Harry Potter

[House of Mustard]

That's probably why it took her so stinking long to write it.

I'm still voting for sticking with the formula.  School won't get cancelled.  They'll still have to take classes and the janitor will still be after them and Snape will still sneer at him.  A little romance perhaps with Hermione and Ron.  A main character dies - my guess is McGonagall.  It won't be one of the kids, unless it's one of Ron's siblings or Malfoy's toadies.

If "school must go on" to the point where, in book three, they bring in the Dementors to guard the place, then I doubt it will close now.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I'm kind of the same mind. You have to have classes and exams to be cancelled or Hermione won't have soemthing to freak out about missing.

Most of the world doesn't even believe that Voldemort is back, so things will at least be normal on the surface. Under the surface, things have never been normal anyway, so that won't change. However, the END of book 4 was VERY different in feeling, so we WANT something different. This will be a real test of Rowling's skill to see if the quality stays high and makes us want more.

[Mr_Pleasington]

I really want to see her break the formula.

I don't want this one to start out with a chapter or two with Harry back at his Aunt and Uncle's dealing with mundane crap when so much is on the line.  I don't want things to be the same only with more security around Hogwarts.  And I don't think it will be.

I think, and hope, this one will be a goodly bit different than the rest.  

[Mistress of Darkness]

I agree with HoM when he said that the complicated issues surrounding the 5th book is part of the reason that Ms. Rowling took so long getting this book out (that and she got married, and had a baby, and produced a few movies). According to rumors, she thought she had finished the book, and then decided it needed to be completely rewritten.

The resurrection of Voldemort causes some serious problems, especially for those who fought against him before (re: Dumbledore, Sirius, Snape), and, of course, the cause of his first downfall and the three subsiquent failed attempts at resurrection, Harry Potter. I'm sure Hogwarts will also be an obvious target, but I'm not sure that Voldemort is ready to take the school in a head on attack. He's got to rebuild his former power and supporters. Maybe he can do that in 3 months, but I doubt it.

Besides, fear of Voldemort was the biggest problem the first time. Everyone was so busy being frightened of "You Know Who" that they didn't do anything to try and stop him. This is one of the greatest themes in Rowling's books. To fear something is to willingly give it power over you. I'm hoping that as Harry Potter grows through this situation (he'll be 15 this year) that he will be able to develop as a leader. Someone who can inspire courage rather than fear. I also think they should keep the school open for this reason. To close it is to admit defeat.

Obviously, Lucius will again be one of Voldemort's chief supporters, but Malfoy seems too much of a coward to be enthusiastic about it, and I wonder if Malfoy might have a change of heart at sometime.

My biggest question is what will the consequence of mixing Harry Potter's blood into his own have on Voldemort? Dumbledore seemed rather pleased about it, or at least hopeful. Any ideas?

[Entsuropi]

Working off memory, harrys blood going into Voldermort meant he was immune to the love spell thingy. My guess.... its both ways. Voldermort is imune to that spell, but Harry, due to his blood being in the bugger, will be immune to any defensive powers around Mr V (i think it would be cool if Dumbledore went around saying "Watch out for Mr V, fool!"). So it essentially comes down to Harry vs Voldermort.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I think it's a good point that Harry has now passed teh middle of his Hogwarts experience. He's no longer an underclassman, so to speak.

And no, there will be no seige, far as I know Voldemort never worked that way.  He's mroe into the ninja strike from the shadows sort of thing. so i think we'll see a serious threat. The big question is can it carry on for 3 more books. Probably yes. I just want to see how she does it.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

OH, and I want to point out how Rowling, who writes for kids, gets considerably less criticism than either Terry Brooks or Robert Jordan, who are the more "serious" writers. (oo! Maybe I just turned this into a Brooks bashing thread on accident!)

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

Or Jordan, however you want to put it. AOL had a little snippet of the audiobook, about 1 minute 46 sec. It was something. I think I should read books 3 & 4 first though. Let me go get on that.

[Mistress of Darkness]

Yes, but I can think of only one Brooks character that I really liked, and several Rowling characters that I love. I think the criticism goes where it is due, and not just because of the audience the authors write to.

[Entsuropi]

Part of Rowlings success is to take the Fantasy genre and adapt it so that a new audience can like it. Her books are sort of like a merger between fairy tales and lord of the rings. Her other strength is characters - she has a good ability to create believable characters who are very strong. Something that both Brooks and Jordan had trouble with. (For the record, Brooks is just glorified fan literature. I could probably write a book just as good as his ones.)

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Then why don't you? You'd be rich.

I definitely think Brooks is better than he is commonly given credit for. But then, I think Jordan is worse than he is commonly given credit for.

[Mistress of Darkness]

I agree. I enjoy reading Brooks, but his characters get on my nerves. Especially when I'm reading the 3rd series and all of the characters seem the same. I like his writing style.

Can't say anything about Jordan though. I vowed not to get involved with a series that was that long, and all 3  people I've talked to about it seem to think that it looses a lot of it's initial quality about halfway through the series

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Anyone care to take a bet???

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003270170,00.html

[Slant]

Waldenbooks got it's shipment of book 5 this morning in preparation for next week, and a mate of mine who shall remain nameless snuck out a copy from the box opened by the store employees to give to me.  It is officially 870 pages with a dark blue cover, making it stand out from the others.  I am right now on page 79 and am enjoying it immensely.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I don't think the odds are made right. i find it terribly likely to be Harry or someone close to him. It's called the Order of the PHOENIX for goodness sake. Resurrection.

Oh, and slant, I'll have you destroyed later. After you send me your copy.