Self-contained worlds (was The proximity of the Potterverse)

[joywitch_m_curmudgeon]

> Anne U wrote:
> 
> > Now 
> > that I'm used to the Potterverse, I find myself feeling impatient 
> > toward novels that create self-contained worlds, because I have 
to 
> > take time out from reading them to consult "the map" frequently. 
I 
> > realize that's probably a failing of my own imagination


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> 
wrote:
> Not at all--it's a matter of preference.  I find the two 
experiences 
> satisfying in different ways.  

I think Anne is right.  What JKR has done is different, and to me 
more satisfying.  I, too, love the Earthsea novels and the Pern 
novels and other fantasy worlds with their own maps and realities.  
But, to me, one of the reasons that JKR's world is so much better 
than ANY of the others is precisely because I can retain my belief 
that it exists, just outside my grasp.  Those other worlds may exist, 
but they are so far away that I can't imagine ever seeing them.  But 
JKR's world I can catch glimpses of, all the time.  I can go to 
King's Cross, I can imagine all the places that might, just might, be 
the Leaky Cauldron, if I weren't a muggle and could only see it.

Middle Earth, and the galaxy far, far away where the Rebel Alliance 
is fighting The Empire, and all those other places are out of my 
reach, and I will never go there.  But the Wizarding World is right 
here, I know it is, and I love HP because I know I will find the 
entrance to Diagon Alley someday.

-Joywitch