Friday 5 August 2011

Harry Potter, Rincewind & You

                 The world is Harry Potter mad at the moment and for good reason.  I love the movies and think the stories are really clever and well thought out, but I have been thinking, is Harry Potter really the best at magic? I have asked several people who they thought was the best main character at magic and the general consensus is Harry Potter, but I am not so sure.
                The reason I am not so sure is because I grew up on movies like “Never Ending Story”, “Witches” & “Labyrinth”. David Bowie’s character was really creepy and powerful in Labyrinth and he could give Harry Potter a run for his money. What about the evil witch in “Willow”, the Val Kilmer movie, where she turns an entire army into pigs? In Never Ending Story the power of belief is the greatest thing in the world.
                If we look further afield to Japanese anime, manga or movies. There is nothing that they haven’t thought of when it comes to magical stories. One Piece, Naruto, Dragonball Z, Bleach, Fairy Tale and all these amazing stories are full of amazing characters that can do unbelievable magical things. Could Harry Potter really out do them in magic?
                We come to one of my favourite wizards, Rincewind, from Terry Pratchett novels. He is the most cowardly character in the whole of the disc. Most of his books are about him running away from danger, but Rincewind cannot do magic, as he has one of the great spells locked away within his mind, even though he doesn’t know what it does. It is fair to say Harry Potter is better than him. I think my dog has more magical potential than Rincewind.
                This brings us to the Hermit Master.  An elderly man that can only do four spells, as crystal mages can only join with four magic crystals in their lifetime. One spell is shrouded in so much secrecy that no one knows what it does. The other three magic spells consisting of things that manipulate the world in which you live in. He is the undefeated ten time world magic champion and a legendary figure.
                Could Harry Potter best him in magic?
                This was one of the questions I asked myself when writing the novel. I thought about all the amazing characters ever created and I wanted to create a character that could stand toe to toe with all of them. A powerful heroic figure, but trapped in an old man’s body. I asked myself if I could do magic what spells would I want to do? Would I fly, have x-ray vision, would it be cool to control fire? Is that even practical?
                So, place yourself in Harry Potter’s, Rincewind, The Hermit Master’s shoes and ask yourself, if you could do any form of magic in the world what would it be? If you could invent a spell that is unique to you and you alone what would that spell be and why would you create it? What is your motivation for having this spell? Would you use it for good or for personal gain? What type of wizard, witch or crystal mage would you be?

           

4 comments:

  1. Simon Smith-Wilson5 August 2011 at 09:05

    Feel free to leave your spells, ideas and reasons here. I would love to hear your ideas.

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  2. So many spells to choose from. It all depends upon my mood. If I was feeling depressed about the world, I would create a spell to make all mean people nice and end war.
    If I was feeling poor, I would create a spell enabling me to know the lottery numbers in advance...maybe know lots of things a day before they happen.
    If I was feeling overwhelmed with life, I would create a spell that enabled me to make everyone do what I want...stop bothering me when I want to write...and a bunch of other things I can't mention here!!
    What a fun concept. I think I could go on forever.

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  3. Simon Smith-Wilson7 August 2011 at 06:58

    Winning the lottery would be an interesting spell to have, lol. Making people do what you want could be fun, i'm hungry "make me a sandwich!" If I had one spell... It would be to walk through solid objects, no more waiting to get into movies, busy roads would not be a problem, locked out the house? just walk through the door! Wouldn't even have to open the fridge to get food out, arm through the door, lol. <---- you can see the amount of thought I have put in this.

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  4. I would freeze time and direct negativity elsewhere. But where? Like a stealth ninja/eclectic witch champloo.

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