Beyond Harry Potter

What began with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1997, a below-the radar fantasy novel aimed at 10-year olds, ended six books and ten years later with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a book with worldwide appeal among all age groups. Sales of Rowling’s books have well exceeded 100 million copies, creating an industry unto itself, including web sites and movies and more.

There may never be another publishing phenomenon as powerful as the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. So where, as readers, do we go from here?

Interestingly, while the Harry Potter Express has been roaring through bookstores and libraries for the past several years, at least two other fantasy series have emerged and are worthy of our consideration. Both, initially, were aimed at the young adult (ages 12-18) market, but both, just like Harry Potter, have experienced much broader appeal among readers.

Eragon by Christopher Paolin is the first book in his Inheritance series and was published n 2002, starting out as a self-published book but soon discovered by a major New York publisher. It tells the story of a young farm boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, set in the kingdom of Alagaesia.

Eldest, the second book in the series, was published in 2005, and Brisingr, the third book, was just recently released. Paolini plans to complete the series with an as yet unnamed fourth novel.

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer began in 2005 with Twilight, featuring seventeen-year-old Isabella “Bella” Swan, who moves from Phoenix to Washington State where she falls in love with a vampire and experiences adventure and drama as a result.

Meyer has published sequels each year – New Moon, Eclipse and the recently released Breaking Dawn. She plans to publish one more book in the series.

Both Eragon and Twilight have been made into movies, the latter being released this December.

So, if you’re experiencing Harry Potter withdrawal symptoms, here are two good fantasy series to try out, regardless of your age or gender. There may never be another Harry Potter, but there’s still a lot of good reading out there.