Harry Potter hysteria

[Werf]

I love the series and read "Half-Blood Prince" in two days. Got it on Sat. afternoon and had it done by Monday morning. Great read, good fantasy and without any hesitation of breaking readers' hearts. Now I've got to wait two or three years for the finale.

[Dr. Rat]

I've read one and two, and I live with a young person who loves the whole series.

I have Rawling to thank for her able assistance in my nefarious plan to turn above mentioned young person into an avid reader.

As for me . . . well like a lot of genre writers, especially genre writers doing material for inexperienced readers, she has her strengths and her weaknesses.

I think she has an excellent way of evoking the frustrations of being a child and playing those frustrations out in innocent ways. The original scenario is a great idea. Creating a setting that is both very different than everyday reality and also very close to everyday reality (witches living as an active underground in contremporary society) is a brilliant move.

I think she's created a series which is a great introduction to the pleasures of reading, but, on the other hand I think Rawling is often pretty derivative and there is a real lack of depth to the books--I don't find the drama I remember in, say, LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy, or a completely absorbing world like Middle Earth.

But these faults are in some ways functions of the strengths of the novels.

--eric

[Soul Stream]

Some things in life I just don't GET. This is one of them.

[Dr. Rat]

Some things in life I just don't GET.  This is one of them.

←

You're just upset about your cellphone.

--eric

[7/4]

Some things in life I just don't GET.  This is one of them.

←

You're just upset about your cellphone.

--eric

←

Soulstation1 lost his cell phone.

[Dr. Rat]

Some things in life I just don't GET.  This is one of them.

←

You're just upset about your cellphone.

--eric

←

Soulstation1 lost his cell phone.

←

Any relation?

--eric

[Werf]

I don't get cellphones. Like, a friend called me four times in a row yesterday, "H...cha...guh...Werf...ke... (vast gulf of silence)."

[Dr. Rat]

I don't get cellphones. Like, a friend called me four times in a row yesterday, "H...cha...guh...Werf...ke... (vast gulf of silence)."

←

You're just upset because Klingons don't get any respect on this planet.

--eric

Edited July 25, 2005 by Dr. Rat

[kh1958]

Yes, they are both Slytherins.

Some things in life I just don't GET.  This is one of them.

←

You're just upset about your cellphone.

--eric

←

Soulstation1 lost his cell phone.

←

Any relation?

--eric

←

[Joe G]

I don't get cellphones. Like, a friend called me four times in a row yesterday, "H...cha...guh...Werf...ke... (vast gulf of silence)."

←

You're just upset because Klingons don't get any respect on this planet.

--eric

←

Or reception, apparently!

[couw]

this volume read like some sort of in between book. Lots of stuff happening that just needed to be told without an actual story arc evolving. Too much going on and too little to make a coherent story. Realy good in the face of the overall tale but not so when singled out. This one left a bit of a rambled off impression. All the stuff that needed to be in place for the final work has been put in place.

At least I hope that's the case.

Many lost opportunities in this book, it could have been better with some additional sidelines that threaten to become mainlines. The previous books kept the reader on their toes with such stuff, resolving one story line after the other.

[Guy Berger]

I picked up #6 before a flight yesterday and finished it today. I enjoyed it a lot, though I wonder how she is going to tie up all the loose ends in "just" 700 pages.

I was reading up on the response to this series by critics like Harold Bloom. Hilarious.

Guy

Edited December 27, 2006 by Guy

[sal]

#6 is a disturbing book.

[jazzbo]

Sounds like I should try reading Vol. 6!

I respect that she's ending the series. . . seems sensible.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Sounds like I should try reading Vol. 6!

I respect that she's ending the series. . . seems sensible.

My daughter, who buys them for the kids and lends them to me tells me that only two more are planned.

MG

[Big Al]

Predictions for book 7 anyone?

1. Dumbledore is NOT dead. Snape IS in on the plot to make it look like he's dead, but Dumbledore is not dead. It is a ruse to make Voldemort think he's out of the way.

2. Percy Weasley is a Death Eater. Pure-blood, disagrees vehemently with his parents, always an air of superiority. Been working inside the Ministry in order to feed info to the Dark Lord, who uses Percy's thirst for power and his pure-bloodline in order to bring him over to the dark side.

I have no idea who WILL die, and I'm not even sure that Harry and/or Voldemort will die. But I'm pretty confident about those other two.

As for this series, I haven't read each book as they came out; in fact, I'm still in the middle of book 6 (I cheated when it came out: I read the last three chapters to see who would die.), and even though I know how the book ends, I still can't stop listening to it (Book-on-CD doncha know; that's how I've read the bulk of this series. Listen to the CD in the car, pick up the book when I get home!).

[sal]

Judging by the cover of the book, I'm predicting that there will be a THIRD force in the book, and that Voldemort and Harry will have to team up to destroy it.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Hey, is this book coming out soon? Where can you see the cover?

MG

[Guy Berger]

I haven't seen the cover before googling it just now, but I don't understand what Sal means.

However, maybe Harry and Voldemort will duke it out in the Colosseum.

[Guy Berger]

1. Dumbledore is NOT dead. Snape IS in on the plot to make it look like he's dead, but Dumbledore is not dead. It is a ruse to make Voldemort think he's out of the way.

I wouldn't bet the farm on this, but it seems pretty plausible. Snape's wholehearted defection in book 6 is a little strange; if Rowling really wanted to make him an agent of Voldemort's, she would have made the character much more conflicted.

Guy

[Big Al]

1. Dumbledore is NOT dead. Snape IS in on the plot to make it look like he's dead, but Dumbledore is not dead. It is a ruse to make Voldemort think he's out of the way.

I wouldn't bet the farm on this, but it seems pretty plausible. Snape's wholehearted defection in book 6 is a little strange; if Rowling really wanted to make him an agent of Voldemort's, she would have made the character much more conflicted.

Guy

Exactly! I think Snape's defection is a put-on, the work of someone who has simultanesouly cultivated the trust of both Dumbledore AND Voldemort.

Now that I think of it, Snape, to follow Sal's thinking, could very well be that third force. Snape is only in it for himself! Hmmmmmm..........

[Adam]

I think it's set up, almost clearly, that Snape will in the end aid Harry in killing Voldemort in a final confrontation.

Snape had to kill Dumbledore which will allow him to be closer to Voldemort.

And Dumbledore is dead, IMHO, except of course he is in the paintings in the master's office. Rowling has clearly set up the loss of every potential father figure for Harry, leaving Harry to do most of the hard work in #7 himself (or at least without the help of father figures with superior powers - Sirius, Dumbledore).

I just don't knwo from whom to prebuy the book. Normally I would do Amazon, but when I think of all teh boxes that Amazon will use to ship out copies...

[sal]

I'm sorry, but I'm having bad luck finding the image I'm trying to find...

The cover posted above is only the front flap. When its folded out, it shows not only Harry looking up, but Voldermart is standing next to him and looking up as well, and they both seem to be gesturing to some unknown source. If I can find an image, I'll post it.

[sal]

Here's the full image. Sorry its so small.

[Kalo]

Don't give a hoot aboot Hairy Pooter...