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Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality #5
Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres and the Last Enemy
223 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2013
5 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Eliezer Yudkowsky
50books1,796followersFrom :
Eliezer Shlomo Yudkowsky is an American artificial intelligence researcher concerned with the singularity and an advocate of friendly artificial intelligence, living in Redwood City, California.
Yudkowsky did not attend high school and is an autodidact with no formal education in artificial intelligence. He co-founded the nonprofit Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI) in 2000 and continues to be employed as a full-time Research Fellow there.
Yudkowsky's research focuses on Artificial Intelligence theory for self-understanding, self-modification, and recursive self-improvement (seed AI); and also on artificial-intelligence architectures and decision theories for stably benevolent motivational structures (Friendly AI, and Coherent Extrapolated Volition in particular). Apart from his research work, Yudkowsky has written explanations of various philosophical topics in non-academic language, particularly on rationality, such as "An Intuitive Explanation of Bayes' Theorem".
Yudkowsky was, along with Robin Hanson, one of the principal contributors to the blog Overcoming Bias sponsored by the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. In early 2009, he helped to found Less Wrong, a "community blog devoted to refining the art of human rationality". The Sequences on Less Wrong, comprising over two years of blog posts on epistemology, Artificial Intelligence, and metaethics, form the single largest bulk of Yudkowsky's writing.
Eliezer Shlomo Yudkowsky is an American artificial intelligence researcher concerned with the singularity and an advocate of friendly artificial intelligence, living in Redwood City, California.
Yudkowsky did not attend high school and is an autodidact with no formal education in artificial intelligence. He co-founded the nonprofit Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI) in 2000 and continues to be employed as a full-time Research Fellow there.
Yudkowsky's research focuses on Artificial Intelligence theory for self-understanding, self-modification, and recursive self-improvement (seed AI); and also on artificial-intelligence architectures and decision theories for stably benevolent motivational structures (Friendly AI, and Coherent Extrapolated Volition in particular). Apart from his research work, Yudkowsky has written explanations of various philosophical topics in non-academic language, particularly on rationality, such as "An Intuitive Explanation of Bayes' Theorem".
Yudkowsky was, along with Robin Hanson, one of the principal contributors to the blog Overcoming Bias sponsored by the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. In early 2009, he helped to found Less Wrong, a "community blog devoted to refining the art of human rationality". The Sequences on Less Wrong, comprising over two years of blog posts on epistemology, Artificial Intelligence, and metaethics, form the single largest bulk of Yudkowsky's writing.
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July 29, 2024
Найцікавіша поки з усіх частин. Тут стільки подій відбувається, і замах на Драко, і суд над Герміоною, і троль, і смерть Герміони. Просто сидиш і в шоці від всіх цих подій, а особливо коли Малфої та Поттер співпрацюють, то це взагалі фантастика (я про Луціуса). Але все ж моментами Гаррі підбішував, трішки меньше, але все ж ще таке відчуття є. І тут Квірел, виявляється не Квірел, а якийсь старий чаклун який давно зник, але зараз на це ніхто не заважає. І взагалі я очікувала, що якось Сіріуса покажуть нам, але ні. А ще мені сподобалась фраза «Мерлінові труселя».
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2023
я ридала, коли читала цю книжку, так, як не ридала вже дуже й дуже давно. це, може виявитися, єдина частина, котру треба сприймати не розумово, а емоційно
особливо вразило покликання на оригінальну серію та епітафію на могилі Поттерів 🥺
і ми за крок до розуміння того, хто ж персоніфіковане зло (у цій серії всі книжки � про перший клас Гаррі, а Того-Кого-НЕ-МОЖНА-НАЗИВАТИ досі не було) і чи буде подолано останнього ворога? (тому терміново беруся за останню книжку, от тільки пишу вам абзац-копняк😅)
як фанат поттеріани закликаю всіх однодумців терміново читати цю серію, щоб вшанувати alter ego Гаррі Джеймса Поттера-Еванса-Верреса й емпірично перевірити крутість методів раціональности.
бо як на мене, вона геніяльна 🖤
особливо вразило покликання на оригінальну серію та епітафію на могилі Поттерів 🥺
і ми за крок до розуміння того, хто ж персоніфіковане зло (у цій серії всі книжки � про перший клас Гаррі, а Того-Кого-НЕ-МОЖНА-НАЗИВАТИ досі не було) і чи буде подолано останнього ворога? (тому терміново беруся за останню книжку, от тільки пишу вам абзац-копняк😅)
як фанат поттеріани закликаю всіх однодумців терміново читати цю серію, щоб вшанувати alter ego Гаррі Джеймса Поттера-Еванса-Верреса й емпірично перевірити крутість методів раціональности.
бо як на мене, вона геніяльна 🖤
October 8, 2020
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DNF at 21%.
I just couldn't suffer through it any longer. I've been trying to read this book for almost three years now and every time I read a little further, I just find myself disgusted with everything the writer has done. Now here's the thing...the idea was brilliant in its own right. But the execution was not only grossly unrealistic, but it was just downright awful in general.
I'd been really excited to read this, in part due to the fact that it somehow managed to find its way onto ŷ as a fan fiction. I must admit I am utterly baffled as to how that came to be now that I've read as much as I have. And here's something to understand about this book. It's massive. The number of pages I managed to force myself to read through would equate to a 400+ page novel.
And I personally don't think this book deserved even that much of my time.
I think it's thoroughly apparent that I wanted to like this fan fic. I truly did. There is a lot to be praised from intelligence and rationality, but instead of actually telling an important tale with themes of rational understanding woven in, Yudkowsky simply gives us asinine characters that are poorly written and a story that jumps around so much you wonder how anyone could say there's even a plot at all.
Now, I had expected that there would be a fair amount of differences in the novel, especially on the part of Harry's character. His entire backstory had changed, after all. But ultimately that doesn't account for how an eleven-year-old boy never seems to have any of the traits of the young child that he is. Ironically, I think I might have been able to get past that--who doesn't want an immensely intelligent Harry Potter to read?--had it not been for how disgustingly out of character literally everyone else was.
And then, somehow along the line, Harry becomes disturbingly sociopathic and thus even more difficult to empathize with. I can't think of a single instance past the very first chapters of the tale where he didn't come off as a self-obsessed little jerk for absolutely no reason at all. He's manipulative and cruel on more than one occasion and does nothing to show intelligence in a positive light. This was immensely frustrating as it only furthered the often misconstrued notion that intelligent people are stuck up, snobbish assholes with no emotions whatsoever.
Harry's intelligence is also portrayed in a deeply unbelievable manner. Instead of needing to learn (as someone at eleven years old, even a very well read someone, would need to do) Harry simply thinks...and then somehow knows in a short period of time. Intelligence is not a trait that one simply has, but rather something someone has to work at constantly and Yudkowsky completely ignores this factor in favor of simply parroting his somewhat misguided beliefs through the mouth of his main character. In fact, Harry's solution to a great deal of events is simply to use a time-turner to travel back and re-do everything.
Disturbing jokes are made throughout the prose and the writing is mediocre at best, only serving to create more problems with the story as a whole. And to make matters worse, there is almost nothing going on at all aside from Harry acting like a little brat all the time and taking advantage of the people around him. I'm pretty sure that by the point I stopped, he was still in his first few months of classes in his first year. Which brings me to another issue I had. There is absolutely no continuity. The story arcs hop around idly at random as the author appears to simply fill in whatever idea he had at the present moment and say, "well, who cares if it fits?"
I just couldn't stomach how unrealistic the entirety of this story was or how Yudkowsky regularly butchered characters in order for them to fit his own personal view of them. It's not the first time I've seen Dumbledore portrayed as a bumbling fool, but it's the first time that I've been thoroughly disgusted by it. He regularly degrades and insults well loved and kind characters from the original novels and does a horrible job of it in the process. The blatant disrespect the author shows the original story and characters is exceedingly difficult to accommodate.
It's a real shame, because ultimately the idea was one I had been really interested in. But, I suppose I just have to say that if you're interested in reading Harry Potter fan fiction, definitely read something else rather than waste your time with this one. There are much better ones out there and it doesn't take too long to find them.
| | | | | |
DNF at 21%.
I just couldn't suffer through it any longer. I've been trying to read this book for almost three years now and every time I read a little further, I just find myself disgusted with everything the writer has done. Now here's the thing...the idea was brilliant in its own right. But the execution was not only grossly unrealistic, but it was just downright awful in general.
I'd been really excited to read this, in part due to the fact that it somehow managed to find its way onto ŷ as a fan fiction. I must admit I am utterly baffled as to how that came to be now that I've read as much as I have. And here's something to understand about this book. It's massive. The number of pages I managed to force myself to read through would equate to a 400+ page novel.
And I personally don't think this book deserved even that much of my time.
I think it's thoroughly apparent that I wanted to like this fan fic. I truly did. There is a lot to be praised from intelligence and rationality, but instead of actually telling an important tale with themes of rational understanding woven in, Yudkowsky simply gives us asinine characters that are poorly written and a story that jumps around so much you wonder how anyone could say there's even a plot at all.
Now, I had expected that there would be a fair amount of differences in the novel, especially on the part of Harry's character. His entire backstory had changed, after all. But ultimately that doesn't account for how an eleven-year-old boy never seems to have any of the traits of the young child that he is. Ironically, I think I might have been able to get past that--who doesn't want an immensely intelligent Harry Potter to read?--had it not been for how disgustingly out of character literally everyone else was.
And then, somehow along the line, Harry becomes disturbingly sociopathic and thus even more difficult to empathize with. I can't think of a single instance past the very first chapters of the tale where he didn't come off as a self-obsessed little jerk for absolutely no reason at all. He's manipulative and cruel on more than one occasion and does nothing to show intelligence in a positive light. This was immensely frustrating as it only furthered the often misconstrued notion that intelligent people are stuck up, snobbish assholes with no emotions whatsoever.
Harry's intelligence is also portrayed in a deeply unbelievable manner. Instead of needing to learn (as someone at eleven years old, even a very well read someone, would need to do) Harry simply thinks...and then somehow knows in a short period of time. Intelligence is not a trait that one simply has, but rather something someone has to work at constantly and Yudkowsky completely ignores this factor in favor of simply parroting his somewhat misguided beliefs through the mouth of his main character. In fact, Harry's solution to a great deal of events is simply to use a time-turner to travel back and re-do everything.
Disturbing jokes are made throughout the prose and the writing is mediocre at best, only serving to create more problems with the story as a whole. And to make matters worse, there is almost nothing going on at all aside from Harry acting like a little brat all the time and taking advantage of the people around him. I'm pretty sure that by the point I stopped, he was still in his first few months of classes in his first year. Which brings me to another issue I had. There is absolutely no continuity. The story arcs hop around idly at random as the author appears to simply fill in whatever idea he had at the present moment and say, "well, who cares if it fits?"
I just couldn't stomach how unrealistic the entirety of this story was or how Yudkowsky regularly butchered characters in order for them to fit his own personal view of them. It's not the first time I've seen Dumbledore portrayed as a bumbling fool, but it's the first time that I've been thoroughly disgusted by it. He regularly degrades and insults well loved and kind characters from the original novels and does a horrible job of it in the process. The blatant disrespect the author shows the original story and characters is exceedingly difficult to accommodate.
It's a real shame, because ultimately the idea was one I had been really interested in. But, I suppose I just have to say that if you're interested in reading Harry Potter fan fiction, definitely read something else rather than waste your time with this one. There are much better ones out there and it doesn't take too long to find them.
| | | | | |
April 17, 2018
"You'd have lost," said Alastor Moody. "And the Boy-Who-Lived didn't just take out Voldie, he set it up so that his good friend Hermione Granger came back from the dead at the same time Voldie resurrected himself. There's no way in hell or double hell that was an accident, and I don't think it was David's idea either. Amy, the truth is, none of us know what the keeper of Merlin's legacy has to do. But we're not the right kind of crazy for this crap."
Amelia Bones frowned. "Alastor, you know I've dealt with strange things before. Dealt with them quite well, in my opinion."
"Yeah. You dealt with the crap so you could go back to real life. You're not the kind of crazy that builds a castle out of the crap and lives there." Moody sighed. "Amy, on some level you know exactly why Albus had to leave who-knows-what-job to the poor kid."
Such Is Alastor Moody's evaluation of the crazy world in which Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres lives. This conclusion to the fan fiction series goes out with a bang, bringing together elements of all seven books of the original and compressing the finale down into the plot line of the first book. This time I will refrain from giving any spoilers or plot summaries, but will hint that it includes a trip down to the Sorcerer's Stone. I have also chosen to write about the last two books at once, as I couldn't stop reading once I got started. However many its flaws, the book is all-engulfing once you begin it.
Some readers may actually find the books a bit dull, because many of the long chapters are filled with endless dialogue, both internal dialogue between Harry's many selves (Ravenclaw 1, Ravenclaw 2, Slytherin 1, Slytherin 2, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor), and with other external characters. He engages in philosophical debates, logical arguments, and utility functions. There is plenty of action as well, but it's like a physics professor wrote it. A good chunk of the humor in the book is poking fun at apparent flaws in the original series. For instance, this exchange between Harry and Hermione is quite good:
"I can just imagine it," Hermione said. "Harry James Potter, Sorted into Gryffindor, aspiring Quidditch player -"
"No. Just no."
"Remembered by history as the sidekick of Hermione Jean Granger, who'd send out Mr. Potter to get into trouble for her, and then solve the mystery from the library by reading books and using her incredible memory."
"You're really enjoying this alternate universe, aren't you."
"Maybe he'd be best mates with Ron Weasley, the smartest boy in Gryffindor, and they'd fight side by side in my army in Defense class, and afterwards help each other with their homework -"
"Okay, enough, this is starting to creep me out."
"Sorry," Hermione said, though she was still smiling to herself, appearing rapt in some private vision.
But again, I have the same qualms about Harry as I mentioned in previous posts. I mean, part of the appeal of fan fiction is pure entertainment value, pushing boundaries within the original series, and introducing elements that seem foreign to the world-building of the original universe. But still. To me, rather than a book with a well-developed plot, it is a mix of a logic puzzle and a childish fantasy. For instance, the pre-finale chapter is entitled "Final Exam" and the author sets up an impossible-sounding scenario, and asks his readers to propose solutions. It's like "Thinking Physics" (which is well-referenced throughout the book) for wizards. The childishness part is how both Harry's expectations and the actual responses of characters almost seem to bend entirely to Harry's will. Harry's logic is presented as so all-encompassing and complete that any opposing arguments are either mowed down, or none are proposed at all. Ultimately, things go exactly as Harry plans them. Reality doesn't work like that. You have to accept that people aren't going to bow to your will just because you have a well though-out argument.
I think this is a good place to summarize Dorothy Sayers' five problems with detective novels. While this fan fic isn't a detective novel, Harry does fulfill the role, and seems curiously similar to, Sherlock Holmes. He is a rationalist, solving problems purely with his intellect. The one I find most fitting, and Harry's fatal flaw, is the detective problem is solved in the same terms in which it is set:
Here is one of the most striking differences between the detective problem and the work of the creative imagination. The detective problem is deliberately set in such a manner that it can be solved without stepping outside its terms of reference. This is part of its nature as a literary form, and the symmetry of this result constitutes a great part of its charm. Does not an initiate member of the Detection Club swear to observe this entirely arbitrary rule?
PRESIDENT: Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them, using those wits which it shall please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance upon, nor making use of, divine revelation, feminine intuition, mumbo jumbo, jiggery-pokery, coincidence or the act of God?
CANDIDATE: I do.
But life is no candidate for the Detection Club. It makes unabashed use of all the forbidden aids (not excepting mumbo jumbo and jiggery-pokery) and frequently sets its problems in terms that must be altered if the problem is to be solved at all.
All Harry needs to solve all his problems is Muggle science. There is no real dawning moment where Harry learns something new, because there seems to be nothing new to Harry. Yes, he learns new things as he learns magic at Hogwarts, but he still works within the same basic framework. My wife said that Harry never changes, he never learns or grows. And he doesn't. He is just reinforced in his belief that he is always right, he can solve any problem, and others are lower forms of intelligence.
The other problems with detective novels, also applicable to Harry Potter-Evans-Verres, are:
*
The detective problem is always soluble
*
The detective problem is completely soluble
*
The detective problem is finite
If you are interested in reading the entire essay, it is called "Problem Picture" included in the book "Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine."
These books include another condescending discussion of roles: how we often don't live life consciously, but live by a pattern or a role. Harry unleashes quite the rant on Professor McGonnagall accusing her of living the role of the strict disciplinarian. Harry seems to think he has somehow transcended such lowly approaches to life in the nirvanah of pure logic. I couldn't help but recall a similar discussion by Paul Tournier in The Meaning of Persons:
A foreign colleague remarked to me recently that he was in the habit of taking part in meetings for 'collective psychoanalysis', where he said the strict rule is that everybody must say exactly what he thinks, without any pretence or keeping anything back. I confess I burst out laughing. That was naughty of me, or those people are undoubtedly sincere, and believe that they do keep their rule. But I am very much afraid that, all trained in the same school of psychoananalysis, they unwittingly remain subject to a tacit convention of some kind. Psychoanalysis has liberated them from certain social conventions, but inevitably it has created new ones. Every society and every movement eventually acquires its own particular vocabulary and code of behavior. One does not notice it if one is on the inside; it is those outside who see it. Every army has its uniform. Even the language we speak inescapably moulds the way we express ourselves.
No matter Harry's arguments otherwise, he too plays the part of a role, and a very obvious one pointed out above: the rational detective. It also has its blind spots and its weaknesses.
There are many instances in the book where I would disagree strongly with Harry's proposed solutions. Perhaps he'd accuse me of being one of the NPCs on the Wizengamot. One book Harry probably hasn't read is Road to Serfdom, which I would also recommend to the author.
On a positive note, the book is absolutely fun, although a little dark at points. It does challenge you to re-evaluate how you think, and catch a few more of your own biases.
Amelia Bones frowned. "Alastor, you know I've dealt with strange things before. Dealt with them quite well, in my opinion."
"Yeah. You dealt with the crap so you could go back to real life. You're not the kind of crazy that builds a castle out of the crap and lives there." Moody sighed. "Amy, on some level you know exactly why Albus had to leave who-knows-what-job to the poor kid."
Such Is Alastor Moody's evaluation of the crazy world in which Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres lives. This conclusion to the fan fiction series goes out with a bang, bringing together elements of all seven books of the original and compressing the finale down into the plot line of the first book. This time I will refrain from giving any spoilers or plot summaries, but will hint that it includes a trip down to the Sorcerer's Stone. I have also chosen to write about the last two books at once, as I couldn't stop reading once I got started. However many its flaws, the book is all-engulfing once you begin it.
Some readers may actually find the books a bit dull, because many of the long chapters are filled with endless dialogue, both internal dialogue between Harry's many selves (Ravenclaw 1, Ravenclaw 2, Slytherin 1, Slytherin 2, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor), and with other external characters. He engages in philosophical debates, logical arguments, and utility functions. There is plenty of action as well, but it's like a physics professor wrote it. A good chunk of the humor in the book is poking fun at apparent flaws in the original series. For instance, this exchange between Harry and Hermione is quite good:
"I can just imagine it," Hermione said. "Harry James Potter, Sorted into Gryffindor, aspiring Quidditch player -"
"No. Just no."
"Remembered by history as the sidekick of Hermione Jean Granger, who'd send out Mr. Potter to get into trouble for her, and then solve the mystery from the library by reading books and using her incredible memory."
"You're really enjoying this alternate universe, aren't you."
"Maybe he'd be best mates with Ron Weasley, the smartest boy in Gryffindor, and they'd fight side by side in my army in Defense class, and afterwards help each other with their homework -"
"Okay, enough, this is starting to creep me out."
"Sorry," Hermione said, though she was still smiling to herself, appearing rapt in some private vision.
But again, I have the same qualms about Harry as I mentioned in previous posts. I mean, part of the appeal of fan fiction is pure entertainment value, pushing boundaries within the original series, and introducing elements that seem foreign to the world-building of the original universe. But still. To me, rather than a book with a well-developed plot, it is a mix of a logic puzzle and a childish fantasy. For instance, the pre-finale chapter is entitled "Final Exam" and the author sets up an impossible-sounding scenario, and asks his readers to propose solutions. It's like "Thinking Physics" (which is well-referenced throughout the book) for wizards. The childishness part is how both Harry's expectations and the actual responses of characters almost seem to bend entirely to Harry's will. Harry's logic is presented as so all-encompassing and complete that any opposing arguments are either mowed down, or none are proposed at all. Ultimately, things go exactly as Harry plans them. Reality doesn't work like that. You have to accept that people aren't going to bow to your will just because you have a well though-out argument.
I think this is a good place to summarize Dorothy Sayers' five problems with detective novels. While this fan fic isn't a detective novel, Harry does fulfill the role, and seems curiously similar to, Sherlock Holmes. He is a rationalist, solving problems purely with his intellect. The one I find most fitting, and Harry's fatal flaw, is the detective problem is solved in the same terms in which it is set:
Here is one of the most striking differences between the detective problem and the work of the creative imagination. The detective problem is deliberately set in such a manner that it can be solved without stepping outside its terms of reference. This is part of its nature as a literary form, and the symmetry of this result constitutes a great part of its charm. Does not an initiate member of the Detection Club swear to observe this entirely arbitrary rule?
PRESIDENT: Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them, using those wits which it shall please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance upon, nor making use of, divine revelation, feminine intuition, mumbo jumbo, jiggery-pokery, coincidence or the act of God?
CANDIDATE: I do.
But life is no candidate for the Detection Club. It makes unabashed use of all the forbidden aids (not excepting mumbo jumbo and jiggery-pokery) and frequently sets its problems in terms that must be altered if the problem is to be solved at all.
All Harry needs to solve all his problems is Muggle science. There is no real dawning moment where Harry learns something new, because there seems to be nothing new to Harry. Yes, he learns new things as he learns magic at Hogwarts, but he still works within the same basic framework. My wife said that Harry never changes, he never learns or grows. And he doesn't. He is just reinforced in his belief that he is always right, he can solve any problem, and others are lower forms of intelligence.
The other problems with detective novels, also applicable to Harry Potter-Evans-Verres, are:
*
The detective problem is always soluble
*
The detective problem is completely soluble
*
The detective problem is finite
If you are interested in reading the entire essay, it is called "Problem Picture" included in the book "Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine."
These books include another condescending discussion of roles: how we often don't live life consciously, but live by a pattern or a role. Harry unleashes quite the rant on Professor McGonnagall accusing her of living the role of the strict disciplinarian. Harry seems to think he has somehow transcended such lowly approaches to life in the nirvanah of pure logic. I couldn't help but recall a similar discussion by Paul Tournier in The Meaning of Persons:
A foreign colleague remarked to me recently that he was in the habit of taking part in meetings for 'collective psychoanalysis', where he said the strict rule is that everybody must say exactly what he thinks, without any pretence or keeping anything back. I confess I burst out laughing. That was naughty of me, or those people are undoubtedly sincere, and believe that they do keep their rule. But I am very much afraid that, all trained in the same school of psychoananalysis, they unwittingly remain subject to a tacit convention of some kind. Psychoanalysis has liberated them from certain social conventions, but inevitably it has created new ones. Every society and every movement eventually acquires its own particular vocabulary and code of behavior. One does not notice it if one is on the inside; it is those outside who see it. Every army has its uniform. Even the language we speak inescapably moulds the way we express ourselves.
No matter Harry's arguments otherwise, he too plays the part of a role, and a very obvious one pointed out above: the rational detective. It also has its blind spots and its weaknesses.
There are many instances in the book where I would disagree strongly with Harry's proposed solutions. Perhaps he'd accuse me of being one of the NPCs on the Wizengamot. One book Harry probably hasn't read is Road to Serfdom, which I would also recommend to the author.
On a positive note, the book is absolutely fun, although a little dark at points. It does challenge you to re-evaluate how you think, and catch a few more of your own biases.
December 26, 2024
the most depressing as always with hints of fun
May 11, 2020
And here we come to the book that suffered the most from the series artificially being split into 6 volumes. This volume should not exist. The first half of the volume should go with "Hermione Granger and the Phoenixs' Call", and the second half (the "Roles" story arc) should be the beginning of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". So this volume gets 3 stars, because it just doesn't flow very well.
December 8, 2020
This book was my favorite so far. It had some pretty impactful twists, which are devastating to the characters and even make me feel a tinge of sadness after what happened. It had a very interesting climax that I did not see coming, but which made a lot of sense. I love the uniqueness of the characters in the series.
November 13, 2019
Books with a driven purpose usually irk the heck out of me. Most of this, however, was a great deal of fun. And, later, still a whole pile of fun.
Kinda nifty reading this as individual books rather than one giant chonk, too.
Kinda nifty reading this as individual books rather than one giant chonk, too.
July 27, 2024
Back on the right track. The arc felt more canon to defeating Voldemort than the former. The meta-scheming became a bit much at some point, but its presence is probably preferred.
Notice: This was written some time after my initial read.
Notice: This was written some time after my initial read.
August 17, 2017
Loved it. I will re-read it, as soon as I print it as a physical book.
November 6, 2019
Clever and unexpectedly violent climax. Still plagued by the same problems in basic writing mechanics, but you get used to it to a degree.
March 2, 2023
- starts to get more political and heavy in this book
- main plotline is noticeably advancing, not as many comedic and fluff subplots, more philosophy, stakes are higher
- main plotline is noticeably advancing, not as many comedic and fluff subplots, more philosophy, stakes are higher
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2024
Відгук по розділам 86-99:
🔴 Гаррі Джеймс Поттер-Еванс-Веррес - самий умний токсик у всьому світі.
Це частина абсолютної крінжі і абсурду.
🔴 Гаррі Джеймс Поттер-Еванс-Веррес - самий умний токсик у всьому світі.
Це частина абсолютної крінжі і абсурду.
September 9, 2015
I'd heard this section had some rather controversial decisions from the author, and after finishing this section I can see why.
I'm not going to discuss what that specific choice was but those who have read The Methods of Rationality in it's entirety will probably know what I am referring to, and everyone else should go into this without any spoilers.
But that decision meant this section was overhung with a problem that I find in many books written from a 'male hero'-centric view, and these issues weren't alleviated by this feeling like another chunk of book set up for a pay off further down the line. There were some interesting moments, and the end does leave a good amount of interest in going further on into the finale, but the reason I was so initially enamoured by these books has long since begun to trail away.
I want to read about the way a rationalist, a scientifically minded individual goes about the world of magic and unconserved momentum, and begins to make sense of it, not some increasingly thread-bare plot that may end up working itself out.
I will finish the series (I have read the first 1200 pages, I can read the last 250), but I have lowered my expectations for it.
I'm not going to discuss what that specific choice was but those who have read The Methods of Rationality in it's entirety will probably know what I am referring to, and everyone else should go into this without any spoilers.
But that decision meant this section was overhung with a problem that I find in many books written from a 'male hero'-centric view, and these issues weren't alleviated by this feeling like another chunk of book set up for a pay off further down the line. There were some interesting moments, and the end does leave a good amount of interest in going further on into the finale, but the reason I was so initially enamoured by these books has long since begun to trail away.
I want to read about the way a rationalist, a scientifically minded individual goes about the world of magic and unconserved momentum, and begins to make sense of it, not some increasingly thread-bare plot that may end up working itself out.
I will finish the series (I have read the first 1200 pages, I can read the last 250), but I have lowered my expectations for it.
October 21, 2022
At this point I'm continuing to slug through for the good moments and because I've already committed so much time that I can't justify not finishing. Plus I do want to know how it all wraps up. Harry continues to be nothing like Harry of the original series in a mostly unimproved and grating way. Would not recommend at this point.
January 24, 2016
This is where Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres goes crazy. Dear boy... I want to read on, to know how it ends, but on the other hand, I feel kind of done with these series. However, one more book to go, and I need to know how it ends.
October 28, 2022
This book was clever and fantastic! It was such an enjoyable page-turner. I felt enchanted and compelled by the twists and turns of this delightful story. I laughed and even sobbed during parts. I now feel motivated to read everything Eliezer Yudkowsky has ever written!
December 8, 2015
Ik vind het niet leuk meer. Maar toch wil ik 'm uitlezen.
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