Best Harry Potter book (Spoilers)

[The Avatar]

So, what do you think is the best Harry Potter book. Personally, I can't really decide, but if I do, I'll edit my post. What do you all think? Okay, after I finish re-reading the books, I'll get back on to this.

[Azrael24]

Hem hem...i do believe its hallows

[Ragebot]

Azkaban and Goblet are by far the best books in the series. Followed by, dare I say it, Philosopher's Stone.

Goblet of Fire is probably my personal favourite of the books. Compaired to the narrative tightness of Azkaban, it is rather rambling and episodic. That's a small qualm when you consider the sheer amount of great new characters and world-building details that are introduced. Unlike with the last two books, I absolutely adored the all the relationship humor this time. And what about that ending? Tragic, scary, violent and suspense-inducing all at once, rivaling a good season finale of Buffy.

I'd argue that, objectively, Azkaban is the best in terms of plot, pacing, mood and depth. It introduces and features many beloved new characters (that don't really amount to much in the later books, sad to say), it gives Harry a fully-developed and engrossing character arc, it has many moments of true magical wonder that are nowhere to be found in the last two books and, last but not least, it definately features the best uses of Hermione and Ron ever.

Tough call, but I voted for Azkaban.

[Temple Fugate]

Philosopher's Stone set a benchmark in capturing the imagination that the other books could only follow, not really exceed. Sure, Rowling added more and more magical stuff as Harry grew up, but in terms of reading a book and feeling truly inspired by her descriptive storytelling style, Philosopher's Stone wins that award.

The best book in terms of plotting and writing I think is Azkaban. It wasn't excessively long with "filler" material, and the plot made total sense. If someone who hadn't read I and II picked up Azkaban they'd have little trouble getting right into it. It was the first novel to push the Potter envelope and really get into some deep storytelling.

My personal favorite is Half-Blood Prince, mainly because things finally start going Harry's way. The other books had many little things like Colin Creevy and Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge that were such a nuisance to Harry I wanted to jump into the book and punch them in the face. Also, after the emo fest that was Phoenix, Prince showed Harry finally getting in people's faces and taking charge of his situation. I particularly liked his exchanges with the new Minister of Magic. And he didn't screw anything up!

Hallows was a good ending, and it was excellent to see the three out on their own for once. Despite the roller coaster ride they had in that book, however, I can't really call it my favorite. I rarely favor conclusions, be they books or television series or movies. I'm not sure exactly why.

[Lord Dalek]

Hallows and Azkaban are currently seesawing in my prefference-o-meter. Honestly I can't give a true "winner"

[Ishtar]

I'd have to say Deathly Hallows. I found it interesting the whole time, it has so many twists and I liked how things finally wrapped up. The other books were all open ended, really, but I still loved them.

[Chary Moota]

I'd have to say Goblet of Fire. That's the one that really made me love the series.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Azkaban. I'm a sucker for time-travel.

[purplehairedwonder]

If someone who hadn't read I and II picked up Azkaban they'd have little trouble getting right into it. It was the first novel to push the Potter envelope and really get into some deep storytelling.That was exactly what I did, actually. And PoA has been my favorite book since. (Not to mention it introduced my favorite character ;)) It's always held a special place in my heart plus it has just felt like the strongest of the books to me.

I guess I'd rank them: 3, 7, 4, 5, 1, 2, 6

I just never liked Half-Blood Prince all that much for whatever reason. It was good, but it had less re-readability for me, I guess.

[WrenchNinja]

Yeah, I'm going to have to go with Azkaban as well. I read Chamber of Secrets first and then Azkaban. It just blew me away. A solid mystery and time travel really made me like it even more. Plus we get some information about Marauders...in an actual positive light, instead of what we get in the later books.

Plus who doesn't love that triple expelliarmus.

[Hanshotfirst113]

This is interesting, and I'm intrigued to see Hallows getting a surprising level of mention here (I was a little lukewarm towards aspects of it on my first reading; I'll have to reevaluate it later). The hype on the seventh book is still strong; I wonder what people will think once the dust settles?

[Mynd Hed]

This is interesting, and I'm intrigued to see Hallows getting a surprising level of mention here (I was a little lukewarm towards aspects of it on my first reading; I'll have to reevaluate it later). The hype on the seveth [sic] book is still strong....

I think that's what it comes down to; the most recent work always seems best since it's still fresh on everyone's mind.

I'm kind of surprised not to see more love for Goblet, which was the release that really set Pottermania into full swing. Personally, though, I voted for OotP, which I liked for being (arguably) the darkest of the books. Voldy's loose, the Ministry's being bigger jerks than ever, what's not to love? That and I'm a sucker for Dumbledore's Army. (-:

[Malex]

I can't choose the best book because it's been a few years since I read a few of the books. I will say that my favorite was Goblet of Fire. That book is the pivotal book in the series as it makes way for the final three. The Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament really hooked me as this action packed book. It even introduced my favorite annoyance, Rita Skeeter. Additionally, it had the best ending. The pretty boy dies, Voldemort's back, the Order is reforming, and the great divide between the heroes and the Ministry begins. Plus, the book's title object was a subtle plot device. All the other title objects, places, groups, or people were all central things that were sometimes obsessed over. It showed that the book was not dependent on one thing to move the story along.

[Azrael24]

I think that's what it comes down to; the most recent work always seems best since it's still fresh on everyone's mind.

I'm kind of surprised not to see more love for Goblet, which was the release that really set Pottermania into full swing. Personally, though, I voted for OotP, which I liked for being (arguably) the darkest of the books. Voldy's loose, the Ministry's being bigger jerks than ever, what's not to love? That and I'm a sucker for Dumbledore's Army. (-:
I know you dont mean anyone in particular but Ive read all the other books so much i can almost recount them by memory and the seventh is still my favorite. it was filled with so much suspense, i just loved it!

[Charles Chimag]

I said Hallows, not to jump on the bandwagon. I just thought it explained minor plot details and blew them out of proportion by making them important. That's why I thought it was good. Did anyone expect Grindelwald? And I thought that the Battle of Hogwarts was a very satisfying part.

[Lazerboy5000]

I liked them all a lot. It's really hard to choose my favorite.

:shrug:

[TheMecca]

Went with Deathly Hallows, not just because it was the best written (and it was) but because of the fact that it wasn't following the "Dursleys, Hogwarts, Voldemort, Dursley's Again" formula of the first five (the sixth not as much because of Dumbledore and Harry's adventures with Slughorn and the Locket, but still).

[ToOn~g@l]

Its kind of a tie for me between Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. I liked Azkaban because you get to know about Sirius Black and who he really is, you also meet the hippogriff and Hermione wants more homework so she takes classes at the same time with the use of a time traveler thing. It just made the story a lot of fun.

Goblet of Fire was great too because it was the start of everything changing for Harry's world. You got to meet other Schools and the kids start falling in love with each other. Plus you got to see Dobby again.

[DarkAngel]

This is interesting, and I'm intrigued to see Hallows getting a surprising level of mention here (I was a little lukewarm towards aspects of it on my first reading; I'll have to reevaluate it later).
I agree. I've read 4-7 and Hallows simply isn't on the level of those others. For me, it's 5 for the same reason that I mentioned in choosing it out of the movies as well. The strength of that book's plot/theme is what carries it for me. Dramatically, I can't think of a more compelling situation than having Hogwarts under "foreign" control. This is where Hallows could have stood above all the others with the school under, essentially, Death Eater authority, but Rowling made a huge mistake in skipping over the school year and the terror the students were exposed to.

As I said somewhere, I think in the Hallows talkback thread, Hogwarts is as much a character as Harry, Dumbledore, or any of the others. It's been the primary setting for most of the series. Nothing could be more dramatic or compelling, then, than seeing that setting under the control/influence of the villains of the story. Order of the Phoenix came the closest to the realization of that potential with Hogwarts under Ministry control and paranoia running rampant. Additionally, it featured a thrilling climax with the Order battling the Death Eaters and Dumbledore facing down Riddle/Voldemort.

Second, I'd probably name Half-blood Prince due to the fascinating exploration of Riddle's past.

DA

[bigddan11]

I voted for Deathly Hallows, but Prisoner of Azkaban is #2 in my book followed by Goblet of Fire, Sorcerors Stone, The Half Blood Prince, The Order of the Phoenix, and finally The Chamber of Secrets brings up the rear dead last.

[SilverStCloud]

Prisoner of Azkaban. After that all the endings were too rushed.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Deathly Hallows was probably my favorite. It did a great job wrapping everything up, and had a lot of great scenes. It managed to also introduce more twists, despite already having a lot to wrap up. Dumbledore got fleshed out from beyond the grave, how awesome is that?

It had so much drama and emotion packed into the book, with a lot of sad moments, but also moments worth cheering about.

#2 would be Order of the Phoenix, which was just great fun, and also a great emotional ride.

[The Guitar Slayer]

Prisoner of Az. It introduced Lupin, one of my favourite characters. It did a lovely switchero on Sirius and gave Harry someone rather than take them away; he got his godfather. It was the last book before the outrageous word counts and the emo showed up and started to irritate me.

Goblet is probably the one I liked the least because it was so large and badly paced at the same time. It was clear that Rowling hadn't written something so big before, and it suffered. Fortunately, that suffering was in the name of what was to be Books 5 and 6, which I found to be quite strong.

I think Hallows is overrated just because it's a) the most recent book and b) the last book. You'll probably get a better, more genuine gauge a year or two after the last movie is released. Hallows was good, as I've mentioned before, but she didn't tie up all the loose ends in canon, which I find to be a no no. Yes, the encyclopedia is coming out...but it would be a lot more fun to read it in the rest of Harry's context, yes?

[Temple Fugate]

I said Hallows, not to jump on the bandwagon. I just thought it explained minor plot details and blew them out of proportion by making them important. That's why I thought it was good. Did anyone expect Grindelwald? And I thought that the Battle of Hogwarts was a very satisfying part.Holy CRAP was the Battle of Hogwarts satisfying. I couldn't stop grinning from when Neville came through the portrait hole to when Harry finally went into the woods to confront Voldemort. What an awesome bunch of scenes those were. I never realized how much I missed the Hogwarts crew until Harry was reunited with them.

OT: Speaking of fights in Hogwarts, the hourglasses in the great hall that tally the House Points are broken twice, in VI and VII. The first time I recall them even being mentioned was in V when Malfoy used his new super-bad powers to take away Gryffindor points for no good reason. Were these hourglasses mentioned anywhere in books I through IV? I've gone back and searched and I haven't been able to find them. For that matter, are they in the movies?


Goblet of Fire was great too because it was the start of everything changing for Harry's world. You got to meet other Schools and the kids start falling in love with each other. Plus you got to see Dobby again.Blech! You can have your lovey-dovey teens and your Dobby and get them out of my Potter books. :p Am I the only one that never really understood why Ron and Hermione fell for each other? Opposites attract, okay, but seriously, they have ZERO chemistry. It's like Spock and McCoy getting married. I just can't understand it.

[Malex]

Were these hourglasses mentioned anywhere in books I through IV? I've gone back and searched and I haven't been able to find them. For that matter, are they in the movies?

They were mentioned in Book I when Harry, Neville, and Hermione (or Ron can't remember) lost 50 points each for the Norbert incident. The hourglasses are props in the movies. I only saw them in the Great Hall in an interview on the SS/PS DVD.

[Charles Chimag]

You grinned while Fred, Lupin, and Tonks died?

[Temple Fugate]

You grinned while Fred, Lupin, and Tonks died?Of course not! You know what I mean.


I shouted "YES!" when Harry saw Colin Creevy's body, though.

[Colin]

My overall ranking of the books:

1. Half-Blood Prince -- some great characters in there, introduced the ultimate final quest, and I really enjoyed the Tom Riddle backstory

2. Goblet of Fire -- Where things really start to change. Introduced some great characters and some interesting new themes. Death becomes a major player in the series. It's a whole new Quidditch Match, folks...

3. Deathly Hollows -- Wraps everything up in pretty much a neat little bow (well, as neat as a bloodbath can be).

4. Chamber of Secrets -- Primarily because of the Tom Riddle back story that was introduced here. The whole revelation of Tom Riddle/Voldemort at the end of this one makes up for some of the more wonky parts of the book. And really, who didn't find Lockehart totally absurd?

5. Prisoner of Azkaban -- Never a huge fan of this one. Never a huge fan of Sirius Black.

6. Philosopher's Stone - Sets the stage for the ultimate game of Harry vs Voldie but that's really about it. Sure we're introduced to a million characters we all know and love now, but past that, the book really doesn't stand too far out.

7. Order of the Phoenix - It's far too long, too drawn out. It's a book where nothing of major importance happens for a good long time. and Whiny Harry Totally kills the overall tone of the book

[HG Revolution]

#2 would be Order of the Phoenix, which was just great fun, and also a great emotional ride.

Order of the Phoenix fun? Well, the DA bits were cool, but overall it was just ridiculously dark and Harry was annoying. Way too long and not much happens until the last third. It did have some really powerful moments and a lot of foreshadowing, but it was the least enjoyable of the books as far as I'm concerned.

My favorite was Prisoner of Azkaban. Wicked sharp plotting, Professor Lupin, time travel, what more could you want? It was a huge step up from the previous books in maturity, and it was wise enough to know there's a difference between "mature" and "constant emo doom and tragedy". Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows were very impressive pieces of writing, but they're essentially two halves of the same story, and as such don't hold on their own as well as Philosopher's, Azkaban, or Goblet.

[Azrael24]

Call me emo (which im not) but i could really see where harry was coming from in the fifth book, which is why i enjoyed it so much

[Charles Chimag]

I think the fifth book was well written, but I didn't like it very much. It worked, though, because Umbridge made me want to kill her, which was why I didn't like it. That and all the disbelief. "Oh, you have no proof that Voldemort's back, so you must be lying, even though you would never lie about something this big." Am I making any sense? At all?

Oh, and I will put a Tongue-Tying Curse on anyone that says Deathly Hallows is bad, then turn them into a ferret.

[Azrael24]

Well, i dont think its necessarily that the ministry didnt believe harry, its more that the didnt want to believe harry. they let fear get to them and instead of taking responsibility they called harry a liar

[Mynd Hed]

Oh, and I will put a Tongue-Tying Curse on anyone that says Deathly Hallows is bad, then turn them into a ferret.

Not bad, just not nearly the best.

[Charles Chimag]

I looked back at why you voted for Ootp.

1. It's a dark book.
2. Voldemort's loose.
3. The Ministry are being bigger jerks than ever.
4. You love Dumbledore's Army.

Now to compare that with DH.

1. People die right and left, and Harry's on the run in a tent with Ron and Hermione, trying to destroy Horcruxes. Seems pretty dark.
2. Voldemort is still loose, he can fly, and he has the Elder Wand.
3. Oh, and he also controls the Ministry, which is persecuting Muggle-borns. Jerks? Half of them are Death Eaters or under the Imperius Curse.
4. Plenty of mention from those reformed rebels. They try to steal Gryffindor's sword. They have to kidnap Luna and try to kidnap Augusta Longbottom (poor Dawlish, he always gets jinxed :() Plus, there's that Battle of Hogwarts, where not only the DA, but the Order of the Phoenix and Harry's old Quidditch team (they're a real threat!) fought against Voldemort himself, and all his Death Eaters.
5. And Umbridge comes back. She's having a lot of fun sending suspected Muggle-borns to the dementors. She even loves Slytherin's locket enough to produce a Patronus with it on her. And Grawp comes back, and miraculously survives. Plus we've got the centaurs.

Yeah, I'm really trying to defend DH.

[Aizen]

Order of the Pheonix, because it was the longest and had good comedy and romance and tragedy, etc. One thing that really bugged me about Deathly Hallows was that WHY they could not make a better ending, I mean I so thought that Snape was on Dumbledore's side and it was going to be complex and so mysterious. Instead all we get is Dumbledore telling Snape to kill him... That really let me down:sad:

[Charles Chimag]

Well... that would mean that Snape's on Dumbledore's side... And everyone thought Snape was on Voldemort's side. But the Pensieve thing explained half the events, showing that certain ones were Snape's doing, which made it more complex.

[RedNinja84]

Deathly Hallows was my favorite followed by Goblet of Fire.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Order of the Phoenix fun? Well, the DA bits were cool, but overall it was just ridiculously dark and Harry was annoying. Way too long and not much happens until the last third. It did have some really powerful moments and a lot of foreshadowing, but it was the least enjoyable of the books as far as I'm concerned.

Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree. The DA was a lot of fun, and made a good, enjoyable storyline. Aside from that, there was so much emotion and passion in the book, it was a huge emotional roller coaster to read, and that made it a lot of fun for me. The character development was also top notch here. It was also this book which really set the tone for the final two books.

Yeah, the shift began in Goblet of Fire, but after reading that, most people would be predicting a united Wizarding world, not the divided one we get in the final 3 books. Rowling really grew and matured her world here, and made it a lot more realistic.

[Aizen]

Well... that would mean that Snape's on Dumbledore's side... And everyone thought Snape was on Voldemort's side. But the Pensieve thing explained half the events, showing that certain ones were Snape's doing, which made it more complex.
Yeah I know but it was rather boring. I mean it was so straightforward, there was no mystery...

[r0derix]

I'd have to say the Half Blood Prince. Everything about the story was absolutely brilliant, from the fantastic look on Voldemort's past and personality to the talks between Dumbledore and Harry about himself and the prophecy and everything in between. This was the book where the action to a backseat to the story, and I always think a fantastic story is even better than great action (Epilogue is my favorite episode of Justice League Unlimited, for example).

[purplehairedwonder]

5. Prisoner of Azkaban -- Never a huge fan of this one. Never a huge fan of Sirius Black.D:

You make me sad on several levels there, Colin.