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Arithmancer #1
The Arithmancer
Fandom: Harry Potter
Relationship: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
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Hermione grows up as a maths whiz instead of a bookworm and tests into Arithmancy in her first year. With the help of her friends and Professor Vector, she puts her superhuman spellcrafting skills to good use in the fight against Voldemort.
Relationship: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
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Hermione grows up as a maths whiz instead of a bookworm and tests into Arithmancy in her first year. With the help of her friends and Professor Vector, she puts her superhuman spellcrafting skills to good use in the fight against Voldemort.
2117 pages, ebook
First published August 22, 2015
10 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 6, 2017
If this were broken up into four books (as it obviously should be) I'd probably rate them 3, 3, 1 and 2 stars respectively. As it is that averages out to 2.25. The first two have their problems but they're easy reading and quite fun. The third is a real slog where nothing happens until suddenly everything happens at once, and the fourth is a step up from that but feels a bit like a race to the end. Maybe I was just getting sick of it by that point though.
The biggest problem with the whole thing though is how much it relies on the source material. I don't think it would be possible to enjoy this story if you weren't already very familiar with the Harry Potter series. Certainly the poor characterisation and the glossing over of less important events would stand out a lot more.
Even allowing for the author's obvious intent for this to be read by people who are already fans of the original, the dialogue is very badly written and there are a lot of awkward Americanisms and tone-deaf attempts at Britishisms that just don't work at all.
There's also a bit of a problem with characterisation, where characters are written differently and do different things, but their relationships from the original books is assumed unless specifically contradicted. The most obvious example is Hermione regarding Harry and Ron as her best friends despite not really interacting with them much at all. It's clear from the ways characters interact that her best friends are Fred, George and Ginny, and yet it's repeatedly stated in the text that Harry and Ron are her best friends.
It all really demonstrates the fact that this story is in desperate need of an editor. There's a decent cor there that just needs fixing up a bit. The author's notes at various points indicate that some changes were made to a few chapters, but not nearly as many as are necessary.
Oh, and it's super creepy how the author turned Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and Barty Crouch jr into paedophiles. In the cases of the bad guy characters, maybe it was meant to make them seem more evil? If so, it was unnecessary. In the case of Sirius Black it seems to just indicate that the author thinks it's normal for grown men to be attracted to 14-year-olds, which is creepy as fuck.
The biggest problem with the whole thing though is how much it relies on the source material. I don't think it would be possible to enjoy this story if you weren't already very familiar with the Harry Potter series. Certainly the poor characterisation and the glossing over of less important events would stand out a lot more.
Even allowing for the author's obvious intent for this to be read by people who are already fans of the original, the dialogue is very badly written and there are a lot of awkward Americanisms and tone-deaf attempts at Britishisms that just don't work at all.
There's also a bit of a problem with characterisation, where characters are written differently and do different things, but their relationships from the original books is assumed unless specifically contradicted. The most obvious example is Hermione regarding Harry and Ron as her best friends despite not really interacting with them much at all. It's clear from the ways characters interact that her best friends are Fred, George and Ginny, and yet it's repeatedly stated in the text that Harry and Ron are her best friends.
It all really demonstrates the fact that this story is in desperate need of an editor. There's a decent cor there that just needs fixing up a bit. The author's notes at various points indicate that some changes were made to a few chapters, but not nearly as many as are necessary.
Oh, and it's super creepy how the author turned Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and Barty Crouch jr into paedophiles. In the cases of the bad guy characters, maybe it was meant to make them seem more evil? If so, it was unnecessary. In the case of Sirius Black it seems to just indicate that the author thinks it's normal for grown men to be attracted to 14-year-olds, which is creepy as fuck.
February 1, 2018
The best fanfiction I have read in a long time. This is one of the rare fics, which could compare to "professional" books. I especially loved that despite the changes the characters were still recognisably themselves. Plus I liked the changes very much!
September 23, 2019
Conceptually, The Arithmancer is very strong. The math merges seamlessly with the story, and the arithmancy worldbuilding is *excellent* (runes, too. Finally, some wizarding careers for STEM folks)
It seems like Ron pretty much got edged out of the story, between Harry being Chosen(TM) and Hermione being an arithmancy prodigy. There were a few attempts to bring him in (the runes on the Shack in year 2, for instance), but he just didn't feel like part of the Big Trio. Combine that with the fact that Hermione seems to have gotten quite a bit more emotionally intelligent and that there's no Hermione/Ron in the story, and he actually *becomes* (or at least reads as) the less talented hanger-on he's afraid of being in the books.
Overall good story, sloppily written for a published work but certainly adequate for fanfiction, much more enjoyable as an adult reader than the original books.
It seems like Ron pretty much got edged out of the story, between Harry being Chosen(TM) and Hermione being an arithmancy prodigy. There were a few attempts to bring him in (the runes on the Shack in year 2, for instance), but he just didn't feel like part of the Big Trio. Combine that with the fact that Hermione seems to have gotten quite a bit more emotionally intelligent and that there's no Hermione/Ron in the story, and he actually *becomes* (or at least reads as) the less talented hanger-on he's afraid of being in the books.
Overall good story, sloppily written for a published work but certainly adequate for fanfiction, much more enjoyable as an adult reader than the original books.
October 13, 2018
Well, I love this book very much.
It is similar to HPMoR a bit, in the sense that it is rule-based ( aka hard magic system, hard fantasy) with a very smart protagonist using those rules to gain power. It is not a textbook of rationality like HPMoR, and it is much less annoying than HPMoR too.
Hermione is a math genius and can change the world with Arithmancy. I find it very plausible because wizards seem to be oblivious to muggle sciences, and I'm sure the number of wizards who study abstract mathematics to be less than 10, considering they are living a century behind and think muggles are stupid.
And I haven't seen any fanfiction to do Arithmancy justice. I haven't thought about it before, but the most hard-magic subject in fandom seems to be ancient runes. Even I want to write a fanfiction about it. But I'm glad I found a fanfiction about Arithmancy. Considering I have a bachelors degree in math, I think it is an oversight on my part that I didn't see the potential. Arithmancy in canon is just a joke.
Now I don't know if I didn't understand, or the story is just too vague about how it works, but it isn't as predictable for me as I wanted it to be. I don't know the rules of arithmancy in this fanfiction enough to think about it. But I liked it to be. The mathematics that is introduced in the story are all real though.
The story itself is good. I love the progress that Hermione makes throughout the book. I think she is a bit overpowered, but I like it. The characters are well written enough, and I love most of the main characters.
The action scenes are great too. Harry is likable enough, and it is good that he has more raw power and magical talent than Hermione. Otherwise, I think the main protagonist would become too powerful for me to enjoy.
One thing I didn't enjoy though, was the fact that this story is not finished yet. I hate to wait for more chapters ( of the second book) to come because this is not the only book that I haven't finished. This is very bad because I have to keep track of different versions of the same characters. I think I'm gonna wait for the second book to finish, then start from scratch and read from the beginning.
I recommend this book to Harry Potter fanfiction readers, especially those who like a smart protagonist.
It is similar to HPMoR a bit, in the sense that it is rule-based ( aka hard magic system, hard fantasy) with a very smart protagonist using those rules to gain power. It is not a textbook of rationality like HPMoR, and it is much less annoying than HPMoR too.
Hermione is a math genius and can change the world with Arithmancy. I find it very plausible because wizards seem to be oblivious to muggle sciences, and I'm sure the number of wizards who study abstract mathematics to be less than 10, considering they are living a century behind and think muggles are stupid.
And I haven't seen any fanfiction to do Arithmancy justice. I haven't thought about it before, but the most hard-magic subject in fandom seems to be ancient runes. Even I want to write a fanfiction about it. But I'm glad I found a fanfiction about Arithmancy. Considering I have a bachelors degree in math, I think it is an oversight on my part that I didn't see the potential. Arithmancy in canon is just a joke.
Now I don't know if I didn't understand, or the story is just too vague about how it works, but it isn't as predictable for me as I wanted it to be. I don't know the rules of arithmancy in this fanfiction enough to think about it. But I liked it to be. The mathematics that is introduced in the story are all real though.
The story itself is good. I love the progress that Hermione makes throughout the book. I think she is a bit overpowered, but I like it. The characters are well written enough, and I love most of the main characters.
The action scenes are great too. Harry is likable enough, and it is good that he has more raw power and magical talent than Hermione. Otherwise, I think the main protagonist would become too powerful for me to enjoy.
One thing I didn't enjoy though, was the fact that this story is not finished yet. I hate to wait for more chapters ( of the second book) to come because this is not the only book that I haven't finished. This is very bad because I have to keep track of different versions of the same characters. I think I'm gonna wait for the second book to finish, then start from scratch and read from the beginning.
I recommend this book to Harry Potter fanfiction readers, especially those who like a smart protagonist.
April 13, 2020
A very long, but fun, read on the whole. It's essentially four books cramped into one and the author does a fair job of giving everyone a time to shine while retelling the Harry Potter stories with heightened stakes and from a maths genius Hermione Granger's point of view.
There were points in the story where things got a little dragged out because the author only added to the canon story as opposed to massively changed it up, but it was still a refreshing take. The study of Arithmancy and spell crafting was detailed and there is really nothing in fanon that I've read that compares to this.
There were points in the story where things got a little dragged out because the author only added to the canon story as opposed to massively changed it up, but it was still a refreshing take. The study of Arithmancy and spell crafting was detailed and there is really nothing in fanon that I've read that compares to this.
February 8, 2020
Very interesting and refreshing read, though it may be not the best choice in the middle of paranoid depression episode. I found that most things that brought Hermione down, brought down me as well, but isn't it a sign of good writing?
I love how the story meets canon and intertwines and changes with it, without being a complete "AU".
I love how the story meets canon and intertwines and changes with it, without being a complete "AU".
December 5, 2020
Well it certainly makes a lot more sense about some things than the original HP in my mind, though it seriously shifts the focus off Harry and onto Hermione, not utterly since it's mostly following the same events but Hermione is clearly the main protagonist of this story rather than Harry.
There was one point where Hermione's parents referred to her wanting to use magic for something and arguing with them about inferior muggle ways as "teenage drama" and how they though they'd skipped that which really pissed me off, at them not the author though so... not necessarily a bad thing but yeah people treating children as if they aren't people with their own lives or that they can just say what should or should not be important to other people, as if just because they don't care means they can tell other people that they can't care either, really irritates me. (I'm sure that's a run on sentence but I don't really care lol)
There was one point where Hermione's parents referred to her wanting to use magic for something and arguing with them about inferior muggle ways as "teenage drama" and how they though they'd skipped that which really pissed me off, at them not the author though so... not necessarily a bad thing but yeah people treating children as if they aren't people with their own lives or that they can just say what should or should not be important to other people, as if just because they don't care means they can tell other people that they can't care either, really irritates me. (I'm sure that's a run on sentence but I don't really care lol)
May 22, 2021
I really enjoyed the Arithmancer series. Hermione gets to be the hero, we learn a lot about fractals, and the HP verse gets fleshed out in different ways.
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December 18, 2022
Of course, Fanfition not focusing primarily on harry isn't the majority: its always interesting to see how that turns out.
I rather enjoyed it, although there's much to grumble and quibble over both in terms of characterisation and plot. It still felt like a clever twist, and that's what I was looking for.
I rather enjoyed it, although there's much to grumble and quibble over both in terms of characterisation and plot. It still felt like a clever twist, and that's what I was looking for.
September 17, 2020
I enjoyed this, but my god, it was long. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was separated into one book per school year.
November 4, 2021
This is one of my favorite fanfics for a reason. Super engaging and with fun twists and new characters/character development.
April 1, 2022
An excellent hermione centric fanfiction
August 9, 2023
Absolutely fantastic.
‘Give her a place to stand, and she will move the Earth’
‘Give her a place to stand, and she will move the Earth’
June 15, 2024
so fun, maths wiz
January 13, 2022
This is the second-best fanfiction I've ever read, falling just barely behind Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It's not perfect (just like any other fanfiction), and some parts are better than others, but I highly recommend it. It's incredibly enthralling and well-thought-out, and it consumed literally all of my free time for the past, oh, two or three weeks.
The Arithmancer and its sequel, Lady Archimedes, are, together, as long as all of the Harry Potter books combined. If I were to rate each book-length segment separately, I'd say year seven was probably my favorite, followed by... perhaps the rest of the years in backwards order? While it was certainly interesting at the beginning, it didn't diverge from canon all that much until the end of year three, after which point I started liking it more and more.
Some of my favorite parts:
- er... the whole concept of the book?
- hearing everything from Hermione's perspective
- the theory that arithmancy is used for spellcrafting
- Hermione's relationship with Professor Vector
- Hermione's capability in general
- minor spoiler for book 1:
- major spoiler for book 3:
- spoiler for book 4:
- spoiler for book 6:
- major spoiler for book 7:
Note: Lady Archimedes is in the Goodreads database separately, and I'll mark that one as read as well for my own records, but this review applies to both.
The Arithmancer and its sequel, Lady Archimedes, are, together, as long as all of the Harry Potter books combined. If I were to rate each book-length segment separately, I'd say year seven was probably my favorite, followed by... perhaps the rest of the years in backwards order? While it was certainly interesting at the beginning, it didn't diverge from canon all that much until the end of year three, after which point I started liking it more and more.
Some of my favorite parts:
- er... the whole concept of the book?
- hearing everything from Hermione's perspective
- the theory that arithmancy is used for spellcrafting
- Hermione's relationship with Professor Vector
- Hermione's capability in general
- minor spoiler for book 1:
- major spoiler for book 3:
- spoiler for book 4:
- spoiler for book 6:
- major spoiler for book 7:
Note: Lady Archimedes is in the Goodreads database separately, and I'll mark that one as read as well for my own records, but this review applies to both.
April 30, 2021
I didn't realise that you could review some fanfiction on Goodreads. Woo!
I really liked the concept of this, and seeing the first few books of the Harry Potter series from math-whiz Hermione's point of view. Some of the mathematical theories and concepts went over my head, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I really enjoyed the deep dive into arithmancy.
I do feel that Ron got a bit of the short end of the stick in this though.
I really liked the concept of this, and seeing the first few books of the Harry Potter series from math-whiz Hermione's point of view. Some of the mathematical theories and concepts went over my head, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I really enjoyed the deep dive into arithmancy.
I do feel that Ron got a bit of the short end of the stick in this though.
March 7, 2021
Honestly decent Harry Potter fanfic: Hermione starts out a math genius and things escalate. Good writing, a bunch of very thoughtful world-building. Close to canon without being stupid or pretentious. Delightfully nerdy, good research. Overdoing the canon in places, I think, and also the meta fandom commentary (but not often and not obnoxiously).
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews