New Harry Potter- disappoints fans?

welsh

welsh

Junkmaster
I have yet to read a single one of these books and haven't been thrilled with the movies.

But for you fans.
Readers shocked by new Potter book
Surprises cause emotion in many

Wednesday, July 20, 2005; Posted: 8:12 a.m. EDT (12:12 GMT)

Editor's Note: The following story may contain spoilers. If you'd rather not know anything, stop reading now.

Manage Alerts | What Is This? (AP) -- Madelyne Heyman began reading the new Harry Potter book last Saturday morning and needed just a day to read all 672 pages. Getting over the ending may take a little longer.

"I was so depressed," said Heyman, 13, a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, who purchased the book on a family trip to Berkeley, California. "I felt like I was going to cry."

J.K. Rowling had been warning all along that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth of her world-conquering fantasy series, would include the death of a major character. (See book review.) Her promise was fulfilled, although it didn't make her fans, no matter the age, any more prepared when they learned for themselves.

"The awful betrayal!" said Katie Oxman, 13, of New Canaan, Connecticut, just minutes after reading the climax. It was so shocking, she said, she screamed out to her father. They had become attached to the characters over the years, worrying and rooting for them during difficult times.
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Oh grow up you little shit.
Get over it.
People die

Welcome to the real world.

"I loved the book. I hated the ending," said 39-year-old Shelly Blackmore of Centerville, Ohio. "There is a death. I sobbed. It was horrible."

With last weekend's midnight release of "Half-Blood Prince," Pottermania shifted from long lines and costume parties to the quiet, solitary adventure of taking in the new story. Some 9 million copies sold in the first 24 hours, and a good number of those had been completed by the following day.

"I really liked it," Heyman said Tuesday, noting that the book was shorter than "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the two previous releases.

"It didn't seem to drone on and on," she said. "There was a lot of stuff in the fourth book that could have been cut out, and the fifth book was really long. In the sixth book, everything fit in."

Fifteen-year-old Greg Coppolo of Cincinnati, Ohio, is another Potter veteran and speed reader, needing just 10 hours to polish off "Half-Blood Prince." He's been reading Potter since he was 11 and believes Rowling has adopted a more adult tone to appeal to fans, such as himself, who are growing up with the series.
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If anything, this justifies Harry Potter. a 15 year old girl reading a 600+ page book in ten hours instead of spreading her legs for some high school jock or experimenting with crack (or both at the same time).

Wait, but the christians say Harry Potter is satanic.
"I thought the writing style was different. It was darker and more depressing. I liked it better," Coppolo said. "The previous books were more uplifting."

Ten-year-old Chloe Kaczvinsky picked up her a copy at a midnight bookstore pajama party in Monroe, Louisiana, and finished "Half-Blood Prince" the following afternoon. "It was very dark. And mysterious," she said. But the darkness didn't make it hard to read, and didn't make her cry.

"She (Rowling) manages to make some jokes," she said.

But George Gelzer, 10, of Wallingford, Connecticut, was "freaked out" by the ending. He likened the death in "Half-Blood Prince" to losing a Jedi knight in the "Star Wars" saga. "It's not going to be the same," he said.

Potter fans, of course, face a far darker prospect than the departure of a single character. The series itself must end -- Rowling expects to start working on the seventh Potter book at the end of the year.

"I'm kind of afraid to read that book because I know that J.K. Rowling will have no pity for the readers about killing off characters we like," said Heyman.
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Yes, the joys of literature means that favorite characters get whacked with ruthless abandoned. Thus the old addage of writers- if you don't know what to do next with a character, kill them.

Like so many Potter readers, Heyman has filled time between new releases by rereading the older Potter books and trying out other fantasy series. She mentions Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance," for which the second of three planned volumes comes out next month.

"I love his work," she said. "I'm planning on setting up a tent outside the bookstore to get his book."

But Potter has been her world since second grade and she doesn't know how to replace it. The Potter movies have let her down, only reminding her of how much she loved the books. She's even thought of writing her own fantasy novel, but, again, Potter gets in the way.

"I'm just trying to think of a really good plot that isn't like Harry Potter," she said.
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As if the fantasy genre wasn't already saturated with crap.

Reviews-
From the BBC-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4697779.stm
 
These books suck. Read half of one out of sheer curiosity, found it a total bore.

Read some Kurt Vonnegut or Terry Pratchett if you want to read good, easy, English-languaged novels.

I hope Godzilla emerges from a nearby water body and annihilates everyone at the next Harry Potter convention.
 
Harry Potter is quick, easy, lowest common denominator entertainment.

Of course, people like this, so it's popular. Good for them. But this 'news' shows that Harry Potter has good writing in it, or at least really good involvement, if people get really angry, or dissappointed or saddened by the ending of this book, then Rowling has shown that she can evoke emotions within people, which is probably the greatest feat any writer (or even artist) can accomplish.
 
"Nipple-during-superbowl" / Jerry Springer style.

Evoking emotions within people allright.
 
Discworld by Terry Pratchet kicks the shit out of Harry Potter even if I still like those books (the first four I've read). Not only does Discworld encompass a much greater body of written word (30 books I think), it can be very funny and very dark at times. I'm thinking I might have to reread the first four books and go get these two last ones just to know what people are yammering about. - Colt
 
Wooz said:
"Nipple-during-superbowl" / Jerry Springer style.

Evoking emotions within people allright.
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Ehehehe. True enough. But those are actual events that people witnessed (debatable in the case of Jerry Springer). This is a writer describing a world, people and events in such a world invoking anger/sadness and other actual emotions.
 
lol, i rememebrer when the fifth one came out there were tons of fakes and people had the same reaction...i wonder if its the same deal?

in one of the fakes, there were some nice sex scenes between the characters...go harry!
 
No, these are people who read the real ones.

I like how so many people waited til midnight, yet a day after I walked into the local pathmark (supermarket) and there was a stack of them for sales. Puh-lease!
 
mmm i don't think they stayed til midnight becasue they were afraid they wouldn't find any but moreso because they just wanted to read it THEN. You know how it is... you wait two years for a book, then get it as soon as it's released and finish three hours later... then repeat :).

But in reality, I heard it's just a lot of fun at the midnight gathering so who knows?
 
To be honest I bet it is lowest common denominator crap, however, since a trusted friend recommended it I plan to read the books.

Though I admit it will be a while since I'm skeptical as it appears made for kids and I have so much else to read...for example I am currently reading my first Discworld book Guards! Guards! after much recommendation from Kotario, Quiet Fanatic, and Aragorn/Vimes. I'm loving it and already want to read the others even if I'm only halfway through one book.

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
Audio Books

Audio Books

Between the library and "Half Priced Books" have been able to hear this series on trips. The only emotional investment I have risked is my time. I am sure there was something more import on TV, but I was driving.

Jim Dale does an excellent audio performance.



Market feeding frenzy aside, the Harry Potter serial,

Doesn't have the legs of 'Buffy The Vampire Killer' ,
or the social relevance of "Xenia the Lipstick Lesbian",
or the classic drama of the farces of 'niceness' verses the appetites of 'blindness',
in 'The Ring' vehicles. be they ponderous Wagner, titillating Tolkien, or sputtering Spiel-berg.


still,

not mere 'Jerry Springer' trailer trash because it's hundreds of written words.
Decoding literature, even 'pop' literature, that takes a level of education that the 'lowest common denominator' can only aspire.

Our Grand Theft Auto culture is forntunate if it can handle the nuances of Dr. Suess.




Wonder if the cartoon version will be better than the mundanely competent movies.




4too
 
The Golden Compass and the Subtle Knife by -I cant remember, its been years since i read these- Kick the shit out of Harry Potter

Fantasy-ish books that are original fantasy, at least I think so.. no dragons/stupid magic, indepth stuff. The plot is awesome and it makes you leap into the book and latch onto the characters to protect/love them.

I agree with the lowest common denominator thing... There are -so- many drop-dead stupid people that making something that has all -easy as hell- words and a simple little creative plot will be popular just becuase its easy to read. Its just as easy as watching t.v. but... it makes you look smart! woopty doo

seriously though, you people should check out those two books above, they are good reads.
 
I used to think Harry Potter blew as well, but I started reading them a year ago, and had them finished in about 4 days. Yes they're written for children, yes they're lowest common denominator crap, but they're an easy read (and still entertaining on a re-read), so you can just turn your brain off and enjoy. Kind of like a good action movie.

Incidentally, for those who don't like angsty teen bullshit, don't read Half-Blood, or at least be prepared to skip a few bits. I felt like I was reading a Linkin Park biography or some crap. Rest of the book's good though.
 
Bahaha! Rowling has some guts after all :D
Get all the million kids hooked on the touchy-feely stuff and BAM!
Kill off some friendly lead characters! :lol:

Methinks i have to read these books...
 
SimpleMinded said:
Discworld... is that the same as ringworld? I don't know, i thought I read a series called ringworld but really don't remember.
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Ringworld is a post-apocalyptic Discworld of the future, a millenium after it's been hit in dead center with a large meteorite.

I kid, I kid... Ringworld is a space opera series by Larry Niven, and Discworld is Terry Pratchett's platter-shaped world set upon four elephants, which tread on the back of the giant turtle A'Tuin... Where magic and common sense meet ;)
 
Not sure if I'd describe the Ringworld novels as "space opera" but whatever works. I was disappointed by the latest book, Ringworld's Children.
 
welsh said:
Oh grow up you little shit.
Get over it.
People die

Welcome to the real world.
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I couldn't agree more. It reminds me of some mother writing to Rowling tellling her not to put love/death (I can't remember which) in her books because it was 'unsuitable' for her <s>spawn</s> darling child.
 
not everything need to be deep and totally true artistically wise, some books are just fun, like harry potter. i think people are missing if they dont spend some time on.....fun.
 
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