Yes, the Saving Connor series is very, very different, and maybe not for everybody. I was daunted by the length, too, and it took me about a month to complete, so yeah, I can totally understand a reluctance to start, lol!
Here was my original rec (from my LJ here (http://shadowfireflame.livejournal.com/31699.html)), if you're interested:
"This is the most epic, most well-plotted, most interestingly characterized, probably longest alternate universe in the Harry Potter fandom. As such, you absolutely must read it; you cannot miss this treasure. It's three times as long as the original HP books, and about fifty times more intricate and intelligent and complicated. Lightning's original characters are the best out there, to the point where many consider Lightning's world and characters actual canon. She builds up the world to the point where it is shockingly real and beautiful.
This entire series was a ridiculously ambitious undertaking (one worthy of a Slytherin!), and Lightning carries it out with aplomb. She essentially takes Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and makes it come alive, so that now I know so much more about magical creatures than I ever did before. The same is true of the breathtaking way she writes so-called minor characters in canon, but in the story they have a chance to take center stage and reveal their true potential and shine. For example, the interactions between Henrietta Bulstrode (who doesn't even exist in canon, hard though it is for me to believe now) and Evan Rosier are some of the sexiest and most twisted ever.
Lightning's Harry has a very refreshing way of anticipating problems and traps that canon Harry never foresaw and dealing with them directly, which causes a whole world of other problems to open up in front of him.
There are many things in this story that may not sit well with some readers, but she seems to understand this and work through those problems to show that there are no easy answers. By the end, I totally trusted her to do that, and knew she had a very good reason for everything. This story explains not only house elves' servitude but also the goblin rebellions, and her grasp on magic is one of the best I've ever read. I'm astonished at the brilliant way that she has written this series; readers have claimed it has had a profound impact on their lives.
Basic plotline: Harry has a twin brother named Connor, Lily and James never died, and Harry goes to Slytherin, where he meets Draco and Snape. The intricacies begin. Series consists of: Saving Connor (Book 1), No Mouth By Some Serpents (Book 2), Comes Out of Darkness Morn (Book 3), Freedom and Not Peace (Book 4), Wind that Shakes the Seas and Stars (Book 5), A Song in Time of Revolution (Book 6), I Am Also Thy Brother (Book 7)."
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Here was my original rec (from my LJ here (http://shadowfireflame.livejournal.com/31699.html)), if you're interested:
"This is the most epic, most well-plotted, most interestingly characterized, probably longest alternate universe in the Harry Potter fandom. As such, you absolutely must read it; you cannot miss this treasure. It's three times as long as the original HP books, and about fifty times more intricate and intelligent and complicated. Lightning's original characters are the best out there, to the point where many consider Lightning's world and characters actual canon. She builds up the world to the point where it is shockingly real and beautiful.
This entire series was a ridiculously ambitious undertaking (one worthy of a Slytherin!), and Lightning carries it out with aplomb. She essentially takes Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and makes it come alive, so that now I know so much more about magical creatures than I ever did before. The same is true of the breathtaking way she writes so-called minor characters in canon, but in the story they have a chance to take center stage and reveal their true potential and shine. For example, the interactions between Henrietta Bulstrode (who doesn't even exist in canon, hard though it is for me to believe now) and Evan Rosier are some of the sexiest and most twisted ever.
Lightning's Harry has a very refreshing way of anticipating problems and traps that canon Harry never foresaw and dealing with them directly, which causes a whole world of other problems to open up in front of him.
There are many things in this story that may not sit well with some readers, but she seems to understand this and work through those problems to show that there are no easy answers. By the end, I totally trusted her to do that, and knew she had a very good reason for everything. This story explains not only house elves' servitude but also the goblin rebellions, and her grasp on magic is one of the best I've ever read. I'm astonished at the brilliant way that she has written this series; readers have claimed it has had a profound impact on their lives.
Basic plotline: Harry has a twin brother named Connor, Lily and James never died, and Harry goes to Slytherin, where he meets Draco and Snape. The intricacies begin. Series consists of: Saving Connor (Book 1), No Mouth By Some Serpents (Book 2), Comes Out of Darkness Morn (Book 3), Freedom and Not Peace (Book 4), Wind that Shakes the Seas and Stars (Book 5), A Song in Time of Revolution (Book 6), I Am Also Thy Brother (Book 7)."