Support NeoGAF

[daTRUballin]

When it comes to Harry Potter, there never seems to be a clear consensus on how the books and movies are ranked or which story is considered the best one. Especially for the books. At least with the movies, there are certain ones that are talked about with higher regard compared to the others, like Prisoner of Azkaban. For the books, they all seem to be loved pretty equally across the board, with maybe only Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix being considered the low points for some.

This is why I always find HP discussions interesting. You'll always get wildly varying opinions on the series. I wanted to make separate threads for both the books and films and for each one to have its own poll. I'm very interested in seeing how the books will be ranked on this poll!

 

[West Texas CEO]

Phoenix for me.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Chamber of Secrets is like that bastard stepchild you had when your wife was pregnant with your second one.

Deathly Hollows really went off the rails with world building.

I would say Azkaban or Goblet of Fire - first because of the change in tone from happy-go-lucky of first two books ; second because shit is hitting the fan and setting the stage for the rest of the series.

 

[daTRUballin]

Chamber of Secrets is like that bastard stepchild you had when your wife was pregnant with your second one.

I've personally never understood the hate the second book gets. When I was reading the books for the first time, I remember just being so engaged by the story and the mystery in that book. I enjoyed the first book, but the second book was when things were really starting to get interesting.

Now obviously, looking back on it after experiencing the rest of the series, it does maybe feel a bit too similar to the first one in a lot of ways, but at the time, it felt like every book was improving upon the last and building the world up even more.

And then of course, once I got to the third book and was reading the Shrieking Shack scene at the end, I was like "Wow. So THIS is why these books are so popular."

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Prisoner of Azkeban, because Griffindor finally wins the Quidditch finals, and mah boi Oliver Wood gets to graduate a champion. And god damn them for cutting that out of the movie.

 

[Rockondevil]

3-7 are all amazing.
1-2 are great too, but I’m glad they’re short as I often get bored on a re-read of them.

It’s close for me but I think OOTP wins out slightly.

 

[nightmare-slain]

5, 4, 7, 6, 3, 2, 1……..cursed child

 

[cormack12]

For the books, they all seem to be loved pretty equally across the board, with maybe only Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix being considered the low points for some.

I thought OOTP was up there as one of the best - if not, the best - book in the series.

Didn't realise mainstream opinion was it sucked. For me that's where it became a much broader adventure.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

I thought OOTP was up there as one of the best - if not, the best - book in the series.

Didn't realise mainstream opinion was it sucked. For me that's where it became a much broader adventure.

Order of the Phoenix is my favorite. It was freaking tome in comparison to what came before, but it also just kept giving in terms of character development and worldbuilding.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Half-Blood Prince, it ain't even close.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Goblet of fire and Azkaban. The books got way too long after that. Rowling was best when she wrote them short and snappy.

I guess it makes sense though as the series really took off with Goblet of Fire and then world building became for important for making the $$$.

 

[Laieon]

Goblet of Fire, but if you ask me tomorrow I'd probably say something different.

3-7 are all amazing.
1-2 are great too, but I’m glad they’re short as I often get bored on a re-read of them.

It’s close for me but I think OOTP wins out slightly.

1-2 are my rainy day books - I just find them extremely cozy.

Prisoner of Azkeban, because Griffindor finally wins the Quidditch finals, and mah boi Oliver Wood gets to graduate a champion. And god damn them for cutting that out of the movie.

I'm still not completely convinced we'll ever see the damn thing and I know people are iffy on it right now, but if/when the HBO Remake actually comes to fruition, all the cut subplots are what I'm looking forward to. Everything from more quidditch to SPEW to the House of Gaunt.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Prisoner of Azkaban is the last one I was invested in as a kid, after that I stopped giving a fuck. The darker tone and time travel successfully seal it.

 

[Kilau]

I thought OOTP was up there as one of the best - if not, the best - book in the series.

Didn't realise mainstream opinion was it sucked. For me that's where it became a much broader adventure.

Harry is incredibly annoying through much of the book and makes quite a few bad and costly decisions. It was hard to read as I can't relate to the moody know it all teen mindset.

 

[Lukaku's First Touch]

The one with the tournament. Really liked it. Still amazes me how much I liked the books. It's the only book series I ever read start to finish.

 

[cormack12]

Harry is incredibly annoying through much of the book and makes quite a few bad and costly decisions. It was hard to read as I can't relate to the moody know it all teen mindset.

Yeah I sort of attributed the schizophrenia down to the voldemort link. Which is why Dumbledore stayed away.

His behaviour was erratic and angry but I thought that was down to when Voldemort was linked in and trying to estrange him, push his friends away etc.

But I agree it probably wasn't written as strong or as obvious as it should have been. It was almost pov writing instead of 3rd person at points

 

[Kilau]

Yeah I sort of attributed the schizophrenia down to the voldemort link. Which is why Dumbledore stayed away.

His behaviour was erratic and angry but I thought that was down to when Voldemort was linked in and trying to estrange him, push his friends away etc.

But I agree it probably wasn't written as strong or as obvious as it should have been. It was almost pov writing instead of 3rd person at points

Yeah, you learn about the link which explains the behavior but it’s another one of those things that Dumbledore keeps from Harry far too long and causes problems.

It was difficult to read at the time and the movie handled it well.

 

[AJUMP23]

I think the Half Blood Prince has some real mystery and intrigue in it. Probably my favorite of the the series. The first one is very good as well.

 

[Daniel Jackson]

Half-Blood Prince
And I really dislike Order of the Phoenix. Harry is being an insufferable asshole throughout pretty much the entire book.

 

[Dural]

Azkaban, I love that quidditch was a big part of the book.

Prisoner of Azkeban, because Griffindor finally wins the Quidditch finals, and mah boi Oliver Wood gets to graduate a champion. And god damn them for cutting that out of the movie.

It pissed me off to no end that they cut pretty much all the quidditch out of the movie.

 

[Rran]

I loved Goblet of Fire, and Prisoner of Azkaban is a close second. Both find a good balance between the simple magic of the first books and the complex worldbuilding of the later ones. That said, even Goblet goes off the rails somewhat at the end. Once these books start talking about the Ministry of Magic for pages on end my eyes kind of glaze over. Sometimes it gets too large in scope and loses the personal touch.

I didn't like Order of the Phoenix. Couldn't finish it. But the series stuck the landing pretty well.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

All of them is the correct answer. My least favorite is much easier: it’s Order of the Phoenix.

If I really had to choose, Half-Blood Prince would be my answer. It’s a terrific story in its own right, balancing a lot of things perfectly and feeling like a proper adult book at times. The movie got nothing of it, focusing too much on the teen drama.
Deathly Hallows is possibly my second favorite. It’s incredible how much that books tells while still being considerably shorter than the previous two.
The Philosopher’s Stone is a perfect children’s book, though. Just wide-eyed wonder from start to finish. It really has that Roald Dahl feel but manages to be its own thing. A true classic.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

I voted Goblet of Fire.

I don't really consider any of them the "best". I just remember loving the tournament and mystery, then that ending being the turning point of the series.

 

[analog_future]

I'm going to go with Deathly Hallows.

i thought it was a great conclusion to the series.

I truly believed Harry was going to his death when he found out that he was the final horcrux and had to allow Voldemort to kill him. One of the most riveting & emotional chapters of any book I've ever read.

 

[Gareth Bryne]

Goblet of Fire.

Kids realize shit is getting real and friends will die.

 

[NeverYouMind]

If I had to rank them:

1. Chamber of Secrets
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Philosopher's Stone
4. Deathly Hollows
5. Prizoner of Azkaban
6. Order of the Phoenix
7. Goblet of Fire

The reason Chamber of Secrets ranks as my number one is because it features the fascinating mini-Vacation to the Weasley's burrough, the trip to the dark side of Diagon Alley, the untold story of Hogwarts' most controversial founder, Lockheart eating humble pie, broken wand hijinx, Hagrid's backstory, and the origin of Voldemort.

The reason Goblet of Fire ranks dead last is its plot is stupid. A student who does not qualify to compete is put in despite the number of representatives for each school being met already. Then somehow everything goes their way and in the end it was all part of a sinister plot. Plain awful writing.

 

[Pagusas]

Goblet of Fire was my favorite book. Specifically the end, where you can just feel the plot of the whole series erupting open. The calling of the order of the phoenix was epic when I read it. By far the worst movie though, they got rid of the best scene in the book and lost the power of the ending.

Prisoner of Azkaban was my least favorite book, but by far is the best movie. Crazy how that worked out.

 

[SlicedBread3]

1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Deathly Hallows
3. Chamber of Secrets
4. Prisoner of Azkaban (Worst movie though)
5. Philosopher's Stone
6. Goblet of Fire
7. Half Blood Prince (Only one I didn't like)

 

[Artoris]

Deathly Hallows

 

[gow3isben]

Top tier:

1. Order
2. Goblet
3. Azkaban

Solid:

4. Philosophers
5. Chamber

Trash:

6. Deathly Hallows
7. Prince

 

[Tams]

Philosopher's Stone is great because it introduces us to the world.

Prisoner of Azkaban has the best story.

Goblet of Fire has a great story and introduces lots more of the world.

Order of the Phoenix is... well I gave up at page 100 when reading it when it came out and I never finished it. Perhaps it's good, but it just felt like more of the same shit.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Just read the plot summary of Cursed Child. Some good ideas, but it's pretty weird they retconned the story to change the main character's love interest.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Goblet of Fire. The lead-up hype was unreal, and I was about the same age as Harry was in it, in the middle of my summer vacation with a massive adventure to read through. Cherished memory.

 

[Power Pro]

5, 4, 7, 6, 3, 2, 1……..cursed child

I saw Cursed Child in New York a few months ago finally, just cuz I thought it'd be something fun to do while I was there. It was a fun performance to watch, and the production was awesome, but man that story is fucking nonsense, and Harry's son is a fucking idiot.

 

[daTRUballin]

I thought OOTP was up there as one of the best - if not, the best - book in the series.

Didn't realise mainstream opinion was it sucked. For me that's where it became a much broader adventure.

The most common criticism of that book I see is that it's too long and bloated. When I read it for the first time, I really enjoyed it and it opened up the world a lot more to me. I was able to finish the book relatively quickly as well.

But nowadays, whenever I do a series re-read, OotP is always the book that brings it to a halt. It's just so huge lol. When you're experiencing the story for the first time, you're eager to keep reading because you want to know what happens next. But if you already know everything, OotP is kind of a tough book to re-read sometimes.

It's the reason why I haven't read HBP and DH as much as the other books. It's simply because I just find it hard to get through OotP to get to them.

 

[TastyPastry]

couple years ago i would have said azkaban but now it's either half blood prince or goblet of fire for me. book 5 was great too, umbridge is an amazing villain but i remember it had some very boring parts.

 

[Horatius]

3 > 4 > 6 > 5 > 1 > 2 > 7

 

[Davesky]

Prisoner of Azkaban is the best out of the original ‘trilogy’ that was released at that time as a child, which are all the most self-contained and all round well told stories. I read each of them countless times but there was something really magical and almost mythical about reading the third book. Everything that came after this was a great experience on it’s release but never much again after this. I did read Order of the Phoenix again as an adult which was a great experience. The idea of Horcruxes introduced in the Half-Blood Prince is a fascinating concept, and Riddles memories probably the best individual sections in the entire series, but the school year itself wasn't that much interesting.

 

[Melon Husk]

I'll have to reread the series but I answered Goblet of Fire. I remember it most vividly as this long epic story.

 

[Bernkastel]

It has to be Half Blood Prince, Rowling's best work. Sadly we got the worst adaption, it should have been two parts.

 

[Dazraell]

My favorite was Goblet of Fire. I really enjoyed the triwizard tournament, how epic it was and how the main twist started shifting the series in a more darker direction

 

[deathsaber]

First time through when I read it at launch as a young man- Goblet- opening part at the Quidditch world that signals that shit is starting to get real, introduction of the concept of "Death Eaters" etc. Then segway into the Tri-Wizard Cup tournament which is just pure fun- good action/adventure, cool new characters, and then the ending gut-punch that changes all the stakes.

Most recent 2nd readthrough earlier this year- Order of the Phoenix. First time through at release time as young adult barely out of school, I thought it too long, too dour, Harry too angry and un-likeable, everyone seemed out of character, and I just was like, OK, whatever.

But now, reading it as a 44-year-old man- it's the deepest, richest book that Rowling wrote. Harry's feelings are valid and understandable, the poor kid has had to go through some serious shit- death, and loss no one should have to go through at far too young of an age- stuff that would bring a grown adult to his knees. (not to mention not having any parents, and living in abuse/neglect his whole life). We are dealing with believably depicted angsty/angry teens, fallible adults making the wrong choices, revelations that previous un-flappable role-models (Dumbledore/Harry's father) were not perfect people, first young romance and all of that awkwardness that involves- happening during the hardest of times, and the best non-Voldemort villain of the series is front and center. Its honestly a great fucking book. And that climax is still killer.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Phoenix for me.

For me it's the Deathly Hollows

 

[SiriusBlack]

Order of the Phoenix for me at the top.

 

[squeakywheel]

The one he gets it on with Ginny

 

[Soodanim]

HBP has the multiple trips, which are some of my favourite chapters in the entire series. The Gaunt backstory and the eerily calm meeting where Riddle applies for a teaching position and Dumbledore calls him out on all of his shit because he's already started to become deformed from the creation of his Horcruxes.

DH has Harry using cruciatus out of sheer protective rage, which is by far the best way to reveal yourself. Great moment.

I really hope the in production HP series doesn't shy away from either of these. HP has moments of interest and darkness that the movies completely failed to recognise.

 

[Banjo64]

I must have read them all over 20 times.

I actually like them all a great deal.

I do lean towards the later books as the tone grew ‘maturer’.

My pick would probably narrowly be Half Blood Prince. Harry being groomed to hunt the Horcruxes, viewing Dumbledore’s work on this through the Penseive, Snape delivering the killer blow on Dumbledore. I thought it was expertly done. The snapshot in to Tom Riddle’s past was great. Killing Hepzibah, who adored him, when he was a young adult was fantastically grizzly. I think a lot of people are fascinated by legendary historical artifacts, it was great.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Goblet of Fire. It goes downhill from there. I remember finishing Goblet and getting excited about what’s coming in the next book when Dumbledore says a war is coming and he already contacted the giants and recruiting people - and then pretty much nothing.

 

[Ballthyrm]

I just wish JK Rowling was writing more fantasy. She has a unique voice and I like how she build her books.

She, like GRRM got to much success for their own good. It crushed them under media obligation and fame.

A damn shame. I hope it never happens to Sanderson.

 

[*Nightwing]

My Immortal