Time For A New Product

[exhpfan]

 I don't know how many ex Harry Potter Fans there are in the world caused by the extremely disappointing Deathly Hallows, but it seems clear to me that it is time for a New Product to replace Harry Potter in the Witch and Wizard fantasy genre.  I am not an author.  I don't read fanfiction, and I'm not making this post to advertize or suggest any

Comments

[skull_bearer]

I was in this position after I resigned from the fadom in disgust after the shitstorm of HBP. It's a case of finding something that draws you in a deeply as JKR's butchered world used to. I found the X-men franchise, and while I am a long way from happy with it, it has so many possibilities that no one author can fuck it up for long.
Plus, I think I have fallen irrevokably in love with Magneto. ;D

[minkhollow]

There's also some stuff already out there that covers the ground much better - Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, for instance. (There are rules for magic that you HAVE to follow or you DIE.)
I don't think anything's going to replace Potter, as such.

[nyxfixx]

Well, for wizards and magic and all that kind of cool stuff, you just can't do better than Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels, IMO. I see I'm not the only fan here, too.

They're written for adults from an adult sensibility, Butcher is a real craftsman about details (the magic in the Dresden-verse is consistent and actually makes sense, for example) and each book has the gratifying property of being a little bit better than the last, no matter how great you thought the last one was.

Harry Dresden himself is an appealing, diamond-in-the-rough sort of character (sort of like Phillip Marlowe with magic) that you can really root for, and when this Harry makes mistakes, there are BIG consequences, for him and for others. The action sequences are always amazing and beautifully realized, writing-wise, and Butcher has a wonderful snarky sense of humor so Harry has some marvelous, laugh-out-loud one liners. PLUS, there are not only some very interesting and likable female characters in the books for a change, but there are even some truly

[nyxfixx]

LOL! If you found you had that much antipathy to Harry at first meeting, alas, I doubt he'd grow on you if you were to give him another airing or two. I do totally agree that Storm Front has a lot of first novel problems, and the character of Dresden didn't really start to gel for me until around the 3rd novel. That being said, I sort of like noir-style gumshoes who aren't that bright and talk tough because they're scared out of their minds, anyway, so I could wait for the character to come clearer in subsequent novels w/o being too turned off from the outset. But even in his clearest incarnations, Harry is still more or less the same abrasive, somewhat dorky guy with enormously old-fashioned attitudes regarding just about everything (including gender) so he'll never be everyone's cup of tea. And maybe I'm easy to please regarding snark - but when someone asked Harry why he'd made magical hash out of some hideous demon-monster-thingy that beat the living snot out of him first, and he replied "I didn't like his hat" - I nearly laughed

[minkhollow]

Books of Magic is a comic book/graphic novel series; that may be something to keep in mind before you settle on it. (For some reason, I can never get myself past the first volume of any given comic collection.) I'm also not sure how long Gaiman actively wrote it.
In terms of straight-up reading material, Neverwhere or Anansi Boys might be closer to what you're after (also American Gods, but that's a bit of a chewy read). And to definitely feed the crime-drama/horror, Google around and track down the PDF of "A Study in Emerald." It's sort of Sherlock Holmes meets Lovecraft, but noooot exactly, and the PDF's a free download.
Also also, Good Omens; everyone needs a merry little tale about Armageddon.

(Sorry for butting in, but. XD)

I will try Harry Dresden

[exhpfan]

I will buy a Harry Dresden book and read it on my airplane flight Thursday. I really think that his publisher is missing a big bet if he hasn't started a massive marketing campaign both on and offline going after all the disappointed Harry Potter fans 17yrs and above. If I like the book I might send his publisher a short suggestive email.

I'm not really interested in fantasy per se. What I'm interested in is a total lack of any intensive marketing campaign going after all the disappointed Harry Potter fans.

Re: I will try Harry Dresden

[exhpfan]

Thanks Winterfest. I was one of those idiots who had convienced myself that the Harry Potter series was something other then a stupid "Child's fantasy adventure series" where the adults acted in a stupid and illogical manner so the children could be the heros. I had convienced myself that JKR was going to write a suprise ending with a suprise twist that caused everything to make sense. Boy was I wrong.

I have decided that I will never again read a series that isn't already completed so I won't ever again be so disappointed in an author. It was the wait and disappointment that still bugs the hell out of me.

Maybe I will try Sandman on the airplane instead of Dresden. Chices, choices, choices.

What I thought I was getting with Harry Potter probably doesn't exist

[exhpfan]

I have been trying to figure out what I wanted or at least what I thought I would get with Deathly Hallows and I have decided that the genre I wanted to occur probably doesn't even exist. I have decided that I would like a combination of fantasy(more in the line with Men In Black)and mystery. Throwing in a little Tom Clancey and James Bond wouldn't hurt.