More than 7 Harry Potter Books? Read on.

[jack merchant]

Funny, book 5 is really one of my favourites... though maybe the plot is somewhat weaker than in the previous books, there's much more character development than in the earlier ones which makes it equally interesting imho. Also (and this may again be just me) OotP did an excellent job in conveying atmosphere - rage, loathing and unpleasantness throughout only lightening up after 200 or so pages. I missed a lot of the jokes the first time around, only to find on rereading that the excellent sense of humour of the earlier books was in fact still there and as good as ever.

I don't mind the length either, but then, I wouldn't mind if the books were 2,000 pages each (I'm a fast reader).

 

[Xeven the God]

Originally posted by jack merchant
I don't mind the length either, but then, I wouldn't mind if the books were 2,000 pages each (I'm a fast reader).

Here here! 2,000 page books would indeed rule!

I, personally, love the Potter series. While I don't think JK is as excellent a writer as any of the greats (High Fantasy: JRR, David Eddings, Terry Brooks/Goodkind; Childrens: Charles Dickens, Twain, Jaques) I do think she is a good writer. Her books have a good mix of humor and mystery, although, I have to admit, clues are few and jokes are sometimes a bit hard to find.

My favorite was the forth. Good length, good story, brings back the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy). I did, however, think most of the fifth was chock full of usless chapters, clues, and plot twists.... It did have a good tone, though. The setting was nice and fleshed out, but the plot, um, sucked.

 

[Turner]

Originally posted by funxus

I always thought Ron and Hermione would get together in the end and that Harry would find someone else...

I'd read at least the first post-Hogwarts HP book she wrote, and continue until (and if not) they lose touch.

Now that you mention it, yah, I can see it happening.

@jm - OotP was a very dark book. . . When I read it the first time, I was shocked that JKR was so hard on HP. After reading it a second time, I could see where she was going with it. I'm sure they'll continue to get darker until HP finally kills Voldemort.

As long as the books are good, I'll continue to read them. They may be kids books, but I've found that there is adult content there. It's just subtle.

 

[the mormegil]

Originally posted by Turner_727


Now that you mention it, yah, I can see it happening.

@jm - OotP was a very dark book. . . When I read it the first time, I was shocked that JKR was so hard on HP. After reading it a second time, I could see where she was going with it. I'm sure they'll continue to get darker until HP finally kills Voldemort.

As long as the books are good, I'll continue to read them. They may be kids books, but I've found that there is adult content there. It's just subtle.

It was obvious from the start that the end would be Harry vs. Voldemort. I think if Harry died killing him it would make a good ending.

 

[allhailIndia]

I wonder how much HP people can take anyway....but then again, LOTR made billions from precisely such a feeling.

 

[RoddyVR]

cant wait for the next book. every time i say that, people react with either "its a kids book, get over it", or "the 3rd movie is comming out in a little while".

to the muggles i say: its not a kids book as far as i'm concerned. especialy the later ones which are beccoming more and more grim.

to the movie buffs i say: screw the movie, i know what happens in it, i wanna know where the war is going next.


i still cant believe that she took the whole 5th book to get the ministry to agree with Dumbledor.

i hope in the end harry kills voldemort either by one of the forbiden curses and basicaly takes over as "the evil one" or dies in the process himself.

i would get realy mad if she continues writing the series after book 7. i'd still read them (and maybe even buy them), but i wouldnt like what she did.

 

[Turner]

Originally posted by the mormegil

It was obvious from the start that the end would be Harry vs. Voldemort. I think if Harry died killing him it would make a good ending.

Well, duh! Of course it was obvious!

But the way I see it, there's two paths that JKR can take with the 'dark' potter series. It gets darker and darker, until Harry is killed by Voldemort, or it gets darker and darker, until Harry snaps out of it, and kills Voldemort.

Actually, I don't think that either will die. I can see V getting locked into some kind of statis, and doesn't get out - if at all - for a really, really, long time.

That could be interesting. Harry Potter the 8th vs Voldemort 300 years from now. Or perhaps Harry gets frozen/put in statis as well.

 

[RoddyVR]

harry and riddle will be locked in an epic battle that will seem to be a complete draw with no end in sight, when Hermiony will come along and freeze both in some sort of "turn em both to stone" spell.
they will be two statues locked in eternal battle.

 

[allhailIndia]

Why do I get the feeling over and over again that Bill Gates's position as the world's richest person maybe challenged by JKR

Isn't a billion pounds enough?

 

[funxus]

Originally posted by allhailIndia
Isn't a billion pounds enough?

She still has to write 2 more books, no matter how much money she has, or someone'll probably lynch her. There are several fans not yet of the age of criminal responsibility...

Maybe she should make the two remaining books cheaper though, but they are actually pretty cheap already considering the size of them.

 

[Turner]

Yeah, $20.00 (us) for a hard back of that size, when 'adult' hard backs are going for $30 is not a bad price. And if you've got one of those discount cards to a book store, that's another 10% off. So they are pretty cheap, from a certain point of view.

Personally, I hope she's almost done with it. I hate waiting for more books to come out.

 

[the mormegil]

How come they have those 'adult' editions that are exactly the same but with a different cover?

 

[jack merchant]

Marketing . Not everybody who buys the books is a kid.

I agree with Turner though - bring on parts 6 and 7 already so we can at last get on with our lives !

 

[Renata]

If anyone doubts that there's stuff worthwhile for adults to discuss in the HP series, they should take a look at the Yahoo Group Harry Potter for Grownups.

Link

90% of the stuff talked about on that list is over my head -- they discuss plot, character, foreshadowing, metaphor, theme, allegory, symbolism and even occasionally shipping. [For the record, Harry and Hermione are made for each other. ] And there's plenty of all of the above to discuss; I'd put JKR well above any of the high fantasy authors named above -- with the exception of Tolkien -- in terms of richness of meaning in most of the categories I mentioned. And about the only thing Tolkien stands head and shoulders above JKR on is the quality of his prose, IMO; his plotting is competent, but nothing to write home about, and his character development is virtually non-existent. (The latter by design, apparently, but still.)

Just because something's designed for children (and the HP books really weren't, if you believe JKR's interviews) doesn't mean it can't also be good for adults. There's a lot more going on under the surface of the HP books than even most of the series' fans realize.

Renata

 

[zamaikun]

i read the first couple of books, but they get old after a couple of reads. same with the *series of unfortunate events*. they're ok for a while, but get boring quickly.