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Re: International Harry Potter Day

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On 5/5/26 06:03, Steve Hayes wrote:
> On Tue, 5 May 2026 07:30:10 -0400, The True Melissa
> <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Verily, in article <6gsivk5esvnt4kcj9c3n3smq02lhpnmbe5@4ax.com>, did
>> hayesstw@telkomsa.net deliver unto us this message:
>>>
>>> On Mon, 4 May 2026 13:51:19 -0400, The True Melissa
>>> <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>>>> It's been said that the books grew up with the readers. The first one is
>>>> readable by younger kids and uses simple strokes (the Dursleys might as
>>>> well be cartoons). They get longer, more complex, and more nuanced as
>>>> they go.
>>>>
>>>> If that's intentional, I suppose future readers should limit themselves
>>>> to one per year (or start later).
>>>
>>> Yes, it's quite intentional -- unlike Enid Blyton characters like the
>>> Famous five or the Secret Seven, or Billy Bunter, who never got older,
>>> the characters we follow the characters in the Harry Potter books
>>> through their school careers, and they change as they grow older.
>>>
>>> And yes, you can see on the shelf how the books get longer with every
>>> school year they cover. But I'm not sure that the added length made
>>> them any better.
>>
>> Orson Scott Card did something similar in his Ender series. In the first
>> one, Peter is a sadistic psychopath. It turns out that this is simply
>> how little Ender sees him.
>>
>> I'm not sure how well this works. I like to be able to rely on the
>> narration -- the unreliable narrator is great for atmostphere or a
>> killer twist, but it shouldn't be the default. If Peter tortured
>> squirrels as a boy, as the narrative says he did, then he should have
>> more serious issues later in life. Similarly, if the Dursleys are so
>> fairytale evil that they make Harry live in a cupboard, then it's odd
>> that they later behave more humanly.
>>
>> I always thought the books were too hard on the Dursleys, but it still
>> seemed like a change in the world when Dudley Dursley, of all people,
>> started being nice and reasonable.
>>
>> I wonder if anyone out there has done a decent fanfic of Dudley's
>> perspective.
> 
> I have written a couple of books, also for kids, roughly the level of
> Harry Potter 1 & 2, in which at least one of the villains, partly as a
> result of events in the story, becomes a nicer person. I've been
> working on a spin-off in which those events are told from his point of
> view.
> 
> If such a thing might interest you, see here:
> 
> <https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1072405>
> 
> or here:
> 
> <https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Grove-Stephen-Hayes-ebook/dp/B08Y3RGLDR>
> 
> For the opposite effect, check the "Flashman" books, in which the
> villain of "Tom Brown's Schooldays" is followed in his adult life,
> where he is what his contemporaries would have called a bounder and a
> cad.

	Oh so many years ago I read those stories of Flashman. A rake and swine.
	Very amusing.

	bliss

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International Harry Potter Day David Dalton <dalton@nfld.com> - 2026-05-02 01:42 -0230
  Re: International Harry Potter Day doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca (The Doctor) - 2026-05-02 04:14 +0000
  Re: International Harry Potter Day The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-02 11:10 -0400
    Re: International Harry Potter Day Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-02 19:28 -0700
    Re: International Harry Potter Day Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-05-03 15:09 +1200
    Re: International Harry Potter Day Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-03 19:59 +0200
      Re: International Harry Potter Day Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-05-04 09:26 -0700
        Re: International Harry Potter Day The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-04 13:51 -0400
          Re: International Harry Potter Day Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-05 06:36 +0200
            Re: International Harry Potter Day The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-05 07:30 -0400
              Re: International Harry Potter Day David Dalton <dalton@nfld.com> - 2026-05-05 10:27 -0230
                Re: International Harry Potter Day The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-05 09:37 -0400
                Re: International Harry Potter Day David Dalton <dalton@nfld.com> - 2026-05-05 18:09 -0230
              Re: International Harry Potter Day Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-05 15:03 +0200
                Re: International Harry Potter Day The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-05 09:39 -0400
                Re: International Harry Potter Day Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-05 09:30 -0700
        Re: International Harry Potter Day Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-05-04 22:55 -0400
          Re: International Harry Potter Day ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-05-05 03:01 +0000
      Re: International Harry Potter Day "Michael F. Stemper" <michael.stemper@gmail.com> - 2026-05-05 08:13 -0500
        Re: International Harry Potter Day Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-06 06:17 +0200
          Re: International Harry Potter Day "Michael F. Stemper" <michael.stemper@gmail.com> - 2026-05-06 09:11 -0500
            Re: International Harry Potter Day Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-05-06 17:55 -0700
          Re: International Harry Potter Day Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-05-06 09:18 -0700

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