The Subtle Knife & The Amber Spyglass

In my last post on Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, I look at conglomeration in world-building: How many seemingly disparate elements are brought together by an author to create a whole new sci-fi-fantasy world.


In this post, I'll continue with Pullman's His Dark Materials series by looking at the last two books in the trilogy: The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, and—oh, how the conglomeration became just too much…

What Makes Harry Potter So Good? 3 of 3

Mary GrandPre'

In my most recent post we looked at plot outlines in Harry Potter. Now, we look at the endings. Because the endings of each HP book are part of the allure. The part that keeps you wanting more. The part that leaves you with that warm, sad, lovey dovey fuzzy feeling and...well, you get the idea.

Here, I'll dive into the ending of the 3rd Harry Potter book, The Prisoner of Azkaban:

"You are truly your father's son, Harry," says Sirius Black.

Right as he's taking off—flying, escaping—on the hippogriff.

But the action hasn't stopped.

What Makes Harry Potter So Good? 2 of 3

Mary GrandPre'

It's all in the story, says just about everyone. "Where (for authors) does success lie?" In the story, they say.


But what makes the story? And what makes a story good?

What makes Harry Potter so good? 1 of 3

Mary GrandPre'

It's the 20th anniversary of the publication of the 1st Harry Potter book! And in celebration, I am writing 3 blogposts devoted to Harry Potter.

To be sure, there is no one thing which makes Harry Potter what it is. Just take a look at this Quora article that lists ten or more elements which, they say, contribute to Harry Potter's unbelievable success. But I'm not going to focus just on the success of Harry Potter.