No Harry Potter RPG?

[diaglo]

and 7 books = the Chronicles of Narnia.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

For the record, I'm not suggesting JKR plagiarized anything.

I had rather thought you were avoiding commenting on the irony of one person putting words in another's mouth-- about how the second person didn't like people putting words in her mouth.

Have no idea where in Hell the other poster's reply came from.

 

[WizarDru]

Personally, I think part of the problem is the assumption that Work X is so unique, that no one thought of it before Work X, so if Work Y has similar elements, it must have been influenced by Work X. Which strikes me as a logical fallacy.

For example: looking at Books of Magic, it has a physical similar hero to Harry Potter. But so does Simon, from "Simon in the Land of the Chalk Drawings" from the late 60's/early 1970s. A slight boy with black hair and big glasses is hardly a unique visual aspect. Nor is the idea of a boy who grows in obscurity, ignorant of his true heritage or powers. Especially when you consider the plot of Books of Magic is mostly just an excuse to do a whirlwind tour of the DC Universe's magical characters...Tim Hunter is as much literary device as actual character. And let's be honest, here: Books of Magic, popular as it was, did NOT reach a huge audience. It was a COMIC BOOK. A high-priced, well-written and beautifully illustrated comic book, but still just that all the same. I think it's safe to say that Rowling is much more likely to have read (or watched an adaption of) Tom Brown's School Days than The Books of Magic.

Many of the themes and elements that Rowling draws upon are common fantasy themes and shared literary references that plenty of authors use. Harry Potter owes as much to Gormenghast as it does to Books of Magic.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As someone who is currently reading Mervyn Peake's Gormengast books, I have to say...

WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO REMIND ME OF THE GORMENGAST BOOKS?

(I was never a big fan of Charles Dickens, and Gormengast is the most Dickensian-flavored fantasy series I've ever encountered.)

 

[wingsandsword]

Nor is the idea of a boy who grows in obscurity, ignorant of his true heritage or powers.

Luke Skywalker for example From what I understand, in production of Episode III, the scene where Obi-Wan drops the infant Luke with Owen & Beru was referred to in-house as "the Harry Potter scene", in an interesting little loop.

Many of the themes and elements that Rowling draws upon are common fantasy themes and shared literary references that plenty of authors use.

Definitely, there are few concepts which are very unique on their own, what JK Rowling did was to blend fantasy with a modern-day British boarding school, add a mix of whimsy and darkness, and sell kids on the idea and make it the biggest thing in children's literacy in decades.