I have to review along with everyone else, even though I know my review will be swallowed up among the thousands of other reviews of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The book and all of the hype around it is just too fascinating.First of all, I think that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (and all of the other Harry Potter's) is marvelous. J.K. Rowling is a very good writer. She creates some complete characters alongside some comical stock characters. She uses some brilliant word play, and the atmosphere created in the book is extraordinary. It, at least, is incomparible to any other children's novel. She is very good at incorporating pieces of Greek mythology into the novel. The plot is vastly entertaining.There has been a lot of backlash against the popularity of the Harry Potter novels. But, this really happens to anything that becomes popular. Sure, there are better fantasy novels, and there are much better fantasy novels written for children. I don't think that there is a better place to start reading children's fantasy (or children's lit. for that matter). I also think that any fan of children's fantasy would have to enjoy this whether or not they think there are better books out there....Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a great book, and I think all of the controversy and hype just make it better and more appealing. I think everyone (including adults) should read this novel. It is well worth the time and money. Then, I think fans should definately move on to some of the other great childrens/adult fantasy classics like Lloyd Alexander's perfect Prydain Chronicles, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Smith of Wooton Major, and Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy. 

Question: Are those characters simple?
Answer: thousands