Discussion #19: Integrity

Ok, I've been doing a bunch of discussion posts recently, and they were kinda rants.. And I'll be honest, discussions are something to post. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading books recently, so not much reviews..

But I do have something to say. This is sort of a spinoff from last week, where I wrote about authors who bought their fake 5 star reviews.

Have you ever come across a book that said, "The next Harry Potter!" Or whatever? I have. A lot of times. I don't want to mention any specific titles because I might offend someone with my personal opinion, so I'll leave it to anonymity.

Yeah. I fucking hate when that happens. I know that it's obvious that Harry Potter is a great, renowned hero in modern literature, and he's dear to most of our hearts. (Am I right or am I right?) But it is NOT OK to claim that your book is "the next Harry Potter." No, what did you want to do? Recreate the cupboard under the stairs, the tell-tale lightning scar? Hogwarts? Wizard chess? Chocolate frogs? What the fuck did you want to do? Maybe I might be one of the only people getting offended at something so little, but...

If you're trying to say that your protagonist will be a great hero just like Harry Potter, then say something about heroism. Don't compare him/her to Harry freaking Potter. You will disappoint so many people. Unless, you know, you know you will be bigger and more loved than JK Rowling.

It's all about integrity. Please, don't claim that it's the next Harry Potter when it's really not. Compare your protagonist to Harry, sure. But don't say that your book will actually be loved as much as JK Rowling's works. Please don't. I mean, if you do, might as well just stick to fanfiction and carry on the Hogwarts world from there.