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• Reputation: 96 Q&A: 3 0 0 36 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 6 topics Books & Writing Book Recommendations General Book Discussion Other Books & Writing Book Club- A Visit from the Goon Squad Teens & Tweens Follow Following 0 hayden

  6 0 I feel you, gilr. People like HP for lots of different reasons, so those holes left in hearts come in lots of different shapes. But judging by what you don't like, here are a few ideas. Eva Ibbotson's fantasy books have a lot of the same elements as the HP books--fun characters, hidden worlds, and a great sense of humor.  I would start with this collection, which includes The Secret of Platform 13--a book from which J.K. Rowling borrowed quite a bit (in my opinion).   The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper, doesn't have the humor of the HP world, but it definitely has the whole "one boy staving off a great evil" thing going on.  Have you read any Ursula Leguin?  I am particularly a fan of her Earthsea series, which begins with A Wizard of Earthsea.  Again, not exactly funny, but really interesting characters dealing with their own internal struggles while also trying to  fight the forces of darkness. Shannon Hale is one of my favorite fantasy/fairy tale authors.  Her protagonists, usually girls, find themselves as they find ways to fight evil.  Start with Goose Girl.  Graceling and Fire, by Kristin Cashore, are also good. If you're willing to try graphic novels, there are tons of great options.  Amulet, for example, is about siblings trying to save their mother from a monster in a strange underground world.  I hope these help with that Harry Potter-shaped hole!  If you'd like more suggestions any time, you can always go to the library's website and get some from a librarian.  Good luck! Hayden   hayden answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report 3 comments by Sacrelicious, hayden, and asteria… 1 0 I vote an enthusiastic second for Earthsea and all the related books. EARTHSEA EARTHSEA EARTHSEA. Sacrelicious commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Thanks Sacreligious! By the way, I meant to second the previous suggestion of Terry Pratchett's books. He does a great job of tackling Big Issues with humor in a fantasy framework. hayden commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Earthsea^3, although the transition between the first three books and the last three was a bit jarring for me - they're all good, just different. asteria commented 7 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 0 The Hunger Games trilogy, The Chaos Walking Trilogy, and the Paul Westerfeld Leviathan series are all good young adult reads. They're all probably slightly more adult than the early Harry Potter; but a good progression from them. They're all more science fiction than fantasy though. Andrew Beck answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report 3 comments by sublevelthree, Andrew Beck, and Tracy M… 0 0 Just tried looking for these and it's Scott westerfeld not Paul. sublevelthree commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Sorry. Had a brain fart. I think I combined Paul Westerberg and Scott Westerfeld. Which makes no sense, but I'm stupid sometimes. Andrew Beck commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Second vote for The Hunger Games. I devoured this trilogy (started reading in the afternoon, canceled my dinner plans, and stayed up late to finish it. Ha!). Tracy M commented 6 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 Have you tried the Game of Throne's series by George R.R. Martin? The first book was recently made into a mini-series by HBO and the books are top notch fantasy writing. They are much more violent and dark than Harry Potter but they are worth a read. http://georgerrmartin.com/ Dan Williams answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Jim butchers Dresden files. Its even the same first name- Harry Dresden is a Chicago PI wizard. They're funny and dark, there are 13 bboks so far but the series is planned for around 23 so no withdrawal any time soon. The norms aren't quite in the dark as muggles but they mostly don't know whats going on and if they do they ignore it unless they almost or do get killed. The characters are great and threres all sorts of supernatural politics that come up in the series. Lots of magic gets slung around (Harry is too good at blowing shit up, it causes all kinds of problems with the cops and the wizarding council) but at the heart of it Harry is just trying to protect people from big bads and maybe actually get paid ( most of the time he just gets way over his head and is trying to keep him and his clients above water) Bonus if you like audio books they're read by James marsters who was spike on Buffy the vampire slayer). It's a great series and once the world is set up in the first 5 books it really takes off. You have 3 vampire courts ( the black- stoker like, the red which harry inadvertently starts a war with for like 10 books and the white which are succubus like and feed on sex and fear) you have the fae courts ( and many crazy out of touch farries) you have 6 types of werewolves from various lore, arch angels and Deamons of all stripes, the fussy wizarding council who governs the laws of magic but really just get in harrys way, and alot more ( did I mention zombie dinosaurs, no, well there are freaking zombie dinosaurs!). It's all sprinkled with pop culture ( his incantation for lighting candles is flickum bickus, and star wars references abound). It's like Harry potter grew up got more bad ass and is living in a cruddy Chicago basement trying to save people. He's got orphan issues too. Check them out theyre fantastic books sublevelthree answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report 4 comments by Misty Brown, sublevelthree, and Sacrelicious… 0 0 Would you recommend this for a 10 year old? Misty Brown commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Prob not. It is a violent series ( think Harry potter at 35) and there is some sex, maybe evey 4 books ( he's pretty much a loner but occasionally has a girlfriend and the books that deal with the white court vampires that feed on sex can discuss it a bit graphically) thee isn't much cursing, maybe once a book when it's really appropriate. It's a dark series though and people can die pretty grizzly ( not as bad as rr Martin who is also discussed in this thread but people do get ripped apart by evil monsters) I'd say okay for 15 but 10 may be pushing it. The last few books in the series are much darker than the beginning ones sublevelthree commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 He's going for 23?!?! Jeez, I thought he was wrapping it up! Sacrelicious commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Nope, don't be fooled by the title of the most recent book. There are around 20 planned and a 3 book post apocalyptic trilogy at the end. There's tons of interviews from the last few years where he discussed his plans for the series, how basically the books he's written so far are just the set up for the world getting to the screwed up state where he can start pulling out the big guns and the major nasties come out. If you've read them the black council has only been discussed in theory for the last3 or so, and ther faces haven't even come to light, let alone been able to duke it out with Harry yet and there are still a bunch of older groups he hasn't finished his score with. It's only half way through the crazy ride. The last book is kind of the midlife crisis reassess who he is and what he's trying to do and what those priorities are book sublevelthree commented 7 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 1 Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Start with Soul Music or Wyrd Sisters. ballardgirl answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report 3 comments by Tom Sackett, ohyouprettything, and Sacrelicious… 0 0 I was thinking the same thing, but I would suggest "The Wee Free Men" as a good transition from HP to Discworld, as it has a plot that is similar to the first HP book. Tom Sackett commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 Oops I really didn't mean to hit the thumbs down!!! I was trying to hit the thumbs up. My bad! ohyouprettything commented 7 months ago | Report 0 0 I started with "Mort," myself. I've found this chart to be incredibly useful when trying to decide which book to try next. Sacrelicious commented 7 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Definitely read Philip Pullman's series "His Dark Materials". It's 3 books starting with "The Golden Compass" (much better than the movie). They're incredibly imaginative and well written. Marty Unger answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report 1 comment by Marty Unger… 0 0 Oops! I hate when I don't read the whole question. Sorry about that. Marty Unger commented 7 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Second LeGuin's Earthsea series. My family also enjoyed Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy. They are slim and dark books. I haven't been able to embrase George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones books. Too much child rape. elm answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report 1 comment by Sphinx… 0 0 The Abhorsen trilogy is fantastic- I plug it allll the time on q'land. Sphinx commented 7 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 When I finished all the Harry Potter novels, I went on to read all of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Much more adult, but so good. Check your library, as these books are expensive. Garth Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy is also pretty good, and allegedly he's got another book in the works for this (albeit older) series. Griffin answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 This is not a series, but a book I think you will enjoy is "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. It is magical and lovely. I just finished it a few weeks ago. The only problem is that I want to read more like this too!!! :) Kristin Bell answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 1 A number of kids have gotten into the Percy Jackson "Olypians" series. Based on ancient mythology, updated into modern day. Maybe that's an obvious one. O my captain answered in Book Recommendations 7 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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