Harry Potter Book Series Ranking
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The Harry Potter series as a whole is a fantastic series that deserves the read either for yourself or to read to your kids as they grow up. There is so much rich adventure that the author J.K. Rowling is able to put into this series along with the feeling of growing up with characters that really sets this seres apart.
Today we are going to do the dangerous ranking list to this series. Keep in mind this is based on my overall opinions of the books. If you want full reviews of each of them you will be able to find a link to each in the small ranking reasons down below. So without wasting any more of your time, let’s get started.
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the weakest book in the series to me. It seems that there is not a whole lot of character growth in this book. The story is very focused on one thing throughout the entire book and that is the Triwizard Tournament. This is not really bad per say, but I was it was not super interesting as a whole to me. This is also the book in which Hermione starts the SPEW movement for the elves that work the kitchens at Hogwarts. It’s not super compelling storytelling there either.
There are important story moments to this book though so it cannot be skipped, and being at the bottom of the list should tell you that none of these books allow for skipping! Though all the Harry Potter books are not bad, this one just lacks many things that later installations have in the series that I enjoy. It could also be that this was J.K Rowling’s first massive book in the series in terms of page quantity that it rather disjointed which is unheard of for the rest of the series of books both before and after.
To see the full review you can check out the link here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-goblet-of-fire-book-review
If you are wanting to purchase the book for yourself you can also use the affiliate link.
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was the return to the wizarding world for the second time, now things were starting to settle and the fantastic idea of the world for the first time was not being used to drive the intrigue to this book. I think that even though this book is still relatively small compared to the rest of the series it felt much longer due to the pace of the story. Harry, Ron and Hermione must uncover the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets that has been opened at Hogwarts.
There are good character introductions in this book that are well written and interesting. One thing that this book suffers though is the climax seems to take a long time to arrive at.
This book is ranked low in the series because it also lacks a lot of things that the other books are able to give me and the entire chamber of secrets idea was just not something I was terribly interested in. This does show promise though for future novels in the series in the mystery problem solving writing style that J.K Rowling really develops.
Check out the full review here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-chamber-of-secrets-book-review
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The first adventure in this book ranks higher than the previous two mainly because it had the hard job of setting up the rules for the Harry Potter series. I may not feel that the story itself is super compelling, but I did really enjoy the set up of many of the things in the wizarding world. You can tell that J.K Rowling gets better at her writing and descriptions through as the series progresses. Don’t believe me? read this book and then read the last in the series and you will see what I mean.
There are so many interesting and fantastic ideas that tie back to something we mere muggles can relate to in this book. Quidditch. Buying items for the new school year. What the story is strongest in here is the introduction of all the characters. It’s incredibly easy to relate to these kids with our own experiences going to school for the first time.
With that being said though, this is not a weak entry to the series, it just means that I enjoyed other books in the series that much more. This book does a perfect job setting up what will be an incredible adventure and does give the reader an idea of the direction that the story will go in the future.
Check out the full review here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-book-review
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The final conclusion to the series is the middle ground to the series for me. The book was interesting in that it opens up the series for the first time outside of the school scene for really the first extended amount of time in the entire franchise. The stakes are high and the payoffs are really good.
This book does still have some slog to it that makes getting through some portions of discovery by the main characters hard to do. That being said, it’s a great chapter to the series that pays off many already set up points in the series really well and credit where credit is due, this book meets many of my expectations for a final chapter.
J.K. Rowlings adventure style mystery solving shines here. This was something that built throughout the series and this chapter manages to capture both nostalgia of past events and methods as well as put them to much higher feeling stakes then ever before.
Check out the full review here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-book-review
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This one many surprise some people for being so high up on the list. I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it is the longest in the series, but it does a really good job throughout the course of the book. It’s instrumental at setting up the next chapters in the series and the stakes are now really starting to feel real.
There are elements to this book that I really enjoy such as the formation of Dumbledore’s army in the Room of Requirement, the raid on the ministry of magic, and the first real signs of connections with Harry and Voldemort. I think that all characters grow really well in this book and that is why it ranks up at number three. This book being the biggest takes some time and investment for sure but is worth the read.
Check out the full review here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix-book-review
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I think that this book might be considered a fan favorite by many Harry Potter fans. The story feels much more down to earth and is overall really enjoyable to read. The length of the book also does not overstay its welcome and it has some interesting mechanics throughout. We get to meet so many new and interesting characters in this book as well. All in all, this book has so many good things going for it that it just has to be towards the top of the list.
One thing that I really like about this book is it really started to share the history of the characters in the past like Harry’s parents, Snape, and the new defence against the dark arts teach Lupin. Lupin happens to be one of my favorite characters in the entire series.
Another thing that this book does different is that it does not include the normal threat that seems most common in the entire series. Because of this the book feels like a breath of fresh air.
Check out the full article for this chapter here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-book-review
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
There may be some disagreement with the placement of this book and Prisoner of Azkaban, but I personally feel that this book is the most well written, has shocking story points, extremely believable character actions, and ties so much of the series together. When you have all those things mixed together it’s hard not to rank this book at the top of the list.
When I first read this book, it was extremely hard to put it down. The intrigue and the characters are just so well done. I have a hard time coming up with things that I didn’t care for in this book. We get to read really cool back stories throughout the series that gives us a lot more background into the past events that explain what is going to happen next and why what happened in the past matters so much.
The mean reason as I said before that this book is on top is because it sets up the final chapter for success and ties so much of the entire series together so seamlessly. It gets any reader hyped and ready to read the next chapter to the point that the wait for the last chapter was excruciating.
Check out the full review here: https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-book-review
So that is the list. Again, if you want full scale reviews of each installment please check the links for each review in the respective list above. How would you rank the books yourself? Please leave a comment and let us know! Thank you for taking the time to read to the end. Be sure to check out our other fantasy review content here as well!
