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Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, book 7 in the series has an announced release date of July 21, 2007. Amazon and B&N are taking preorders.
I ordered mine today, another reason to look forward to summer. The 5th movie is set to be released the week before the new book. Pottermania will return! TP |
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handa Inner circle Pittsburgh, PA 1357 Posts |
Much rejoicing for both! I think that I need to check my calendar and visit a few bookstores!
Chris |
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Mystician Inner circle Wallachia 3485 Posts |
Funny you mention it.
I've never followed the Potter series before, though I always figured someday I'd see the movies. About a month ago, I finally did, I bought the first and second DVDs in the bargain bin at the local ShopRite (of all places). Ouch ! When the bug bites, it bites hard, don't it ? I've since bought the other two DVDs, a bunch of props 'n' stuff for my son, and I'll even admit to -just tonight, in fact- buying a wand from Alivans. (I'm lucky in that there's a fairly local store that carries the Alivans.com stuff !) Oh, and I've also bought the boxed 6 book set - a bookstore in the local mall was closing, and everything was 40% off, so I nabbed it. (Yep, I'm a bargain shopper). I just wonder if I can get around to reading it before July rolls around. Honestly though, I've been very impressed by the Potter universe - the time travel sequence in Prisoner of Azkaban was very well done, and from what I have read of her, Rowling seems to be a good all around writer, for adults as well as children. May we all never grow up !
Just hanging out with the rest of my fellow dregs.
http:// www . phrets . com Visit http://www.bizarremagic.net |
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Harlequin Special user Melbourne, Australia 686 Posts |
Ok, I'll start by saying that I don't mind the Harry Potter movies, but I've only read two of the books.
Begin rant....What I don't get is the 'Pottermania'. People acting like Rowling is some kind of genius author, when in reality there is and always has been much better sci-fi fantasy literature out there. The characters are generic archetypes, that have been done to death in the genre and I don't think the stories are all that clever....end rant. Well, it's all fun and the kids love it, bless em, but to me it's no big deal. |
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Well, you should consider the thing another way.
When you ask someone to name a magician, Harry Potter (or Gandalf) replaces now David Copperfield (or Blaine or Angel) in more than 95% of the answers. I'm a fanatic about HP, because now people reconsider magic with another interest. That's also why good professional bizarre magic becomes one of the most interesting subject to discuss now. Incidentally, the central subject of my last French book, Compendium Sortilegionis, was the arrival of HP and the new visions of magic in people's minds. We certainly don't need to copy HP, but get inspiration from it. Traditional storytelling, myths and legends should also be in any magician's studies now. |
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Necromancer Inner circle Chicago 3076 Posts |
I fully agree with Mr. Chelman (not surprisingly). Thanks to HP, the world's rich storehouse of mythic creatures and esoteric subjects has been thrown open and its contents are reinvigorating popular culture -- and the public's appreciation of bizarre magick along with it.
Best, Neil P.S. About Alivan's wands -- they're fine, but my personal favorites are the custom designs made by Fortress Wand Works, the official wandmaker for the Chicago Magic Competition (fortresswands.com). Tell Brian I sent you. NT
Creator of The Xpert (20 PAGES of reviews!), Cut & Color, Hands-Off Multiple ESP (HOME) System, Rider-Waite Readers book, Zoom Pendulum ebook ...
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Also consider with much attention all the movies about fairytales.
This includes the Grimm Brothers, Lady in Water, Tideland, Mirrormask, Pan's Labyrinth and much much more. Fairy tales in an adult world ... Not to mention the now classic "the Storyteller", Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, ... And the dramatic image of the magician in "the Illusionist" and "the Prestige". The most interesting question is: Do your performance match the quality of those movies ? |
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Mystician Inner circle Wallachia 3485 Posts |
Anyone looking to critique or compare the Harry Potter series to classic literature isn't getting it.
Popularity has never had much to do with sophistication, for starters. It's not supposed to be a modern day equivalent to "War and Peace" or "Catcher in the Rye". The series is charming, it's brought an interest back to wizardry the likes of which I've not seen in my lifetime. It's fun, it's interesting, and it's fairly light reading. The stories are entertaining, and a little bit thought provoking - not so much that it's a chore of course, or kids would be turned off. oh, and most importantly of all, she's got kids wanting to read again ! I mean, really, the series is written for kids, not adults, although lots of "grownups" enjoy it too (like myself). On a side note, I really liked the little time-twist section in Prisoner of Azkaban; writing time travel and dealing with the potential paradoxes is not an easy feat - at least, not if you do it well. I think it was done brilliantly.
Just hanging out with the rest of my fellow dregs.
http:// www . phrets . com Visit http://www.bizarremagic.net |
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magus Special user Huntington Beach, Ca 669 Posts |
The Harry Potter stories manage to combine several elements and make them work themeatically. They have mystery, Magic, action, romance, coming of age, overcoming humble beginnings, overcoming great obsticles, plot twists, and sports hero genres all in each book. JK Rowling manages to do all this while telling a story to young adults and not talking down to them.
I read the first book to see what all the noise was about and have been following all the books and movies with great interest. It's OK to have fun...I've already pre-ordered book 7 and paid extra for overnight postage, I love this stuff!
crappy deium-
what a lousy day to be seized thaumometer- a device for measuring a magical field |
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SeaDawg Special user The Lunatic Fringe 718 Posts |
Perhaps we should not overlook one of the greatest social benefits toworld that arrived via the HP phenomena.... another generation of avid readers has been born and bred.... If all those kids with all those books translate into a more literate, well educated well rounded society then who cares about whether or not the content rivals "War & Peace". The joy of reading and the pleasure it brings is something that should never be overlooked.
As a sidebar, my wife was a volunteer at our kids school library when the great "Goosebumps" debate raged. She personally saw kids who couldn't previoulsy find the library as regulars because of the "Goosebumps" series. And the critics must be so disappointed since none of the kids has turned into a mass murdering serial killer socio-path as a result.
Crazy people take the psycho-path thru the forest...
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Bill Ligon Inner circle A sure sign of a misspent youth: 6437 Posts |
At the very least, Harry Potter makes magic real again.
Author of THE HOLY ART: Bizarre Magick From Naljorpa's Cave. NOW IN HARDCOVER! VIEW: <BR>www.lulu.com/content/1399405 ORDER: http://stores.lulu.com/naljorpa
<BR>A TASSEL ON THE LUNATIC FRINGE |
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Harlequin Special user Melbourne, Australia 686 Posts |
Ok, obviously I should have kept my trap shut.
In the sense that it has got a whole generation of people into reading (at least these books) and being more open to the idea of magic, it's a great thing, I agree. But I have read a lot of sci-fi fantasy books where magic is a central theme and in my opinion the HP series is far from the greatest thing I've read. I'm not comparing it with classic literature, as that would be silly, but I do think it's fair to compare it to other works in the same genre. Is it wrong of me to feel that way? As Mystician states, "the series is written for kids, not adults, although lots of "grownups" enjoy it too (like myself)." I don't have a problem with this and will probably go and see the next movie myself. Nor do I dislike anyone who is really into HP. In summary, I agree with all that has been said above and think it's a good thing, but personally I just don't dig the books that much (writing wise). Sorry. |
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magus Special user Huntington Beach, Ca 669 Posts |
Harlequin-
What Sci-Fi fantasy books are you reading with a magic theme? I read some of the Larry Niven the Magic Goes Away type stuff some years ago, and Robert Heinlein had Magic Inc., and of course the Terry Pratchett stuff is hilarious. But what are you looking into here?
crappy deium-
what a lousy day to be seized thaumometer- a device for measuring a magical field |
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Mystician Inner circle Wallachia 3485 Posts |
Rowling herself is (or was?) a pretty big "Narnia" fan.. is that one of the competitors? Or Tolkien?
I was never that much into fantasy, so I really don't have a solid basis for comparison - I read a LOT of Niven in my day, but it was his "Known Universe" SciFi stuff, before he started writing with Pournelle and others. I didn't mean to jump on yer back Harle, I was just defending the "hype" I guess. ;-) I'm sure a lot of her success is also due to timing. (it usually is)!Perhaps she was simply better than most expected her to be, and that alone was enough to generate some hype? I was hanging out at a Barnes and Nobles tonight, and looked in the kid's section for Harry Potter stuff - Man, it seems now like 80% of kids books are fantasy based: dragons, wizards, magic.. she started a huge thing. Rowling's Christian detractors are having a collective seizure, I'm sure. If they'd just kept their mouths shut instead of creating such attention, the industry probably wouldn't have such a love affair with fantasy themes, I'll bet they created a backlash that only helped her sales and made mythical fantasy such a pervasive cottage industry for kids books again. Now, if only Boris would paint the Potter book covers ! heh heh
Just hanging out with the rest of my fellow dregs.
http:// www . phrets . com Visit http://www.bizarremagic.net |
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Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
I always prefered Frank's art work.
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Once again, the main difference is not about the quality of the books or the films (and I'm a big HP fan), but about the perception of "magic" by our audience.
Think about this: If a spectator doesn't have the slightest idea about what magic is, how can you magish* him ? All my magic is based on perception. With Harry Potter (and LOTR) going on the movies, magic has been reintroduced in our language. Ignoring this should be the worst mistake to do for a performing magician. Copperfield does "tricks", HP does "Magic". Now, it's extremely interesting to see how this definition evoluates. *to use Goshman's word |
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Harlequin Special user Melbourne, Australia 686 Posts |
Some of my favourite authors in the genre are Robin Hobb, Ian Irvine and David Eddings. But children are not their target audience. I just prefer the way these authors and others discuss the idea of magic and how it works in their respective 'universes', as opposed to pointing a wand at someone and muttering an amusing word of power. I am strictly writing about the quality of the works, which is quite different from The Curators valid points.
Let me say that I accept that to be critical of HP puts me in a minority, and I certainly don't ignore the fact that it has a huge following. I wish the franchise every success and hope it continues to bring more people to acknowledge the world of magic. I just hope that one day when I tap a cup and have a ball disappear, some smart alec kid doesn't yell out, "Hey you didn't say, 'Ballusvanishus'!" And Myst, my back is strong, so can take some jumping on. I have a young child so it has to! |
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handa Inner circle Pittsburgh, PA 1357 Posts |
There's nothing wrong with literary criticism. Personally, I find Rowling easier and/or more entertaining to read than Tolkien and Asimov, and definitely more colorful than either Howard or Burroughs. If I were to put her "on a level" with anybody, I'd compare her in our time to L. Frank Baum and the "Oz" series (political commentary included) in his time. I'm sure that many would disagree with me.
There are many "staples" that are not as familiar to me (Anne McCaffery, Terry Pratchett and a couple of others). Others, such as Dahl and John Christopher are fascinating in their own way. Gregory Maguire and Neil Gaiman (sometimes with Pratchett) hold special places on my bookshelf right next to Poe and Shakespeare. As far as conservative criticism goes, it has always irked me that C.S. Lewis gets away with far darker and clearly more "pagan" storylines by parading christianity in front of his fantasy while underplayed messages and morals in works like those of Rowling are targeted as being nonchristian. After all, Harry has a godfather, celebrates christmas, and can even be considered a Christ figure complete with a variation of stigmata. Just because Rowling and her publicist do not tell the reader and the general public what to think about before reading her stories doesn't make her any more satanic or less of a person than C.S. Lewis. I'm just overjoyed that people are now camping out to wait for a BOOK at full price. It gives all those Playstations and X-Boxes pause...at least for a moment. Chris |
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Mystician Inner circle Wallachia 3485 Posts |
Nice point Chris !
The ultra-conservative christian "movement" / HP rebellion really makes me want to get violent sometimes. I'm just so sick of hearing and seeing their brainwashing and whining. It's not good for humanity as a whole. But that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish'n'chips.
Just hanging out with the rest of my fellow dregs.
http:// www . phrets . com Visit http://www.bizarremagic.net |
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ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
I have to say that I love the H.P. series. Several people noted that these books are written for kids. If you read all of the books, in order, you will see, however, that the books grow up with their readers. The later books are much more sophisticated, the characters deeper and the plots more convoluted than in the early book. Each book is longer than the one before it and more "adult" in nature than the one before it. I think that his was a brilliant move on Rowling's part.
At any rate, I am looking forward to the next book and the next movie. On top of that, I performed at a bookstore for the last opening and had a blast. I hope to do so again. A great experience. Dave |
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