Reviews for A Study in Magic |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Outstanding. From what could have been seen as a silly premise you crafted an interesting and thoughtful story. As one who has read both Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter many times I was very impressed with the writing from the aspect of both worlds. |
![]() ![]() ![]() This was fantastic. You perfectly reconciled the style of Conan Doyle, the rational mind of Sherlock Holmes, and the marvels of magic and Hogwarts. I loved your version of Quirrell. I also love the touching way in which you briefly described the motivations driving Quirrell and Dumbledore. I enjoyed Harry's fondness of Gertrude's Grimoire. Somehow it reminded me of the story of Ramanujan. Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematician prodigy. One of the first math book he studied was a book listing a very large quantity of mathematical results and theorems. This book has been heavily criticised because it's nothing more than that: a long list of mathematical results, not all of great interest. But Ramanujan studied those results and wrote proofs for every one of them in order, and doing that, he developed a rare intuition for mathematics. Reading your story, it felt like Harry was doing the same thing, studying a plethora of seemingly-uninteresting magic spells in Gertrude's Grimoire, and developing his own understanding of magic through studying these spells. That was for the praise. Now on to the criticism. Every Harry Potter book except book 7 follows the same structure: one year at Hogwarts. The story starts during summer, then the school year starts in september, and the story unfolds with the rhythm of a school year: a pumpkin-themed feast in october, Christmas in december, exams at the end of spring. These memorable dates give momentum and rhythm to the story, and also set the reader's expectations. Because your story is a Harry Potter fanfiction and bears so many similarities with Harry Potter book 1, I expected to encounter these marking points. But you sidestepped them. As a result, the story feels weirdly timeless. I really enjoyed the final confrontation between xxx and xxx, and it should have been the culminating point of the story. But because my expectations were set that I was reading a typical year at Hogwarts, and because there had been no pumpkins and no Christmas and no hint that the end of the school year was approaching, my sentiment as a reader was that we were still in early october and we still had many many chapters to go through before the end of the schoolyear and the end of the story. So the final confrontation didn't feel like a final confrontation at all, and the story felt like it fizzled out when I realised I had reached the end. This left me with a bitter aftertaste. I felt somehow disappointed. It felt like the story was unfinished. This sentiment might a bit unjust towards your story - I've said it, I actually really enjoyed the final confrontation. It should have been a satisfying conclusion to the story. But the story was set-up like a typical schoolyear, and then abruptly ended after what felt like a few weeks. So it feels unfinished. |
![]() ![]() ![]() An interesting story...but not complete. |
![]() ![]() ![]() I was liking this Quirrell. Sigh |
![]() ![]() ![]() How did Voldie know about Sherlock and where he lived? |
![]() ![]() ![]() Good job on staying true to your narrators and speakers. It unsettles but matches what folks are going through |
![]() ![]() ![]() Thanks for keeping them together. I can see Harry wanting to set it on fire. Perfect for a Holmes |
![]() ![]() ![]() I love it. It he is going to hate Gryffindor. With Ravenclaw he can protect Luna. Though Neville and Hermione need him too |
![]() ![]() ![]() Oh, I wish Harry could unwind. Let’s see if Sherlock can deal with not having magic. |
![]() ![]() ![]() Oh this is fun. The trunk will also Sherlock and Watson to visit. |
![]() ![]() ![]() Oh, poor Harry will learn logic is not welcome in his wirld |
![]() ![]() ![]() A fascinating set of tests. Will we hea Harry’s voice? |
![]() ![]() ![]() What a great way to grow up. Magic AND Sherlock I can’t wait for people to try and pick on him |
![]() ![]() ![]() Excellent opening. You have captured Sherlock. But don’t play John as a buffoon. He was always smarter than credited. I look forward to the rest |
![]() ![]() ![]() I have read hundreds of HP fan fictions. This is one of the best. Thank you. |