Hmm... I wouldn't agree with the people in this thread hailing it as a great work of literature. The main character is a complete Mary Sue - somewhat like Ender, but, in my opinion, considerably worse, although it's been toned down a bit in the later chapters.<p>But I only say that to counter those people - it's indeed a delightful and addictive read. The only problem is that it updates quite infrequently and is nowhere near done - I had been suspecting that it'd been abandoned. Reading 90 or so chapters (at high speed, due to the addictiveness) only to come to a screeching halt and have to wait months for a few more chapters is not that fun!
If you've not read this yet, don't start... unless you have a weekend to spend on it.<p>HP & the MoR is one of the most compulsive and intelligent reading experiences out there. Comparable to the late Iain M Banks in compulsion, imho, and half again as clever and witty.
Out of interest, how many people recommending this usually read fanfiction? Because I gave it a try a good while back but got a bit frustrated with it. It seemed to read more as a parody (albeit a good one) rather than something more faithful to the characters.
Lost two nights to this one. It is definitely the best fan fiction I have read and more so. IMO JK Rowling's version pales in comparision to this, but without the inconsistencies of the original book, this HPMOR wouldn't have been possible. If you've read the original, you owe it to yourself to read this.
If you've not read this, strap yourself in - you're in for a ride. Eliezer, an AI researcher, has created this novel from a simple yet fascinating standpoint - what if Harry was a brilliant rationalist who engaged the magical world from a scientific standpoint? Don't dismiss this because it's a fanfic or incomplete - it introduces rationality, breaks many fantasy and geek tropes, and builds off Rowling's universe in a highly entertaining and thought-provoking page turner (I guess a modernization of this idiom would be "iPad flicker").
I've just realised that this is somewhat the inverse of the Science of Discworld books.<p>Those books are split into alternative chapters of popular science, and Discworld stories about the characters reacting to our science from their point of view as characters in a fantasty novel.<p>So you get wizards that accidentally create a "strange" universe full of "roundworlds" and then having them wondering why people don't fall off the bottom, cue chapter on gravity and planet formation. Or in the second one they meet the "God of evolution".<p>I avoided reading them for years assuming they were going to be full of Dorling Kindersley "Science of Star Wars" type books full of pop-up AT-ATs and cut-away diagrams of lightsabers, but they're among the best pop science books I've read (though, I'm a fan of Pratchett, which undoubtedly helps)
Do you have to have read (or like) Harry Potter to appreciate this? I read several chapters (8 or so) and I actually found the story very distracting from the rationality message.
Is it done yet? I read it when it was half the length it is now, and thoroughly enjoyed it. When it is done I will read it again, starting from the beginning.
If you like HPMOR as entertainment (rather than just for educational value), then another fanfic you might enjoy is "A Study in Magic" [1].<p>It's a crossover between HP and the BBC's "Sherlock", where the Dursleys get killed before the start of the story in one of Moriarty's schemes against Holmes. Holmes and Watson end up adopting Harry and raising him. Harry learns a lot about observation and deduction from Holmes, and makes good use of this dealing with the problems he confronts at Hogwarts. Holmes is not content to act like a normal Muggle parent and ignore the wizarding world once his child leaves for Hogwarts. He takes an active (and not always welcomed) interest in wizard affairs.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7578572/1/A-Study-in-Magic" rel="nofollow">http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7578572/1/A-Study-in-Magic</a>
The index page looks really interesting, the kind of index page that would lead me to read the book. Can someone give a gist of what this fanfic is about?<p>(I loved the Harry Potter series and I love Nassim Talebs works if that matters)
If you are just starting this, make it through at least chapter 10 before deciding if you want to stop reading. That's where things really pick up.
I've not seen this before - the first three chapters have had me guffawing something dreadful!<p>I'm going to have to ration my reading of this...
I stumbled over this a few years back and decided not to start reading it until Yudkowsky stopped adding to it or at least chunked some subset of the chapters into one or more books. When I read fiction such as this I want there to be a clearly defined beginning and end to the story. Eternal soap-operas, even if clever, aren't for me.