The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman

[meganbmoore]

So, Books of Magic.  If you mention Harry Potter to most people who've read this book(or many times, just the ones who know a fair bit about  Tim Hunter,) the polite ones will say that HP is an all ages version of BoM, or heavily influenced by.  The less polite ones will just say it's a ripoff.

I've been meaning to read this book(and the sequel series) for some time.  Now that I have, I'd say that the wikipedia explanation of the similarities explains it best, though Neil Gaiman is more generous than I am(but then, he's always struck me as a very generous man):

Many people have noticed similarities between Timothy Hunter — a bespectacled English teenager with family troubles, a scar on his forehead and who has a magical owl as a pet — and the later and more famous Harry Potter. Neil Gaiman has been quoted as saying that while there are similarities between the two they are largely superficial and most likely reflect the fact that both draw on common archetypes. [1] [2]

Personally, I find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe that Rawling didn't read Books of Magic before coming up with Harry Potter.  I would say, however, that I think Harry is more inspired by Tim Hunter than based on Tim, looks aside(sorry, but while dark haired 12 year olds are common, and glasses, the scar and owl kinda make it hard to ignore...)

(Incidentally, Books of Magic predates Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by 7 years and Tim's ongoing series had been running for 3 years when HP was first published)

As far as my opinions on the book itself go?

The book is excellent.  Period.  Gaiman gets myth and the common man's approach to fantasy better than anyone else.  Like everything else of his that I've read, he gets the mytharc and it's possibilities and puts them out there in a way that makes them perfectly comprehensible yet far out of our grasp.  It took Alan Moore over 30(good) issues of Promethea to accomplish what Gaiman did in 4, and Gaiman it better, and in a way that never left you scrambling for a ladder so you can reach the point where you can understand what he's saying(for those who haven't read Promethea, Moore sometimes barges ahead, leaving the readers in the duct and with no way to catch up until he takes a break)

Books of Magic is about Tim Hunter, an apparently isolated 12 year old who lives alone with his father.  While Tim does not believe in magic, he has the potentional to become the most powerful practitioner of this age.  To make sure he doesn't randomly turn a school bully into a pile of goo and then have no idea what just happened, four of the world's most powerful practitioners(though not necessarily magicians)-Phantom Stranger, John Constantine, Dr. Occult, and Mister E.  ( And Not. One. Word. About the names.  This is a graphic novel from the world of comics in 1990.  Neil Gaiman cannot be held responsible for that)-step in to educate him about magic, and to give him the choice between the magic-less, mostly safe, mundane world, and the magical, uncertain and unsafe but never dull world he was born for.

One will show him the magic of the past, another the magic of today, another the magic of the worlds beside us, and the last the darkest possibilities of the future.  Tim himself, a child, is, of course, woefully unprepared for the new world he's faced with, despite how valiantly he tries to keep up with it.  He makes mistakes, he loses his way, and, ultimately, he makes a wrong choice that he almost regrets for the rest of his life.  While some of the book is a compilation of DC's magic users and magic history, it's not to the point where the uninitiated will be lost(I'm only passingly familiar with a few of the people Tim meets, myself)  Mostly it's aboutt he past, present and possibilities of myth and the mytharc.

And the art?  John Bolton.  Scott Hampton.  Charles Vess. Paul Johnson.  While only Bolton and Vess are really well know these days(at least among comic book fans) trust me, excellent all around.

Now to find funds for the books of the ongoing series...

Comments

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't believe Rowling never heard of the series either. At the very least.

(And Gaiman is a very generous, kind man. Far more generous and gracious than some circumstances warrant, sometimes.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yes. Gaiman seems amazingly down to earth and generous. I suspect a lot of his comments have more to do with not wanting to cause trouble for either of them(lets face it, if he'd wanted to, he probably could have made things bad for her after the first book...he has a lot of clout...even now he probably has a lot more than she does)

If Harry and Tim themselves didn't have so many striking similarities, I'd throw it up to coincidence...you can let them similar themes slide for the reasons Gaiman stated, but the Harry/Tim comparison just can't be ignored or glossed over.

Have you read the BoM ongoing, or just the original series?

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

Just the original series (I saw in the bookstore when I was still in college.) I didn't even realize there was an ongoing series. Shows what I know. D:

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Well, it isn't continueing now. It seems that not all of it was collected, and even then, not all the collections are currently in print, which means reading all of it will require work...

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

I accept Neil Gaiman's standpoint on Harry Potter and, out of respect for him, will not be among those rabidly going "Ripoff!"

That said, I attempted to take out the throat of someone who saw me reading Books of Magic and said "Oh, are they putting out a Harry Potter comic now?"

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Precisely. I'm not sure I'd be quite at the point of "ripoff" for the series as a whole, but for Tim/Harry...

Gaiman is more generous and gracious than anyone of his standing has any right to be, really. And he apparently is just as nice in person. Sometimes when reading his blog, I wish there was just this hint of ego or vanity...

Had I gotten that comment, there would have been a lecture.

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

I think it was either Neil or some other author who commented on the way that people would come up to them at signings and such saying, "I'll give you this great idea for a book, you write it, we split the profits. Deal?"

The reason, besides the obvious, that no one ever takes these people up on it, is that ideas are easy. It's the writing that's hard.

JKR built her own universe, a fairly elaborate one at that. While Harry does bear some resemblance to Tim, they're distinctly different characters. She still wrote a long and complicated series that has fewer plot holes than many.

Does Harry seem to be inspired by Tim Hunter? Yes. Should anyone be taking legal action? Nah. That'd just likely wind up being a headache for all involved.

Oh, there was a lecture after the severe rage had passed.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I've seen similar comments from a number of writers, actually.

Harry's basic character descripton is the same as Tim's, and the appearances make them dead ringers, so it's essentially impossible to believe any protestations that she wasn't at least familiar with the character. But, as you said, she made it a completely different and developed world. Still, Harry is enough like Tim that, had he wanted to, Gaiman likely could have ended Rowling's career right after he started. But part of why he has as much respect as he does is that he's not that type of guy.

[chomiji]

I loved the original volume/intro for Books of Magic (which is what you have here), but I was less impressed by the rest of the series. Still, they're not bad.

Gaiman is a prince of a human being, and his blog is enchanting reading - I've been following it faithfully for a couple of years now. He's a sweet uber-nerd, and loves to post links to fun things for everyone to check out and read.

He's also very hot, from my viewpoint ... (he's my younger sister's age).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I've read a bit by the author of the onging series...not amazing, but solid.

Gaiman is very good looking, I agree. I also agree with the sweet uber-nerd part. I love his blog, even though the entries are sometimes so long i don't have time to check it all out.