# Ok, so I am ready to move on from Harry Potter books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257 "2008-04-28T19:00:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/1 "2008-04-28T19:00:22Z")
A big moment for me, how many years have I read and re-read, watched and re-watched the movies? Too many. and the minute #6 comes out in the show this November, I’ll go back into my little OC happy world at Hogwarts, TYVM. Today, whilst re-watching The Sorcerer’s Stone for the nth time while knitting, I started fading out on it and wondering what other Witch and Wizard series I _really_ should read. I’ve tried Eoin Colfer’s anti hero, whatever his name is, and just went phhhffft. ( I know it isn’t witchy or wizardry, but it is kidfic.) I did attempt **Septimus Heap** and liked what I read but faded out somewhere and I think my 10 y ear old stole my book. Really, anything that is a well written fantasy I’ll take a looksy. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/2 "2008-04-28T19:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] wondering what other Witch and Wizard series I _really_ should read. [/QUOTE] The two I can think of right now that come closest to being in that vein are Jonathan Stroud’s _Bartimaeus Trilogy_ and Diana Wynne Jones’s _Chronicles of Chrestomanci_. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/3 "2008-04-28T20:24:05Z")
Seconding _Bartimaeus_. Have you read [The Farseer Trilogy](http://www.sfsite.com/04a/ques30.htm) by Robin Hobb. If you don’t mind character names like Shrewd, Regal, and Verity, you might like these. There’s magic too – not the same kind as Potter’s though. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/4 "2008-04-28T20:25:34Z")
I rather enjoyed the Trillium series. The first was the best (Black Trillium), it is a collaborative effort by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May and Andre Norton. Admittedly, it isn’t the best example of the calibre of writing that those three are capable of but I found it an enjoyable story. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/5 "2008-04-28T20:28:03Z")
These are good. Keep them coming! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/6 "2008-04-28T20:33:28Z")
There’s the _So You Want to Be A Wizard_ series, which I think is now marketed as the Young Wizards Series, by Diane Duane. It’s not _great_ but it’s pretty good. It lacks the overarching narrative of the HP series, but the characters are very likable and I think it has a nice balance of boy and girl wizards in primary roles. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/7 "2008-04-28T20:44:51Z")
_Sabriel_ by Garth Nix. Waaaaaay better than Harry Potter, and I do love me some Potterism. The next two books in the series (Lirael and Abhorsen) aren’t as good as the first one in my opinion, but they are both very good. The Keys to the Kingdom series by him is also pretty good, but it’s targeted at a younger reading level than the Old Kingdom books. I’d let a third or fourth grader read it, no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/8 "2008-04-28T20:49:05Z")
How about [the Hobbit](http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/0618002219)? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/9 "2008-04-28T20:50:46Z")
Anything involving Unseen University and The Great Wizzard. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/10 "2008-04-28T20:59:02Z")
Give [The Name of the Wind](http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle-Day/dp/0756404746/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209416225&sr=1-1) a try. I am re-reading it right now, and it’s destined to be part of a series (the second book will come out on April 7, 2009). ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/11 "2008-04-28T21:03:59Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] Give [The Name of the Wind](http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle-Day/dp/0756404746/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209416225&sr=1-1) a try. I am re-reading it right now, and it’s destined to be part of a series (the second book will come out on April 7, 2009). [/QUOTE] I second this. ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/12 "2008-04-28T21:18:46Z")
I’ve purchased the Golden Compass trilogy and plan to start reading it as soon as I’m through with this upcoming move. I can’t recommend it since I haven’t started it yet, but I picked it up specifically because three different people who, as far as I know, don’t know each other each independently said about the series “If you liked Harry Potter, you’ll love this.” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/13 "2008-04-28T21:29:10Z")
You asked for a series, so my apologies for stepping outside the boundaries, but [Prince Ombra](http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Ombra-Roderick-MacLeish/dp/0765342448/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209418063&sr=1-1) is just a darn good read. I also quite enjoyed The Name Of The Wind, but hate that the second isn’t out until 2009! ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/14 "2008-04-28T21:29:42Z")
The [Harry Dresden](http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/) books are very entertaining. Harry is a modern-day wizard/private eye in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/15 "2008-04-28T21:37:36Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] The two I can think of right now that come closest to being in that vein are Jonathan Stroud’s _Bartimaeus Trilogy_ and Diana Wynne Jones’s _Chronicles of Chrestomanci_. [/QUOTE] I love just about all of Jones’s books. I think they’re much better than Harry Potter, though of course she doesn’t write all of her books in the same universe. Try the local library, most of them will be in the children’s section. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/16 "2008-04-28T21:48:15Z")
Can’t go wrong with Lloyd Alexander’s The Prydain Chronicles. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/17 "2008-04-28T22:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] You asked for a series, so my apologies for stepping outside the boundaries, but [Prince Ombra](http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Ombra-Roderick-MacLeish/dp/0765342448/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209418063&sr=1-1) is just a darn good read. [/QUOTE] Indeed. I’ve owned three copies. Nobody returns this book. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/18 "2008-04-28T22:50:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Indeed. I’ve owned three copies. Nobody returns this book. I hated Prince Ombra so much that I literally threw my copy into the garbage two-thirds of the way through. ☹ On the other hand, I enthusiastically second all of Diana Wynne Jones books (except the Dalemark Quartet; I never really got into those) and the Bartimaeus trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/19 "2008-04-28T22:57:14Z")
Still the standard, which will probably put eve the HP books into their proper perspective, is LeGuin’s \*Earthsea \*series. Yeah, OK, they’re books about a young wizard and his schooling (years before Rowling ever had an inkling), and many people dismiss them as children’s literature, but they’re among the greatest books I have ever read. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257/20 "2008-04-28T23:21:40Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] I hated Prince Ombra so much that I literally threw my copy into the garbage two-thirds of the way through. ☹ [/QUOTE] Maybe that’s why mine didn’t come back. 😉 I’ve read it twice. I liked it much better the second time. I liked the fairy tale quality, but then I like a lot of YA fiction. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-i-am-ready-to-move-on-from-harry-potter-books/447257.md?page=2)