Rank The Harry Potter Books

[Lord Dalek]

For all you folks who have (or haven't) read Half-Blood Prince, list the installments in order of quality.

My list:

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Alchemist's Stone

[and2]

Azkaban
HBP
Goblet
Secrets
Phoenix
Stone

[Steve Jester]

HBP
OotP
Azkaban
CoS
GoF
Stone

[Spastic Minnow]

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[Drachentöter]

Why no love for Phoenix?

1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Goblet of Fire
3. Half-Blood Prince
4. Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Sorcerer's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets

But not a single one of the books is one I'd consider bad.

[Wounded_Dragon]

1. Goblet of Fire
2. Order of the Phoenix
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone

6. Half-Blood Prince.

[the Amanda]

Order of the Phoenix
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Philosopher's Stone
Half Blood Prince
Chamber of Secrets

[Winry Rockbell]

My Harry list:


Azkaban
Half-Blood Prince
Order of the Phoenix
Sorcerer's Stone
Goblet
Chamber


Azkaban is by far my favorite, and H-B Prince just knocked Order out of second place! Chamber is my least favorite, and strangely enough it was the first one I read!

[atf487]

Half Blood Prince
Order of the Pheonix
Goblet of Fire
Prisoner of Azkaban
Chamber of Secrets
Sorcerer's Stone

Note that I read the first 4 a long time ago, but I remember not liking the first few because they were too light. Things got better when they got older.

[Natey]

If a gave all the books a letter grade it would be D because i dont like their books


heres my order

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Alchemist's Stone
~Nate~

[Joker85]

Prisoner of Azkaban
Half-Blood Prince
Sorcerer's Stone
Order of the Phoenix
Goblet of Fire
Chamber of Secrets

[Azrael24]

HBP
GoF
PoA
OoP
SS
CoS

[silverwings]

PoA/HBP
GoF/OotP
SS
CoS

Yeah, PoA and HBP change depending on what type of mood I'm in and I regard GoF and OotP in equal reguard. :D

[Riza Hawkeye]

My list goes as follows:

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Goblet of Fire
3. Half Blood Prince
4. Order of the Phoenix
5. Sorcerer's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets

I might like Half Blood Prince more after another read through of it.

[Captain Harlock]

1) Goblet of Fire
2) Half-Blood Prince
3) Order of the Phoenix
4) Prisoner Of Azkaban
5) Sorcerer's Stone
6) Chamber of Secrets

Putting Prisoner at 4th, as great of a book as it was, just shows how great the series really is. Although Chamber of Secrets is one that I might actually consider sub-par.

[purplehairedwonder]

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Order of the Phoenix
4. Goblet of Fire
5. Sorcerer's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets

Order of the Phoenix and Goblet of Fire tend to change places depending on my mood. Same with Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. But Prisoner of Azkaban has been my favorite for ages and Half-Blood Prince easily made it's way to number two on my list.

[Metroid_spy]

1. Goblet of Fire
2. Prizoner of Azkaban
3. Half Blood Prince
4. Order of the Phoenix
5. Sorceror's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets

[sidewinder]

Prisoner
Goblet
Stone
Order
Chamber
I still haven't read Half-Blood...:o

[Matt-a-Tastic]

Goblet of Fire
Prisnor of Askban
Order of the Phoniex
Philsophers Stone
Chamber of Secrets

IMO the first two were extremlly sub-par in compariosn to the others

[The Falcon]

prisoner of azkaban
half-blood prince
goblet of fire
order of the phoenix
chamber of secrets
sorceror's stone

Falcon

[Colin]

1. Goblet of Fire
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Sorceror's Stone
6. Order of the Phoenix

*Note, positions 4 5 & 6 are so close, that it's not even funny... I had trouble determining the order for those three. And the main reason I put OotP last was because that was the only book that I felt Harry was the least like himself.

Goblet has always been my favorite, since (in my eyes) that's the book when everything really starts to get dark. So much happens in Harry's Life in that book that the twists and turns and revelations are just short of amazing.

Half-Blood Prince easily takes number 2 with all the action, thrills, deciet, etc... and Harry's himself again.

And, while Prisoner was a great book in the series... I really don't regard it as "The best" as countless people do. Probably because it's the only book that doesn't focus on the Harry/Voldy relationship...which is a good and bad thing... but regardless, it's still an excellent work.

[Mr Cat Dog]

1) Half-Blood Prince
2) Philosopher's Stone
3) Prisoner of Azkaban
4) Goblet of Fire
5) Order of the Phoenix
6) Chamber of Secrets

Nuff said

[andyscot]

WEll i say the 7th book will be the best ;) but i go liek this book 6,4,3,5,2,1

[bigddan11]

1) Prisoner of Azkaban
2) Goblet of Fire
3) Half Blood Prince
4) Sorceror's Stone
5) Order of the Phoenix
6) Chamber of Secrets

I've never liked how Chamber of Secrets is different from all the other Harry Potter books, so that's why it is so low on my list. I've always liked the side plot with Sirius in Prisoner of Azkaban as well, so chances are it will always remain my favorite. The other 4 are extremly close together in forms of entertainment, so I just rated them in the order of how much I enjoyed them.

[Mike Spartz]

FROM BEST TO WORST

1. Harry Potter and the Prisonar of Azkaban - Still my favorite after all these years, POA was the first Potter book that I read from cover to cover. I thought that the story was very well plotted. None of the sub-plots or twists felt out of place, they all fitted perfectly into the story and they all made sense. For example, Hermione's use of the time turner to get to all her classes on time, and to save Sirus and BuckBeak, was completely logical and very clever on Rowlings part. Furthermore, although Voldemort never appeared in this novel, the general plot continued to roll along the tracks. We were introduced to several important figures from Harry's past including the Marauders and their map. And the book ended with a sense of urgency because Wormtail had escaped capture to return to his master.

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - A close second but second nonetheless. GOF has a lot of good things going for it. For instance, we have the exciting Tri-wizard Tournament, which I think was a great way to introduce some new characters into the universe. We got to see more of the Weasleys, which is always a good thing, and it's clear from this book that Ron at least is harbouring a big crush on Hermione. GOF is also wonderful in how it showcases the offical return of Voldemort. Using the Tournament as a means of luring Harry into Voldemort's hands was clever and the subsequant scene in the graveyard was extremely chilling. Cedric Diggory's death was absolutely shocking, and I felt so sorry for Harry and his (Cedric's) father afterwards.

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - I admit that this books place could change once I've read it again, but for now it's staying here. I've put it in third of several reasons. First and foremost is the shipping. I don't have any problems with the way that Ron and Hermione acted in and around each other. Obviously the two of them are going through a tough time in their relationship and I could understand that they were both feeling very jealous. I just felt that after reading about them for so long, and seeing them so immature, Hermione especially, really made me a little uncomfortable at first. I got over it though. Furthermore, Harry's own romance with Ginny was a little undeveloped in my opinon. I was surprised by how short it was and even more shocked that we didn't even get to see one scene between just the two of them. I think that would've made the romance a little more believeable. Aside from that, the book is pretty solid. We got a lot of character development for Voldemort, Snape (whom I believe is still working for the Order) and Malfoy and we were intoduced to a wonderful new character named Horace Slughorn (whom I like immensely). Year seven should be a blast to watch as the trio sets out to destroy the four remaining Horcruxes.

4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phenoix - I really liked this book but I felt it was too long. In a recent interview, JKR said that she made Order long because she had to make Harry move around a lot and go to places that he hadn't gone to before. Still, I felt that some scenes, particularly Grimmauld Place and Grawp, could've been trimmed down a little bit. Harry's attitude also rubbed me the wrong way. I understand that he was angry over the Ministry's refusal to believe his claims about Voldemort, but at didn't make his outbursts any more fun to listen too. However, Order is still an excellent book for a number of reasons. We got a good look at the paranoid Ministry of Magic and we saw the trio branch out to include Luna, Neville, and Ginny. And, I must say that Umbridge was a wonderful villain. I wanted to strangle her in so many ways it's not even funny!

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - This book was a nice introduction to the Potterverse. But it's obvious that it was a more geared toward children than adults. Aside from the omious relevation that Harry was the "boy who lived" and that an evil wizard named Voldemort killed his parents, there wasn't much else that was dark or depressing. Still, we met Hagrid, the Weasleys, and Hermione for the first time and we saw the formation of the trio which was sweet. Oh, and Snape not being the bad guy was a nice, but predictable, twist.

I still haven't read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I rank them basically as each one being greater then the last, mainly due to the way the series builds up and develops a history and characters.

1. Half Blood Prince
Strengths:

Horace Slughorn is one of the best teachers yet. Funny, but a guy who knows what he's talking about, and is connected to the plot. I only wish he had done more later in the book.
Harry/Dumledore relationship works very well, and is quite touching.
All the backstory on Tom Riddle is really great.
Characters feel more realistic then ever.

Weaknesses:
Severe lack of supporting cast/Dumbledore's Army and the Order. This is a big disappointment after Order of the Phoenix put such a large emphasis on the supporting characters. Neville in particular is missing for most of the book, after he had really been built up in Order.

Romance gets rushed in latter parts of the story: The early parts are fine, but some of the later parts irk me. Harry/Ginny feels forced and fan servicey to me. Hermione seems a little too vengeful, stooping as low as to go to the party with Cormac(and she considered SMITH). It also seems like Ron suddenly and randomly decided he didn't want to go out with Lavendar any more, and the way it was handled felt too convenient to me.

Overall a great book that I hope to read many times(I've already got 2 times plus a third time rereading select parts of it). I really, really wish it had another 300 pages to deal with the weaknesses I pointed out. More Neville, more DA and Order, relationships fleshed out better.

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Strengths:
No Character Left Behind: While the core focus of the book is on the trio plus Neville, Ginny, and Luna, most of the Hogwarts students are present and accounted for here, unlike in Half Blood Prince(and Chamber of Secrets as well). Dumbledore's Army was one of my favorite aspects of all 6 books so far(I sincerely hope that we see their triumphant return in Book 7, but more on that for another time). We also had the Order of the Phoenix as well. Basically, Rowling introduces many new characters, keeps around all the old ones, and manages to balance it. Sure I have favorites that I wish got more screentime, but overall it was very enjoyable to see a greater picture than just the trio.

We Hates Her: Dolores Umbridge is just the character you absolutely love to hate. She was a complete and utter *****, and you just rooted against her the entire time.

Battle at the DoM: The greatest fight yet in Harry Potter. Every page of it kept the suspense up, and the death of Sirius was extremely sad and emotional.

Weaknesses:
The Human Hosepipe: After spending the last couple of books as Harry's nice and preppy crush, Cho Chang is turned into the biggest moper of all time. She acts horrible the entire book, and I wanted to punch her in the face several times.

Neon Genesis Hogwarts: This book was angstier then, well, something really angsty...The angst factor was huge here, I didn't think it was terrible(it certainly didn't come out of nowhere and felt convincing), but I kept wanting Harry to just snap out of it. The only time I really got upset with it on a large scale was when Harry started yelling at Dumbledore.

All in all, an amazing book. I'm still not sure about placing Half Blood Prince above it, only time will tell, really.

3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
Strengths:
Everything goes well together and is developed strongly: Goblet of Fire has a very engaging plot, with a very big twist at the end, and ties everything together very well.

Spew: A plot point suspiciously absent from HBP, Spew was rather entertaining, and very well might play a large role in the final book.

"Kill the spare": I don't think anything really has to be said about this, just a great scene flat out. Poor Cedric didn't see it coming(and neither did any of us, I think).

Weaknesses:
Ron: I really didn't like the way Ron was handled in GoF, in fact, it was then that he stopped being one of my favorites. Oh, I don't dislike him or anything, but I don't think he's as great a character as I did in the first three books.

Overall a great book. Not as many weaknesses as some other books, but also its strenghts weren't as strong either. Very good book, though.

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Strengths:
"Gotch ya'": Wow, just wow. The big Sirius/Remus/Peter twist was completely shocking and came straight out of left field, and was absolutely brilliant. Completely blindsided by that one.

Dementors: The Dementors felt very real and intimidating because of what they represented. They were a very big weakness to Harry, and overall were a really great idea.

Weaknesses:
Snape: I didn't really like the way he was handled in the Shrieking Shack, one of his weaker books, in my opinion.

"You know who." "No I don't": Pretty much no connection to Voldemort at all, aside from Petigrew returning to him at the end of the book. Although it made Prisoner stand out on its own, it did also kind of disconnect it from the rest of the series.

Overall, strong book, with some points that needed improving. Best of the "short books".

5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
Strengths:
Relevance: Like it or hate it, it has a lot of important plot details revealed in it. We find out info on Voldemort that gets built on in Prince, and find out a lot about the Wizarding World as well.

Gilderoy: Terrible man, but a great character. Provided some great humor throughout the book. Definitely a plus.

Weaknesses:
People thinking Harry is the heir: Everyone seems to quickly villify "the Boy who lived". In Goblet and Order it made sense when people got on his case, but in Chamber it just felt a little silly. On another note, the trio is rather quick to incriminate Hagrid.

Not quite as exciting: Overall, despite the big suspense aspect, Chamber just wasn't as exciting as it could have been. the fact that everything gets magically returned to normal at the end certainly isn't a help, either.

Overall, not the greatest book, but it was interesting, and gave some much needed information.

6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorceror's Stone
I'm really not sure what to say about this. Its a good enough book, but for the most part it doesn't have anything that really sticks out in the mind. Its the weakest of the series, in my opinion.

[Mike Spartz]

Romance gets rushed in latter parts of the story: The early parts are fine, but some of the later parts irk me. Harry/Ginny feels forced and fan servicey to me. Hermione seems a little too vengeful, stooping as low as to go to the party with Cormac(and she considered SMITH). It also seems like Ron suddenly and randomly decided he didn't want to go out with Lavendar any more, and the way it was handled felt too convenient to me.Sorry to go off topic, but the books are from Harry's point of view. So we can't expect everything to be explained in a way that makes sense. We got hints that Ron didn't like Lavender in HBP with the pimp necklace present at Christmas time.