Harry and Harry, a brief note on magic and differences in style · 12:30am Jul 31st, 2018
I touched on this in the comments section, when I answered Mr. Cold Ghost and aceina about the most recently published chapter of The Issue of Multiple Sunsets, titled "A Harry situation." However, I thought I would fill it in a little more. How, even though I do have a Harry Potter reference joke, and I introduce to magic user versions of Sunset Shimmer, they are more in line with the Dresden series. Essentially, I am going to explain a bit of the difference between the two, and why I am using the one that I am.
This is going to be a bit long and likely rambling, so more after the break.
First, a brief explanation of the two series.
The Harry Potter books is a set of seven novels which started in 1997 and ended in 2007. It was written by British author, J.K. Rowling, and originally published in Europe before expanding worldwide. It is an urban fantasy story where the titular character is a young boy who, after learning magic is real and he is a wizard, is sent to a magical school. There, he is taught how to use magic, brew potions, and various other things, depending on the year. At the same time, he is also dealing with threats to the school, and even to the magical world itself, with threats becoming bigger and more dangerous as each year progresses. It was a massively popular series, leading to eight movies (the last book being split in two), and was credited with encouraging a lot of people to read for pleasure.
The Dresden Files is a United Stated published series, written by U.S. author, Jim Butcher. It started in 2000, and currently has fifteen novels (and two collections of short stories, the second of which came out in June, but which I haven't read yet), with plans for five more, and a three part finale. It is also an urban fantasy. At the start, it is set in Chicago, Illinois, where Harry Dresden openly advertises as a wizard for hire. Most people do not believe in magic however, and as such, he does not get much work. One of the jobs he does get on occasion, is to be hired by the police department's Special Investigation Unit, as a consultant. In each book, Harry is forced to deal with various threats, ranging from enemy spellcasters to fallen angels, with some of them being interconnected, or tied to bigger threats. While no movies had been made, there was a short lived tv series (which was very disappointing for various reasons), and an ongoing comic book adaptation which also includes some new stories.
While there are various differences between the two, the one most relevant to this is how the magic works.
And yes, a part of it is because I better understand the Dresden one than that Potter since I've read through them up to the fifteenth book.
Between the two, the magic in Harry Potter is more powerful, but in Dresden, it's more flexible. While Dresden can't do as much of the sheer diversity of spells Potter and his associates can, Dresden has more options with what he is capable of. For instance, early in the Potter series [possibly the first book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone if you found the original British title)], it is established that to cast a spell, a wizard needs a wand, and must perform a specific set of motions while speaking the spell with a very exact pronunciation. However, in the second Dresden book -- Fool Moon -- when Dresden is being strangled, he tells the readers how he does not actually need to speak to use a spell, but by doing so -- and in a language he does not usually speak -- it created a sort of insulation to his mind. As such, he can still cast while being strangled, but doing so hurts him as well as raw energy shoots through his body. Additionally, while he does have a staff and blasting rod (essentially a wand) that he uses, most often he simply uses incantations.
Also, some of the things which happens in the Harry Potter books are actually illegal in The Dresden Files, and would have ended with the spellcaster doing so being summarily executed.
There are seven laws of magic, the breaking of which end in the above execution:
- No killing humans with magic, unless in self-defense
- No shapeshifting of other beings
- No forcible violation of a human's mind (as in a person can't psychically force their way into another person's mind to read their thoughts)
- No mind control of other creatures or forcing them to bend to your will
- No necromancy. Primarily with humans, although others are frowned upon (this is how in Dead Beat, Dresden was able to magically animate and ride a Tyrannosaurus into battle against several necromancers without being executed).
- No time travelling
- No research on Outsiders (which are creatures similar to The Great Old Ones created by H.P. Lovecraft: ancient and powerful creature which are beyond human comprehension, could drive a person to madness, and could destroy the entire world or universe if they were to be released.
In the Potter books, the second rule is noticeably broken in the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when a teacher turns one of the students into a ferret, but with no real repercussions for the one who did it, nor any noticeable issues for the victim. And the sixth rule is broken in the third book, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, when Hermione Granger is given a device which allows her to travel back in time so she can take classes which occur at the same time, with permission from the school.
Admittedly, it is kind of weird working on this. I mean, I am creating a pair of characters which have somewhat firmer rules in regards to magic than many of their opponents or the general world itself, but it is one that works well to me. Not only do I know the rules better having read fifteen novels and one of the short story collections (and I'm going to have to find and read the second one soon), but it also has two additional benefits: one is that I don't have to try and find the exact and proper phrasing for the spells (which is a pain even with Google Translate and actual Latin to English dictionary); and the other is that while I can be creative and flexible, I have some hard boundaries that I'm up against and have to keep in mind.
As a final note: yes, I would encourage people to read The Dresden Files. I think it would be best to start with the first one, Storm Front, most have at least enough of an explanation on previous events that people should be able to pick up nearly any book in the series and enjoy it without too much trouble. Although some of them do have somewhat darker storylines than others, and the detective-like methodology becomes less as the series progresses, they are still entertaining, with an interesting main character, and some unique side characters, be they allies, villains, or simply antagonists (or in some cases all three depending on what's happening and which story).
I am still embarrassed by how I mixed the two up. I’ve read both series and I should of recognized the difference.
i still say you should write a full series out of that un iverse
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Well it was not exactly a big thing. A bit of snark between the two and the Sunsets shouting in Latin as they throw their hands out to cast spells.
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I actually hope to write an urban fantasy of my own which will be publishable. As such a fanfic would mean using the ideas for one in the other. Plus, to me, if I were, it would only be Sunset Shimmer in name at this point.
However,King of Beggars is working on an urban fantasy with Sunset Shimmer which is very different from Dresden, but feels similar in some ways called Sundowner. It includes a child version of Twilight, and college age versions of Celestia and Luna. I should note, however, there was a year long pause, which he just recently came to an end. He does intend to resume, but it may still be a while before he fully continues on it.
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fair enough and i will check that story out later