrayal of Harry altogether is kind of wonderful. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed this, but I think I really like Harry more as an adult than as a teen. Lippert seems to capture the same sense of humor, wisdom, and modesty that I’ve seen both in the actual epilogue and in other fanfic.
-- The story includes both Snape (as a portrait) and Cedric (as a ghost). The scenes with Snape even treat him quite fairly.
-- The student antagonist (a Slytherin, of course) is really very believable. I put this in the ‘good’ section because, from a literary standpoint, it is quite effective. Personally, I dislike this type of antagonist because it’s a little too real. This character and her political machinations are all too true to life. I dislike people like this in real life, so I dislike this character quite a lot. But the fact that this character draws such a strong reaction from me shows how effective Lippert was in writing her.
-- The story is actually pretty entertaining. The plot moves along fairly well (at least after the first quarter of the fic or so). There’s some nice (if not amazing) humor. At least the last half of the fic kept me wanting to know what would happen next, though it took a while for me to get into it. I dislike how Lippert invents so much magic, rules, and other things without any canonical evidence, but others may not mind it.
-- There is no pages-long explanation of the evil plot by the villain at the end, unlike with the actual HP books.
The Bad –
-- The author can’t seem to decide on what the title of his own book is. Within the book, the apostrophe in “Hall of Elders’ Crossing” keeps moving. At one point, it’s spelled “Elder’s Crossing” and four lines later, “Elders’ Crossing”. It’s as if Lippert doesn’t realize those two things have completely different meanings.
-- All Gryffindor boys share the same dorm. (James is shown sleeping in the same dorm room with Teddy.) This is pointed out as being different from what we know, at least, but as no explanation is given and McGonagall doesn’t strike me as the type of Headmistress who would make wacky and unnecessary changes like that, I’m still gonna call BS on that one.
-- All years and houses have classes together. (In at least one instance, first-year James has a class with Teddy [a sixth- or seventh-year Gryffindor], a sixth-year Slytherin, and a third-year Ravenclaw.) This seems to be authorial laziness; it looks like he didn’t want to be arsed to come up with more than two OCs in James’s year.
-- McGonagall is both Headmistress and Transfiguration professor. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing at all in canon to support the idea of a person holding both positions at once, nor any need for it.
-- Several electronic devices are said to be working inside Hogwarts. This is critical to the plot. Canonically, electronics simply do not work at Hogwarts. At all. It’s not enough to include a throw-off comment about it not quite working as well as it normally does.
-- A teacher claims that if a wizard doesn’t properly focus while Disapparating, he will not Apparate (or, as the author puts it, ‘Reapparate’) at all, but will simply vanish. This is supposedly because Apparition involves the scattering of one’s atoms everywhere. In canon, if someone isn’t focusing properly they get splinched, they don’t simply disappear and not return. This actually turns out to be a fairly important part of the story, which only makes the pulled-it-out-of-his-ass-ness of it worse.
-- There are several other errors as far as the way things work in the wizarding world (floo communication, for example).
The Ugly –
-- The author does not content himself with simply the highly overused cliché of ‘the American exchange student’ (though he certainly includes it), he also gives us an entire cadre of Americans, including three new teachers—one of whom, I kid you not, is Benjamin Franklin. Yes, the Benjamin Franklin. Except even that is made more ridiculous by the fact that he spells it Benjamin Franklyn. He’s turned one of the most important and influential men in American history into a Mary Sue. Generally speaking, there is way too much Americanness going on in Hogwarts. It’s like Lippert couldn’t quite stretch his imagination far enough to work within the world he was given, so he felt the need to bring in lots of stuff he’s more familiar with to make himself feel more comfortable.
-- Lippert introduces a new class called Technomancy. Except he’s apparently decided to shun the traditional definition of this word (or at least how it’s been used every time I’ve seen it), which is using magic to control technology (much as how necromancy is using magic to control the dead). No, he’s decided that the word means something about using science to explain magic. Which is both linguistically incorrect and frankly stupid. If you can explain magic with science, it’s not magic, is it? Not to mention that his explanations are flatly wrong, given what we know of this world (see the comment on Apparition above).
Here are more specific comments on this story, but the following does contain a lot of spoilers:
The Good –
-- Canon characters appear to remain in character. I would disagree with his interpretation of James Potter, but since it’s a character we get only a glimpse of, it doesn’t bother me too much. I actually quite like his Teddy Lupin (aside from his insistence upon calling him ‘Ted’, despite the fact that he is clearly called Teddy in the epilogue).
-- The relationship between James and Harry is quite charming.
-- In fact, the portrayal of Harry altogether is kind of wonderful. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed this, but I think I really like Harry more as an adult than as a teen. Lippert seems to capture the same sense of humor, wisdom, and modesty that I’ve seen both in the actual epilogue and in other fanfic.
-- The story includes both Snape (as a portrait) and Cedric (as a ghost). The scenes with Snape even treat him quite fairly.
-- The student antagonist (a Slytherin, of course) is really very believable. I put this in the ‘good’ section because, from a literary standpoint, it is quite effective. Personally, I dislike this type of antagonist because it’s a little too real. This character and her political machinations are all too true to life. I dislike people like this in real life, so I dislike this character quite a lot. But the fact that this character draws such a strong reaction from me shows how effective Lippert was in writing her.
-- The story is actually pretty entertaining. The plot moves along fairly well (at least after the first quarter of the fic or so). There’s some nice (if not amazing) humor. At least the last half of the fic kept me wanting to know what would happen next, though it took a while for me to get into it. I dislike how Lippert invents so much magic, rules, and other things without any canonical evidence, but others may not mind it.
-- There is no pages-long explanation of the evil plot by the villain at the end, unlike with the actual HP books.
The Bad –
-- The author can’t seem to decide on what the title of his own book is. Within the book, the apostrophe in “Hall of Elders’ Crossing” keeps moving. At one point, it’s spelled “Elder’s Crossing” and four lines later, “Elders’ Crossing”. It’s as if Lippert doesn’t realize those two things have completely different meanings.
-- All Gryffindor boys share the same dorm. (James is shown sleeping in the same dorm room with Teddy.) This is pointed out as being different from what we know, at least, but as no explanation is given and McGonagall doesn’t strike me as the type of Headmistress who would make wacky and unnecessary changes like that, I’m still gonna call BS on that one.
-- All years and houses have classes together. (In at least one instance, first-year James has a class with Teddy [a sixth- or seventh-year Gryffindor], a sixth-year Slytherin, and a third-year Ravenclaw.) This seems to be authorial laziness; it looks like he didn’t want to be arsed to come up with more than two OCs in James’s year.
-- McGonagall is both Headmistress and Transfiguration professor. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing at all in canon to support the idea of a person holding both positions at once, nor any need for it.
-- Several electronic devices are said to be working inside Hogwarts. This is critical to the plot. Canonically, electronics simply do not work at Hogwarts. At all. It’s not enough to include a throw-off comment about it not quite working as well as it normally does.
-- A teacher claims that if a wizard doesn’t properly focus while Disapparating, he will not Apparate (or, as the author puts it, ‘Reapparate’) at all, but will simply vanish. This is supposedly because Apparition involves the scattering of one’s atoms everywhere. In canon, if someone isn’t focusing properly they get splinched, they don’t simply disappear and not return. This actually turns out to be a fairly important part of the story, which only makes the pulled-it-out-of-his-ass-ness of it worse.
-- There are several other errors as far as the way things work in the wizarding world (floo communication, for example).
The Ugly –
-- The author does not content himself with simply the highly overused cliché of ‘the American exchange student’ (though he certainly includes it), he also gives us an entire cadre of Americans, including three new teachers—one of whom, I kid you not, is Benjamin Franklin. Yes, the Benjamin Franklin. Except even that is made more ridiculous by the fact that he spells it Benjamin Franklyn. He’s turned one of the most important and influential men in American history into a Mary Sue. Generally speaking, there is way too much Americanness going on in Hogwarts. It’s like Lippert couldn’t quite stretch his imagination far enough to work within the world he was given, so he felt the need to bring in lots of stuff he’s more familiar with to make himself feel more comfortable.
-- Lippert introduces a new class called Technomancy. Except he’s apparently decided to shun the traditional definition of this word (or at least how it’s been used every time I’ve seen it), which is using magic to control technology (much as how necromancy is using magic to control the dead). No, he’s decided that the word means something about using science to explain magic. Which is both linguistically incorrect and frankly stupid. If you can explain magic with science, it’s not magic, is it? Not to mention that his explanations are flatly wrong, given what we know of this world (see the comment on Apparition above).