What To Buy “The Harry Potter Generation”

A Buyer's Guide for the Wayward Reader

Christmas is quickly approaching, and books are surely (hopefully) running through the minds of every shopper. One of the biggest problems I always hear is that the “Harry Potter generation” can never find a series to get into. The Harry Potter generation is that group of teens – 20 somethings that grew up reading stories about everyone’s favorite wizard, but now can’t find an imaginative series that can capture their attention as well. Look no further, for I, a fellow Potterhead, have found a number of series that can fill the gap in that fiction section of their library!

The Stormlight Archive series, by Brandon Sanderson (Book One: The Way of Kings)

The Stormlight Archive is a blossoming new series by established fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. Set in a world ravaged by intense weather and featuring a cast of characters as magical as the Potter crew and diverse as the Game of Thrones cast, this series won its place on this list because of the sheer nuance that Sanderson put into the world. With some of the coolest magical gizmos ever imagined in ink and a wealth of action that could stand up to the Battle for Hogwarts, any Potterhead in withdrawal owes it to themselves to check out this series. As an added bonus, the series is slated to be around ten books long, and only the first couple are out, so it gives readers the experience of looking forward to a new book. For more info on this particular series, check out my recent review for book one. Sanderson has recently picked up the authorship of The Wheel of Time, another fantastic series to check out if you or a loved one want epic fantasy.

The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, by Steven Erikson (Book One: Gardens of the Moon)

The Malazan Book of the Fallen follows the “variety in narration” trope that many fantasy authors like to use. The world of Malazan is one engulfed in war. You’ll find no cozy nights in the Gryffindor Common Room here. There are three primary story arcs, the first of which involves the Bridgeburners, an elite group of warriors for the Malazan empire, as they take the fight to various enemy nations. At the same time, on the other side of the war, a rebellion against the Malazan empire is beginning to form, all while yet another set of factions grow in strength to contest rule of the realm. As the ten(!) books go on, each storyline is brought together to make a series that is absolutely unforgettable is quality and scale.

Malazan firmly earns its spot on any Potterhead’s wish list because of the absolutely phenomenal writing by Erikson. I have scarcely seen characters so well developed in any genre, and the handling of the intricate storylines is so deftly done that the books are never jarring. On top of that, the action is incredibly brutal. After reading Harry Potter, you tend to think, “Wouldn’t having magic make you pretty much unstoppable?” Steven Erikson apparently agrees, so just wait until you see a war between mages. This particular series has the most impressive battles of any book I’ve ever read, especially those involving magic.

The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy, by Patrick Rothfuss (Book One: The Name of the Wind)

The Kingkiller Chronicle is a little different from most fantasy novels. The entire series (with a couple of exceptions thus far) is told from first person perspective, that of an inkeeper going by the name Kote. Seemingly normal at first, a traveling famous author is given the chance to interview the plain inkeeper, discovering that Kote once went by a different name: Kvothe the Kingkiller. And Kvothe may very well be the Chuck Norris of fiction, because if you are good at anything, chances are he was better at an earlier age. Essentially the book’s version of a gypsie, Kvothe has his quaint little life shattered as a boy and has to fight to survive the back alleys of what is basically Fantasy Detroit. A few lucky breaks earn him the chance to attend a university of magic, and it quickly becomes clear that Kvothe is shaping up to be a man of note. Over the years, Kvothe establishes himself as a folk hero, and the storyline follows his attempt to fix a broken world.

This series is a perfect fit for Potterheads everywhere, because it fills the “young child of legend,” void. The reader gets to grow with Kvothe over the years, from rags to riches to felonies, and the cultures represented in the novel are practically lifelike. Everything from language to nonverbal ques are meticulously filed down to a point in Rothfuss’ grand trilogy. To top it off, while Malazan may win the award for most ridiculously awesome magic in a novel, Kingkiller easily wins most inventive. Magic in this series follows scientific law, which makes for some interesting trials for young Kvothe, not to mention the philosophical concept of Naming. Bonus Points: this series also strikes a chord with Potterheads by portraying the prevalent evil of all… student loans!

Honorable Mentions:

The Magicians trilogy, by Les Grossman (Book One: The Magicians)

An ultra-dark series, The Magicians will speak to the angst in everyone. Following Quentin, a young man who is bored with mundane life and is offered a chance to enroll in Hogwarts 2.0, The Magicians tells a cautionary tale of “what do I do with what I have?” The Magicians is a series well deserving of a read, but it doesn’t quite make it onto this list because it tries far too hard to actually be Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, killing a great deal of the originality. Beyond that, you will probably grow to hate every character in this book. Yes, that is the point, but please see my The Great Gatsby review if you want to see the problem with that thinking.

A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin (Book One: A Game of Thrones)

Don’t lie, you know what this series is. Following primarily the exploits of the Stark family, ASoIaF is a sweeping political fantasy drama written by that kid who kid over your sandcastle that day on the beach. With multiple plots taking place all over the series’ world, the cast is diverse, believable, and the action is used smartly: not as many massive battles as The Return of the King, but certainly enough to keep you from feeling your favorite character is safe. There is a reason this series is so popular, so if your Potterhead is in a reading funk and hasn’t tried this series out, they definitely need to. That being said, this is arguably the most popular fantasy series since Harry Potter anyway, so chances are good that they are reading it and are struggling to finish book 4.

As a lover of all of these series, I have reviews for at least the first novel for each, so for more details be sure to do a quick search! I hope this helps you all brighten the Christmas of some starry-eyed Potterheads, and I’ll have another buying guide for another demographic next week!