Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This is the only Harry Potter book I've ever read. I don't think I missed much for not bothering with the rest. I just don't have a clue what captured the attention of so many readers of which, many, I venture to guess, probably haven't read really decent fantasy stories. Of course, I'm not really doing any comparisons because it does target a different age group after all. I just have to note that it really irked me that some people talk about it in comparison to the Lord of the Rings.

I don't dislike the book. I actually find the characters pretty interesting and the idea of the hidden world good (even if it wasn't original). I just didn't like the way it was done. A bit too reliant on the “that's the way of things” explanation, and ignoring reasonable adult “villain” behavior. And intoning the rights words with a precise swish of the wand to cast any spell at all? From repairing glasses to killing someone? A way too simplistic view of spellcasting.

Well, gripe aside, I did say that it obviously targets a different age group, so that's still fine by me. Taking this book as by itself, it was a fun read, if you'd avoid asking logic questions (such as why devise a way to find a stone when it should not be found). Fun, but nothing particularly spectacular. The storytelling and the plot moves along in a pretty straightforward manner.

I guess it's the idea behind the possibility of such an alternate world to exist that helped it capture the imagination of children and adults alike. Me? Fantasy books are what I mostly read, so I guess I'm just not very much impressed by the fantasy images that the book tries to conjure in my mind.