A great story divided mainly into seven books, which since the publication of the first in 1997, has given a lot to talk about. A magic tale so long that it is supposed to ” not be attractive to children” and for this reason it was rejected as a literary proposal by several publishers.
However, no one could question that since its launch it has done nothing more than catapult itself to success. So much so that it has been the reason for the development of video games, complementary books (including a dictionary of the saga), theme parks and, of course, the respective release on the big screen.
It should be noted that everything related to the story of the young Potter seems to be done well, resulting in a large fan base around the world. Despite the different cultural currents that he has experienced in the last decade, it is incredible how the history of this character and the world’s acceptance of him were not affected by any change.
Typically, novels in this style build off of a small successful launch; and depending on the cultural impact of the first book, options to continue the story are evaluated. That’s why we often see a good story become a trilogy and when they want to extend it, they end up destroying everything they achieved at the beginning of the run.
But, that is not the case in this fantasy saga. It is known that J.K Rowling devised from the beginning, the development of Harry’s life and everything that he implied. Over time, she separated the content into the books keeping the chronology of the story according to its publication date (with the exception of the companion books).
Do you know the five best books in the series?
Harry potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
According to the world created by JK Rowling, there is a dimension where magic manifests freely, where wizards, witches and hundreds of fantastic creatures live. However, there is always crossover and interaction between the magical world and the “Muggle” (non-magical) world in secret, as there are restrictions on the use of magic where Muggles are.
However, this scenario is conducive to a healthy coexistence that eventually ends in the formation of families mixed between sorcerers and ordinary humans. Of course, a group of wizards with a distorted criteria of “royalty”, hate the fact that “Mudbloods” (born between wizards and muggles) exist.
Among them, Lord Voldemort, who created an empire of evil wizards who would cleanse the world of humans and leave only pureblood wizards.
In this first book, the story shows us a baby who loses his parents because of Voldemort’s ideal (since his mother was half human and half witch), but when the dark wizard tried to kill him, he lost all his powers.
Since then, while Harry Potter was famous in the wizarding world as “the boy who defeated Mr. Dark”, in the muggle world he was raised away from magic by his obnoxious maternal uncles.
It was not surprising, that under a class society of the time, the little bastard was belittled by his life tutors; but he was barely old enough, fate took Harry from an ordinary life to an extraordinary life.
With his acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry knows a totally different life from the one he had led as a muggle; he was famous, he had a fortune left by his parents and he also met his best friends.
However, it also increased the danger, because since Mr. Tenebrous had lost to him, all he thought about was the moment to return and finish his task. So he eventually had to face the dangers that lurked in the shadows.
The Deathly Hallows
Although it is true, this is the last of the books, there is a healthy controversy among fans around the world about its importance in history; thus scoring the first book published as the latter in first place among the best Harry Potter books.
Of course, it would have been 17 years since Harry had entered Hogwarts, with endless epic episodes during his time at the school. He was able to experience how death was approaching him in different ways and had to fight for his life and save his friends many times.
In his fight against Lord Voldemort through history, Harry discovers that in order to defeat him permanently, he would have to destroy all the parts into which Mr. Dark had divided his soul. It may sound natural to you that to defeat a dark being you have to exterminate his soul, but if we talk about his soul being divided into six parts, it becomes a more difficult task.
It should be noted that each of these parts were hidden in common objects and scattered throughout the world; and they received the name of Horcruxes. So, in the midst of a warlike context in the world of magic, where light and darkness face each other until extinction, Harry and his best friends are dedicated to hunting the Horcruxes to put an end to the darkness.
However, in the course of the search, they discover that by accident the night Lily and James Potter died protecting poor Harry, Lord Voldemort created a seventh Horcrux inside the child. So the outcome of the story keeps you stunned from the first line.
The best thing about this book is that it reveals certain mysteries about iconic characters from the saga and the rest of the cast brings to light all of Rowling’s creative potential, which would be growing since The Sorcerer’s Stone.
It could be said that because it is a complete story from the first to the last of his books, “everything has its reason for being”; Therefore, you have to take a look at the complete saga and you will discover much more than what was made into the cinema.
The prisoner of Azkaban
The most dangerous wizards in Rowling’s history have been relentlessly hunted, and once captured they are held captive in the most secure place within the wizarding world. In theory, the Azkaban prison can be compared to the Pentagon, except that there are no guards with firearms in custody, but ruthless creatures with truly fearsome powers.
Now, this part of the Harry Potter story reveals a scenario where several lines of life intersect between the contemporary generation of wizards with the protagonist and the generation of his parents. On this occasion, a fugitive from Azkaban is heading to Hogwarts in search of Harry, and the authorities presume that to assassinate him and complete Voldemort’s task of thirteen years ago.
However, Sirius Black, who with his Animagus abilities had outwitted the Dementors to get out of Azkaban, meets up with old friends of the light and reveals some of the wizards’ confusion about who was for and against Voldemort. When Death Eaters roam society incognito, no one can be trusted, but Black risks his life to save Potter from one of Mr. Dark’s active spies.
It’s no wonder that as little Potter grows older, he faces ever more ruthless dangers and as a result is forced to learn advanced wizarding skills as a mere child.
Being this the third book of the most influential magical saga of the last two decades, it plays a fundamental role in the outcome of the story. Through their events they trace moments from the past of the Potter Family and even the relationship of an old friendship between several death eaters and wizards of light.
The Chamber of Secrets
As you may have noticed, so far we have not kept a chronological order with respect to reading order, rather we have focused on the content of each book and its relevance to the whole story. For this reason, I assigned this fourth place among the best Harry Potter books to The Chamber of Secrets ; Rowling’s second publication of the saga.
Interestingly, after thwarting Mr. Dark’s return in Sorcerer ‘s Stone , Harry in this second book is warned “not to return to Hogwarts school.” But how could he stay with his muggle family if they only treated him like a servant?
Of course, any child would rather go on magical adventures than serve a despotic family, even if it meant mortal danger. So Harry and his friend Ronald figure out a way to get to school, only to find a particular mystery, even within the wizarding world.
The whole story is framed in a legend that tells that one of the founders of the school hated the ” mudbloods ” and had a beast that could differentiate them and in turn exterminate them.
The “Mudbloods” were not worthy of studying magic in the eyes of Salazar Slytherin. So after he left school, he hid the beast in a secret chamber, so that one day his heir would fulfill his vision.
Now, the curious thing about this part of the story is that that year, the Slytherin heir arrives incognito at school and at the same time Harry begins to notice that he has special abilities, similar to Slytherin. Of course, disputes, accusations and severe attacks by the beast towards students of non- wizard parents cannot be absent .
But the curious Potter ventures to solve the mystery of the legend to discover that the Slytherin heir had cleverly covered his entrance to the castle and was about to complete the dark legacy.
Undoubtedly the fundamental role of the apparent new character Tom Riddle and Potter’s unique abilities, make up one of the pillars on which the rest of the story makes sense.
The Goblet of Fire
Finally we complete this selection of the five best books in the history of Potter with the fourth of those published. I must confess that I had a hard time choosing between The Order of the Phoenix , The Half-Blood Prince and The Goblet of Fire ; Well, personally I consider all three equally important.
However, this story wrapped up in the iconic Triwizard tournament involves a whole plot against Harry and the rest of the wizarding world. By orders of “who you know” they alter all the conditions of the tournament so that Potter is involved as a participant, even against the rules and the will of Harry himself.
Under this scenario, three great houses of magical studies come together, the Durmstrang Institute, the Beauxbatons Academy and this year, the Hogwarts house as host of the championship.
After fighting a dragon, solving life and death puzzles to rescue his friends, and crossing the enchanted maze to win the cup, Harry is transported to the most important event of the entire saga; the return of Lord Voldemort.
Perhaps this is one of the books with the greatest emotional encounter, where on the one hand you celebrate the victories but as a reader you face the internal dramas of the story and it is impossible to ignore. Well, we have all lived in our childhood the euphoria of competing in some intercollegiate championship, but when there are deaths involved, the euphoria turns into frustration.
So in this section with the best Harry Potter books, we must note that Rowling has risked creating the entire plot and settings of The Goblet Of Fire .
Harry Potter Book Reading Order
Although it is true that in this section we have positioned the books not precisely by their chronological order, it is also true that it must be adjusted when you start your journey to Hogwarts. That’s why I decided to make it easy for you to get on the train and list the correct order in which you should experience the books:
- Harry potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- The secret chamber
- The prisoner of Azkaban
- The Goblet of Fire
- The order of the Phoenix
- The Half-Blood Prince (Half-Blood Prince In Some Translations)
- The Deathly Hallows
Now, there are (and I know will continue to be written) stories that precede Harry’s life, which are found in Fantastic Beasts, but which reveal many more mysteries about the influence of the wizarding world on the muggle world. Now, I consider that any additional material to the central saga can be read after finishing The Deathly Hallows.
The Mastermind Behind The Potter Story
It is known that the subject of magic has been in the minds of men since the beginning of humanity. But being able to create such an immersive story, which oscillates between the fantastic and funny, until it reaches the cruel and sadistic without losing the attention of the readers, requires more than technique, it requires a passion for creating stories.
Certainly we are all called to do great things, but honor to whom honor is due…
Joanne Rowling, the author of this story, is not only admirable for her creative ability to communicate stories, but she is a worthy example of what we often call Tenacity. After overcoming multiple rejections of her proposal, going through a heavy divorce, and the death of her mother, there was only one thing left; Rise from the ashes.
He was even on the verge of suicide due to his severe depression, but thanks to the fact that he had his daughter’s company, he managed to overcome adversity and clung to the idea that his story would be successful.
In fact, in part of Potter’s story he managed to metaphorically capture part of his life, for example, the death of Lily and James reflected the feeling of losing his mother. The Dementors expressed his feelings as he went through the divorce… And like that, other personal messages within each line.
I openly argue that if we could personify the phrase “rising from the ashes”, JK Rowling would be one of the candidates for such representation. In addition to rising from the ashes, she has advanced far more professionally than anyone else in similar circumstances, and that leaves a lot for us to learn.
And if you wonder what’s after the books?
Well, I must tell you that it was never just in the books, an endless number of sources of official content that shows more of this world full of creatures and spells. To be sure, I doubt that at a literary level it will close with what already exists; It may happen like other sagas where decades later they write a continuation.
I just hope that when they do, they keep the essence of the main message.
Finally we have that the Harry Potter saga is an excellent literary work because in its pages there is a printed feeling that invades whoever reads it. So if in this time you still haven’t ventured to read the full story, you can continue to start now or continue living as a muggle.
