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I was 21 when I read Harry Potter for the first time and I loved it then and I still love it.

I think part of the criticism in the middle of the series dragging on can be in part the fact that you read them all so quickly. Growing up there were only 3 books when I started and the series didn't end for another 7 years. We had time to process the story more. Not saying they're high art or anything but the little things like taking half a chapter to explain how everyone is just hanging out or to explain how some arbitrary magical thing works means a lot to the fans. Great video too, I love hearing unbiased thoughts on how the series holds up.

I actually just received my book today and I honestly can not wait to read it!

Materials: cardboard Cost: 160 😂 Man they need to start using leather or something more on the luxury side for these collector and special addition books. I can pay 170 for a Calf skin leather bible full yap. Beautifully made! For this price. The case should at least be made out of high quality plastic or something!

Seems like a hot take for views or something because this book was amazing.

We’re all entitled to our own opinions, but your criticisms are very surprising to me. I thought the author did a fantastic job of setting a horror/action page turner in a historical setting . I was raised a Catholic and have always been a history buff… So it was very easy for me to understand the setting… maybe somebody that’s less familiar with the history and culture of the time might find the story a little confusing

How tall is this box set? Does it have same height as Omnibus/Oversized HC?

Adding to my cart! 😊

Interesting to hear so many of your points that I've disagreed with. A few that stood out were: the fact that Harry was too passive, he was a mediocre wizard, too many fillers, Ginny came out of nowhere, and one of the oddest things.. that it does NOT make sense if you look into it deeper ? He was passive because he didn't trust anyone in his life for his first 11 years. Imagine you were trapped underneath the stairs as a bedroom and treated like vermin the entire way through.. Anyone would be subdued and cautious, and not trustworthy of authority figures. The argument that things just happened to him is somewhat true, he did get help, but in life, luck is needed as well, and it isn't all random, it's preparation meets opportunity. He started coming more to his own you can tell by Prisoner of Azkaban, and you can see him mature in Goblet of Fire, so I'm unsure how it was until the Half Blood Prince that he came to his own ? He successfully taught a full classroom of students in Defense Against the Dark Arts in that Order of the Phoenix, he fought 100 dementors AT ONCE by himself in Prisoner of Azkaban, he fought back to be in the Order when he was told he was too young (another big reason was because Molly didn't want her kids to be involved as well). Did we read the same books ? Every book is going to have fillers, it's how you utilized each situation to your advantage. Each book served its purpose, many, many characters helped Harry and the plot move forward, and with that being said, a lot of world building, lore, and character development needs to happen in the coarse of every book, let alone the entire series. The ENTIRE point of Order of the Phoenix is to set up the last two books. That his action have consequences, and not everyone is going to just lay down at Harry's feet and help him on this journey. The book explored the darker aspects of this world, that he can tap into Voldy's mind, and learning to close his mind was huge. It wasn't just the fight at the end that was great, the chapter where Harry smashes Dumbledore's office, was the single best chapter in the series for me, even more than the exposition in the final book (Snape's memories). You wouldn't appreciate the last two books if it weren't for the 5th. And it wouldn't have good pacing if these 800+ page books were all action action action. And also, Snape's memories wasn't a filler, or random. I do agree that it took away from the climax slightly, but it was absolutely necessary to have Harry and the readers know at that exact moment. I mean, why else would Harry turn himself in without a fight ? And Ginny absolutely did NOT come out of nowhere? Once again, did we read the same books ? This series was written in 3rd person, but follows Harry's thoughts. Ginny was more insignificant at first because Harry just looked at her as Ron's little sister, who had a crush on him. Ginny needed to come into her own, and often in school, students tend to care less about the grades under. She started coming into her own, you can see it Goblet of Fire, she's becoming more vocal, and meanwhile to the readers it was less at that time, in the books she really started to make a name for herself. She was popular, funny, witty, pretty too, and was really good Chaser too. You'd notice her more in Order of the Phoenix too. Ginny was absolutely perfect for Harry, which is often overlooked. She was a pillar for Harry, she was able to keep him sane when others couldn't, they could deeply related as she has also been possessed by Voldy, her fierce personality means Harry doesn't need to take care of her, and allows him to be himself, and their humour is spot on, both very sassy, witty and quick. I really don't understand how people feel Ginny just popped out of nowhere, she was my favourite character in the whole series. And lastly, I understand there's a few things that does not make sense the further you look into it, like the monetary system as an example. But if you looked into the lore, the world, the characters, it all feels real, natural, and you can keep digging further, and the richer it gets ! I'm afraid you missed what Voldy's intent was in the first place -- he didn't want Harry to go back into Hogwarts ALIVE, then everyone would have known Voldy is back, and he wouldn't have been able to buy himself more time. So the extravagant ways that Voldy had planned for his comeback, was needed, and he also likes when things are Grand, and not mundane. If it were true that the deeper you look into Harry Potter, the less makes sense, I'm sure most of those HP youtube channels would have stopped making content after the first few months (like MovieFlame, SuperCarlinBros, Harry Potter Theory, etc). If anything, it makes more and more sense, the deeper you look ! Happy to see you're a fan of the series, you've made some exceptional points regarding, character voices, world building, how the first book was a perfect "in" into the series, and the humour aspect as well. But perhaps rereading the series at a later date with a different perspective might allow you to enjoy some of so called negatives more.

I grew up too young I think too. Ive been more engaged in the films ALLOT growing up. Im 27 now and I'm finally coming to the decision to trying to read Philosophers Stone. Ive never been big on reading as well. But I'm just gonna see where it takes me.

Fascinating! I'll have to give it a look.

Definitely buying soon when I get the money. Hearing that the inspirations are from Invincible, The Dark Tower, Avatar, God of war and Berserk is just so cool to me. Congratulations on you're first novel!

Ohhh I added this to my cart for my next Amazon book haul

I literally want to read this because I’m playing Elden ring haha

Half way through book 13 of Wheel of Time. If you want to enjoy a long series I’d avoid reading another series alongside it. Maybe throw in some stand alones here and there to cleanse to pallet. But reading WoT straight through has been such a rewarding experience and well worth it. People say it’s long. But it’s all about perspective. I think it’s a journey well worth going on if you like ambiguity. Depth. Natural character and story growth. A living and breathing world.

Out of pocket question here, so here it is, what is all the equipment that you use?

Lol your book takes are awful. The main character is such an insufferable Gary Stu

This is an example of why Harry Potter isn't only for children. Here's an adult who got everything wrong

The main issue with these books is how unambitious they are in terms of resolving the larger issues with the wider wizarding world. I saw someone else commenting on another Harry Potter video that there are over 1 million words across these 7 books (far more than LOTR, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion put together), and yet she didn't find the time to free the house elf slaves. This sums it up to me.

Facts, couldn’t have agreed more

you should do a review on Brandon Sanderson's recent fantasy book series, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

I agree with so much of this video. Harry is a very weird case. In the beginning he was set up as a pretty powerful wizard, amazing at flying his first time, casting a patronus, surviving the killing curse, but as the series progressed he went from the special chosen one to pretty average, an audience stand in, an everyman if you will. Suddenly his achievements are all discounted, it turns out he had ridden a broom before, almost every member of the DA can cast a patronus spell and it was his moms sacrifice that made him survive the killing curse. At one point he even has trouble with a simple summoning spell and has to get help from Hermione to practice it. It would have been fine if he was just lucky in the beginning but as his skills in wizardry progressed he would have relied on luck less, but no. I agree that the romance is also a let down in the series, Ginny came out of nowhere after nearly being absent from book 3. GoF would have been the perfect moment to have Harry and Ginny dance at the yule ball and awake his feeling for her, but no, even the next book is spent on a different love interest that goes nowhere. And controversial take, but Hermione was just a better fit with Harry, than with Ron. I also agree with your point about deathly hallows, the book could have been so much better if they had some actual mysteries to solve as opposed to aimlessly wondering about and waiting for deus ex machina to throw them a bone. Like the planning to infiltrate the ministry was a pretty fun sequence, sadly Rowling couldnt come up with a way to do more of that sort of stuff. Im surprised you didnt say anything about the epilogue, its probably one of the worst chapters. However one thing I disagree with is the matter of fillers. One of the best aspects of the books is the life at Hogwarts. Detailing that might count as filler, but that might just be what the last book is missing, life at Hogwarts.

I see you only have greatness planned for the next year🔥

Whenever someone says Snape is one of their favourite characters, other people say how they must have only watched the movies as there’s no way you can like Snape if you have read the books. Snape is my favourite character after Sirius and I have read the book many times so it made me feel validated knowing you like him too

It's just you. Because you have no taste.

To fill the void look up the stories of the Blasphemous games, i dont even like playing them but the stores are top tier. Its heavy set spanish religous inspired story that feels easy to understand without actually understanding anything about spanish Christian custom. If curses and the danger of false superstition becoming reality is your thing then youll love it

It’s obviously all opinionated, but wow I actually read the book and then watched the movie directly after for all 7. I actually couldn’t pay attention to the movies they were so bad compared to my reading experience. Also, the half blood prince really didn’t have any real detail given to Harry from good ol Albus 😂the real detail comes at the end of deathly hallows. I 100% agree that the hocrux journey was dragged out too long. I think those dragged out moments almost felt designed to make the reward at the end of it more satisfying.

I just finished the book series last week, and man!!!! This is the book review I've been looking for: comprehensive, well thought out, detailed, and no performative gimmicks or quirks. Just plain genuine review with complete sentences. I obviously didn't agree with everything but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the book.

i see you have the berserk edtions in the back , how far are you into the story?

im legit with you bro with the wheel of time . had the full box set for a quite a while now , finally jumping into it in the new year!

You going to read them again in 6 years when you’re actually an adult? ;) lol

I’ve watched Game of Thrones and I would go to read it but I don’t like starting to read something that doesn’t have a definitive ending already or no known end coming.

Interesting selection. Googling Bakker brought me here. I have read all five and have to say you summarized them pretty well. I will add my humble opinion from each of them starting from my least favorite going to my favorites. 5) Wheel of Time has great premise. I wanted to love it. I like a lot old school, nostalgic epic fantasy but it is indeed the most slogging, tedious, over descriptive reading experience I can recall. Jordan never pauses. Not even when the sleep. And thats from page one of the first book. It was unbelievable. I also think characters and dialogues are a bit outdated and repetitive. I managed to reach book six when I was young but I got tired. When I tried again older I just stopped at book two. It was a chore In any case you should try it because underneath all that there is a great tale that might appeal to you. 4) There is a tie here with Abercrombie and Erikson. Abercrombie is a good writer, with a charming sarcastic prose long before that became a tiring trend for modern grimdark authors. I guess he started it. I liked it. He also has some memorable characters. What did not appeal to me a lot was the actual story. The setting. They felt a bit shallow. Erikson is kinda opposite. The premise and setting interested me. I just could not care for the hundreds of characters and story arcs. For every character I liked there were another 3-4 with hundreds of pages in between I found boring or uninteresting. The whole experience felt not consistent. In ever aspect. Characters, writing, world. There are great moments and there are times it feels just like some role playing session narration. I also did not like how overpowered and fantastical is the setting. Every character can be something special. Some deity, someone who cannot die etc etc. Same with items, places, you name it. Everything can happen so anything happening had no impact to me. It is like some epic fantasy super heroes place or the novelization of a power gaming rpg. 2) Martin is a brilliant writer. He used to be for 20 years my favorite along with Tolkien. Since I first read the Game of Thrones in 96 I was shocked. Storm of Swords was for years my favorite book. Martin s a very intelligent and versatile author who wrote a sweeping drama with dozens of unforgettable characters and scenes. The world is so alive and the character work so distinct. Even if he never writes the sequels I will always be grateful to him for what he has written in that world! Some of the best tales I have read! 1) Bakker. Bakker is phenomenal for me. I tried him twice when I was young dnf him both times at book two. I admired the writing but I could not relate to the unusual style and cast. This was a bleak story of complex middle aged people. So different from what I was used up to then. The premise and world kept calling me and I tried once again at 2017. It was a revelation. After finishing the Prince of Nothing, Tolkien and Martin were dethroned. After finishing the sequel series, the Aspect Emperor I was shocked. It took me months and several dnfs to appreciate another author. I had to reread the whole series, 7 books, to balance things out. I then reread it a second time a couple of years ago. Every time an even more fulfilling reading experience. Bakker is such a nuanced writer. His prose is so powerful. He is the author who I think puts the more effort to choose the right words for every sentence. His writing oozes with intention, meanings and gravitas. As a friend said he is like the twisted brother of Tolkien and Herbert (Dune) writing some kind of bible. But these books are much more than that. There is philosophy, controversy, difficult and uncomfortable themes to explore. There is the horror and abyss of the human condition. There are great ideas. Brilliant metaphysical concepts. Theology. Semantics. Meta value. There is cosmic horror. There is McCarthian(Blood Meridian, The Road) bleakness and conviction. There is Homeric epicness. He is definitely not for everyone because he is the most uncompromising author I can think in the genre. He does not care to fulfill classic tropes and redemptive needs of the reader. He has a horrifying vision, worries and questions and, fortunately for me, wants to explore them through epic fantasy. The more you read of the series the more of all that will be revealed. The whole experience is an intentional, steady vertiginous descent to the Apocalypse. If you sync with him, these books will mark you, scar you and turn you to an apostle!

Dude The Wheel of time series can be pretty long and detailed but it is still one of my top series if not my favorite series of all time. I wish I could read it again for the first once again. I hope you enjoy it.

Malazan is indeed top tier. Here's to hoping it will click for you.

I just bought Gardens of the moon today. I'm currently reading Tokyo Ghoul:re

Oh man ... I don't know what exactly you will think, given your more superhero and action focus, but I think you can really fall in love with A Song of Ice and Fire. The weird unexplained magic (at least from where I'm at in the books,) the insane lore (you can gain this subtly through the main series, or through other books Martin has published,) and, I don't know how much I can say this but this should work: He manages to put a big problem in your face, and then suddenly you realize that it actually *was* a big problem, and when you look back, you just become so disappointed in yourself of having thought it wasn't such a big deal. I love it so much.

ASOIAF is my favorite series and it's worth reading even knowing that it might never be finished! It has the best characters, excellent world building and an amazing story. I recommend that after the third book you read "A knight of the seven kingdoms" because then you'll notice more things in the fourth book. I look forward to the review! It's always refreshing to hear from people who are reading the books for the first time.

I'm almost done with the last of book of the First Law trilogy and omg, I can't recommend it enough! So glad you have that in your "to read" list! Merry Christmas!

I’m excited to hear your thoughts on first law, it’s my favorite fantasy trilogy. Would you receive more money if I read on kindle unlimited or bought a paperback? Also is there a way to get a signed copy?

Goddd I really hope you fall in love with the first law, first trilogy is great, but my lord the second trilogy is a masterpiece of the genre, the three stand alones are fantastic tho (best served cold is my personal fav of the three)

I'm currently reading ASOIAF for the first time right now. I'm roughly a third of the way through A Clash of Kings and am loving it. I also have gone into it blind. Having never watched the HBO series, I'm really excited to experience it all for the first time!

I have a feeling you'll fall in love with Game of Thrones right from the start. The prologue, in particular, is one of my all-time favorites. Keep in mind, though, that like the show, the magic begins subtly-yet with an undercurrent of danger. As the story unfolds, the fantastical elements grow richer and more captivating with each book. I can't wait to hear your thoughts, especially on A Storm of Swords, which I consider the greatest fantasy novel ever written. Oh, and may I offer some friendly advice? Read GoT before The Blade Itself. On many occasions, Joe Abercrombie has shared how A Song of Ice and Fire inspired The First Law, and it's something you can definitely pick up on while reading. To truly appreciate both series-the originality and monumental influence of ASOIAF, especially on the grimdark genre, as well as the raw, compelling grit of The First Law-I think it’s best to begin with Martin’s books. Doing so will allow you to fully savor the brilliance of both worlds.

Absolutely wild to complain about the world building when it’s just France. It sounds like you just don’t know much about European history, so a historical fiction book confused you.

I want to start The Stormlight Archive sometime this year, though, with everything I have planned (both reading and my debut WIP), it won't be until the latter part of the year if not next year. Hope you enjoy it! Cheers!

4:19 - This book didn't care to explain anything... Just like the Souls games. Sooo it has more in common with it than just Monsters, dark and gritty medievil setting.

Wow. That book is beast, but hey.. You like what ya like

Hearing you say Destiny is your favorite game of all time really cements how important nostalgia is. Because as a 32-year-old, I bounced off Destiny super hard. But I will wax poetically about call of duty 2 and half life until I’m blue in the face.