Harry Potter - taking over the world.

Harry has been living in the cupboard under the stairs for as long as he can remember. The Dursleys (his uncle and aunt) have tried to suppress his past, but cannot hide the truth when Hagrid, a half-giant from Hogwarts school, arrives on Harry's birthday and announces that Harry has been accepted into Hogwarts school, the school for wizards and witches.

Harry enters a new world when he arrives at the school, and immediately is embroiled in intrigue, danger and adventure. Not only is Harry a wizard, be he is also the most famous wizard in the world; as a baby, he survived an attack by Voldemort, the most evil and dangerous wizard in the world, and Voldermort isn't happy about it!

This book tells the tale of how Harry enters Hogwarts school, begins to meet some great friends (and enemies) and embarks on a quest to find a magical stone that he believes Severus Snape (a sinister professor at the school) is trying to steal to give to Voldermort.

As an introduction into Harry's world, this book is excellent. It introduces all the main characters, delves into the magical world and fills our eyes with high adventure and intrigue - it is a must read for all kids, and most adults will be surprised how quickly they become hooked.


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It's not often that a book transfers to a movie well. With much input from J K Rowling's this movie only has minor alterations to the plots, with only a couple of minor characters missing.

Immediately, as the wonderful music starts, and you view Hogwarts for the first time, you are enchanted by the movie; such care has been taken to adapt the characters and places that you find that the magic of the book has been transferred to the cinema screen.

While the pace is a little slow at times as the movie concentrates on the characters, overall the plot is captured well and the subtleties are all there. While the CGI isn't the best I've seen, there are some great moments, particularly the Quiddich game.

The movie has captured much of the Rowling's humor, and this is very important, as it is this humor that helps to bridge the difficult and often moralistic themes that are inherent in the books.

The movie does well to build the anticipation leading to a climatic ending, and overall despite some of its downfalls, such as the acting of the young characters, and some poor CGI, is a very good movie and is definitely one to keep in a DVD collection.


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After an arduous summer with his horrible Aunt and Uncle Dursley, Harry Potter has troubles trying to get back to school; luckily his trusty friend Ron comes to save him and together they fly to school in a magical car - unluckily they crash land in a very angry 'whomping willow'.

This really sets the scene for Harry's second year at Hogwarts; as Harry begins to hear voices from the walls, sinister events begin to happen in the school as the 'Chamber of Secrets has been opened'. The intrepid trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione Granger attempt to solve the 50 year old mystery despite the dangers they end up facing.

If you loved the first Harry Potter book, then there's no doubt you'll love this one; it has the same subtle comedy combined with adult themes that somehow make it so intriguing and fun to read. Rowling has the ability to write twisting stories that aren't too complex, but often aren't too predictable. Add to this the fact that she has built some strong characters that enhance the whole concept of the Harry Potter world.

This is a must read for all Potter fans.



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Yet again the movie stays pretty true to the movie, and the continuity of having the same cast members really enhances the feeling of visiting the same world. Learning from the first move, you'll find the CGI much improved and the young actors are beginning to show their talents.

This movie is a little darker than the first, and is a lot faster paced. Even though you may have read the book, you'll find the movie will get your heart beating a little faster as the atmosphere it builds is superb.

The combination of comedy and terror works very well; the ending is done particularly well, and you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat.

This is one of the best Harry Potter Movies.



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This book starts with a humorous incident in which Harry accidentally causes his Aunt Marge to be turned into a large balloon. Unfortunately as student wizards are not allowed to use magic outside of school, Harry fears he will be expelled from Hogwarts.

Harry decides to leave the Dursley's house and venture out into the world on his own. However, as Sirius Black has escaped from the wizarding prison Azkaban, and seems intent on murdering Harry, the Minisitry of Magic turn a blind eye to his transgression and send the sinister Dementors (the prison guards of Azkeban) to protect him.

Rowlings has continued on where she left off, combining subtle humor with terror. Yet again this book is full of high intrigue and has many twists and turns. Now that you are comfortable with Harry and his friends, Rowlings begins to explore the adventure more and begins to build a subtle back story that will become more important as the series moves towards its culmination.

The writing is just as good as the first two books, with a flow that makes the pages turn really fast - her story telling abilities, and her ability to bring the characters to life are amazing and truly make this a superb series worthy of all the accolades.


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This is my favorite movie so far. With a change of director came new ideas. The whole movie had a more sinister feel to it, and while the CGI was very good in the first two movies, it seemed to step up a level in this movie.

The emphasis on the action was evident, even though the director did a pretty good job in building the characters. I think it was the way in which the movie was filmed that set this up to be a great movie; from the way in which the perspective was changed to give it more depth, to the way in which the director seemed to concentrate more on the emotions of the characters.

The movie just seemed more intense and really captured the mood of the book very well.



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We start out quietly as Harry attend the Quiddich world cup; however things take a sinister twist when the Death Eaters (Voldermorts army of dark wizards) disrupt the celebrations attacking the campgrounds where the world cup is being held. Rowlings is starting to show the ascendance of Voldemort in this book and the whole book has a darker feel to it.

The book concentrates on a tri-wizard tournament between three of Europes wizarding schools. Normally one wizard from each school competes in a tournament to crow the best wizard. However, mysteriously Harry Potter is entered into the tournament to make it a four way contest.

The contest features three events, each testing the wizards skills in different ways. From an underwater rescue, to a dragon fighting contest and culminating with a race through a dastardly maze, each event is full of intrigue, excitement and danger.

This book is decidedly darker than the first three and bring up a lot of adult themes. As you read on you get a sense of the danger building, and see a larger picture developing. While the overall plot is not really linked to Harry's battle with Voldermort, the underlying plot is beginning to build and there's no doubt that the final books will be exiting and dangerous!


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This is another very good movie that uses spectacular CGI (especially with the dragons) to enhance the story telling. The plot stays true to the book and continues to focus on the characters emotions. The pace of the movie is excellent and mostly this movie keeps you on the edge of your seats.

Of all of the movies, this one is perhaps the most exciting; both in action and danger, the movie really steps up the pace. You can feel the danger building as the movie moves along, and while the movie does feature much of Rowling's humor, you do get a sense of the darkness that is becoming more prevalent in the books.



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Rowlings begins to tackle some more adult themes in this book, including teenage angst and love. This book delves into the 'resistance movement' formed to combat Voldermort's ever growing power. The Order of the Phoenix, is a movement run by Professor Dumbledore.

As we follow Harry through this difficult year, we begin to realize the pressure the young wizard is under; being the one who is supposed to defeat Voldemort is terrifying for Harry and he struggles to cope with the expectations.
This book focuses more on the school, as a particularly vile new teacher takes control and institutes many dangerous and sinister regulations that seem to hamper Harry and his friends in their quest to thwart Voldemort.

This book really looks deeply at Harry's character, following his move into the adult world and exploring his realization that adults are not perfect, and perhaps there are no answers to some of the difficult questions he will face into the future.

The book is slower than the first four, but is an essential read as it really begins to pull together all of the puzzle pieces that will be needed when the series culminates.

This is a very good book; it's different from the first four, darker, more sinister and perhaps more retrospective - out of all that have gone before, this is the one that will probably be more pleasing for the adults.



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This is the most satisfying movie for me (so far). It's the one movie that really does a good job of exploring all the emotions, anger and changes that are occurring. It has some great characters, especially Professor Umbridge, and really concentrates on building each character and highlighting the strengths and floors of each.

The pace of the movie was incredible; even though the book was a little slow, the movie was paced just right. The quiet moments compliment the excitement and danger very well, and as the movie builds towards its climax you can feel the tension building very well.

It's amazing to see the transformation of the actors; from the first movie where they were almost wooden, you are now seeing some very accomplished young actors coming through.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable movie.



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In my opinion this is the worst book of the Harry Potter series. It seemed to be written to fill in all the gaps in the plot so that Rowlings could concentrate on making the final book excellent. Many people love this book, but for me it was a little contrite and while it does answer many questions, it really didn't seem to be a logical progression from the previous books.

This book seemed to be more like a Sherlock Holmes book as Dumbledore and Harry Potter delved into the background of Voldermort, seeking clues along the way. Interspersed with this was a quest for Harry to find out who the Half Blood Prince was - this was one of the hottest topics on the web when the title of the book was announces, and for once I was able to predict who it was!

Rowlings concentrated on character development in this book, and did a great job of that. The book is a lot darker than the previous books, and really begins to setup the battle that is coming in the final book.

The book ends with a 'stunner' (even though it was a highly predicted stunner), and left the reader trying to work out how Rowlings would tie all the subtle plots together in the final book.



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J K Rowling saved the best until last. There's no doubt that out of all the Harry Potter books I have read, this one is the most exciting, the most dangerous and yet at times the most humorous. This book highlights Rowling's writing style; it shows her ability to tackle exceptionally tough subjects while combining wit and humor, and building great characters and relationships.

As Ron, Hermione and Harry set out on a quest to find out about the Deathly Hallows, for once leaving the sanctuary of Hogwarts well behind, we see the strong bond that has formed between the three. This bond has built over the course of six books, and is an important aspect of Rowling's writing.

This book is the darkest of them all as Voldermort does everything in his power to thwart Harry. Despite obvious dangers Harry forges ahead, often putting himself in danger unduly. As we move through the book, and see the subtleties of the previous books emerging, we are often stunned by twist in plots that are both intense and sad.

You realize the attachment you have to major characters as tragedy occurs, and you begin to feel the desperation of Harry as things turn dark and sinister. As the book moves forward towards the tumultuous battle that Harry has known must occur, you get a sense of loss and sadness as you begin to realize that one way or another it will soon end.

The plot to this book is exceptional; for once Harry seems to stray from Dumbledore's advice and seeks out the Deathly Hallow, which we find out became a fatal flaw in Dumbledore's character. Harry seems to blindly follow his instincts despite the misgivings of his friends.

As we finally come to the end of the book, and most of the unanswered questions are explained, we feel a great sadness that we will no longer have Harry in our life; for me this is what made the books so good, you really felt that Harry was part of you and it's very hard to let go!

Rowling did a great job with this book; there were plenty of twists in the plot, and the action was exceptional - the story ends in a very good way, and despite the losses that occur, including the death of a few major characters, you feel that the overall ending was justified and satisfying!



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