Harry Potter
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowlingby J.K. Rowling
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
Recommended as a well-written, morally grounded fantasy series that an entire generation grew up reading. Some find it played out and object to the author.
Recommended as a well-written, morally grounded fantasy series that an entire generation grew up reading. Some find it played out and object to the author.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 77%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Richly built, non-solipsistic magical universe
“Harry Potter is not at all solipsistic: it mentions about three dozen countries beyond its main setting”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “The Post-American Internet” “The "mental powers" in Dune aren't that impressive. Compare, say, the Harry Potter universe.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Butlerian Jihad” Beloved by a generation of readers
“There is a reason that an entire generation grew up reading those books.”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Every novel is boring until it isn't” “I really enjoyed Harry Potter when I was young”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Book Prizes Don't Work How You Think”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Feels played out from overreading
“everybody just had to read the same one over and over”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “It's Time to Move on from Harry Potter” “Harry Potter is played out. The author is a bigot.”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Netflix Backs Out of Warner Bros. Bidding, Paramount Set to Win”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| Harry Potterby J.K. RowlingThis page | 10 | 3 | 77% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The "mental powers" in Dune aren't that impressive. Compare, say, the Harry Potter universe.”
“There is a reason that an entire generation grew up reading those books.”
“I really enjoyed Harry Potter when I was young”
“The Hugo awards have had a lot of weak winners in the past as well.”
“There's only a few Pokémon's and Harry potters out there.”
“I won't deny it, I enjoyed both the books and the movies”
“everybody just had to read the same one over and over”
“Harry Potter is played out. The author is a bigot.”
“Harry Potter has much better writing and morals than Percy Jackson.”
“Harry Potter is not at all solipsistic: it mentions about three dozen countries beyond its main setting”
“Harry Potter (in Spanish)”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.