*

(5) GARTH NIX –

OLD KINGDOM & THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM (1995 – 2021)

And now we come to a number of entries that I’ll call better than Potter – that is, children’s fantasy series that while reminiscent of or similar to Harry Potter, should have received the same or greater extent of readership, media adaptation, and popular acclaim.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t particularly dislike Harry Potter but I don’t particularly like it either, when there are better books or series of children’s fantasy out there in my opinion.

And foremost among them are those by this Australian writer, notably the cosmic fantasy of his Keys to the Kingdom series and the casual necromancy of his Old Kingdom series. I ranked the former in fourth place in my Top 10 Fantasy Books, but that should not obscure that it and the Old Kingdom series are written for younger and older readers alike – hence my fifth place special mention here.

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)