Rowling: Two 'Potter' Characters Will Die

...for neither can live while the other survives...

I'd agree. The quality has drastically decreased. Not to mention I'm getting rather tired of waiting for the next book to come out all the time. I'll be happy when it's over so I don't have to wait to see what happens. It's worse than watching tv with a 4 week wait for the next episode.

I completely disagree. I think the books have become more involved an interested (with some exceptions in Half Blood Prince). The books mature with the audience - so that the target audience is as old as Harry is. Also, the time it takes for the next book to come out is actually very quickly in the publishing world. I'm shocked that it's only taking her 2 years or so, considering the complexities of the story and need to search out holes in the plots and plug them. I think that the impatience over the wait is simply because we live in such a fast paced society and we have the attention span of gnats.

I had a hard time carrying when the "first" major character died because, as written, there was no emotional buildup. She spent the entire book "faking" about who it would be and spent not enough time building dramatic tension when the "real" event came around.

The -last- character that died was hard to swallow as well, but for different reasons. She spent 5 or 6 books building up the redemption of one character based on the word of another character who is supposed to be one of the most good and intelligent characters in the series -- only to completely pull the rug out and say "just kidding" before utilizing him to nefarious ends.

It feels like poor authoring to lead readers down one path and give them -no- reason (or no ability, based on the characterizations of the main players) to suspect that you (the author) are going to throw in a completely off-the-cuff reversal. If we are to believe the events "as written" we have to accept that a character that has been built up as one thing is in fact... a complete dunce. (And now a dead dunce as a result.)

If the characters that she actually wrote hold true to what she's written about them -- that death has to be undone (or has to have been planned) and that other characters seeming double-scheming has to be a ploy of some sort.

Lastly,

If she kills Harry... what the @!$%#. Seriously... Why? Because it's dramatic? Because it will cause a sensation? Killing the main character of a book for 13-15 year olds (that is admittedly read by adults like myself) seems kind of dumb, to me. Kids aren't reading this to learn that evil kills good people and that's the way it goes. They're reading it because it's heroic and adventurous and it allows them to escape from the real world.

Kill Harry and you've provided nothing but a depressing escape for a lot of people.

If I wanted to read something depressing (or that built character) I wouldn't be reading young-adult fiction, dammit!

errr.. "had a hard time -caring- etc. etc.

I think people just like to complain. ;-)

Honestly, I haven't had time to focus on the editing of the last few books. The minute I get my hands on one I'm lost in Rowling's world until the last sentence. I laugh. I cry. It's marvelous, really. And unlike a certain author I used to read, she doesn't ruin the experience. This last book will be great, I'm sure of it.

I had a hard time carrying when the "first" major character died because, as written, there was no emotional buildup. She spent the entire book "faking" about who it would be and spent not enough time building dramatic tension when the "real" event came around.

The -last- character that died was hard to swallow as well, but for different reasons. She spent 5 or 6 books building up the redemption of one character based on the word of another character who is supposed to be one of the most good and intelligent characters in the series -- only to completely pull the rug out and say "just kidding" before utilizing him to nefarious ends.

I dunno, I liked the way she killed the first major character... given that we are actually talking about the same person... I totally might be thinking of someone different.

I completely agree with your feelings on the most recent death, though. I will leave it at that so as to not put in a spoiler.

Spoiler Alert - Don't read this if you don't want to know who dies in the most recent book.

First, Rowling spent most of the latest book building up to the death of big D. For most, including me, the only reason it wasn't expected was because of how much we care for that character.

Second, there is a scene in the latest novel where Hagrid relays information about a D and Snape argument, and big D tells Snape he will "do it" if it is necessary, which seems to me to be an allusion to big D's death.

Third, I don't think Rowling will have spent 6 books telling us that big D has complete trust in Snape unless it is warranted. We don't yet know why big D trusted Snape, and I don't think Big D's judgment is as bad as this mistake would imply. Snape is NOT evil. (If I'm wrong on this, I'll eat my Harry Potter books a page a day for the rest of my life.)

Although long, I don't think the latest four novels needed to be cut down. I think she's written an amazing story with many, many interconnected details. Those connections are just getting more complicated as she's gotten more difficult.

She hasn't lost sight of her audience. Her audience has gotten older. When Harry Potter became huge in the U.S., I was teaching 6th grade. Those kids loved it, but they are all adults now. The reading level of the most recent books should appeal to those same kids who are now adults. The nice thing about this series is that if a 6th grader reads one a year by the time he gets to the 4th book, the difficulty of the books should follow his reading development. At about the 4th book, the series is written at standard adult-fiction level.

On another note, I don't think the 5th movie is going to be good. Of the series, this one seems to be the least applicable to screen translation; with the exception of the end, it just doesn't have much action for the screen.

-Rob

I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan, I've read all the books multiple times. I think each one has been better than the last, except for the 6th, I think it is in between 5 and 4. If she kills Harry though I will be upset. I just don't want her to kill Harry or Hermione. I'm guessing we will find out that Snape really is good but then him and Voldemort will be killed.

@rob - i just think they'll massacre the 5th book on screen like they've done the past two. The first two films i thought were watered down, but they tried to stay true to the heart of the books. The third film, tho' leaps and bounds better in cinematography - made such a mess of the story... (and I hate the new Dumbledore - couldn't they have found a replacement for Richard Harris that was more - Dumbledore-like?). The 4th film was so disappointing - it makes me sad. It cruises thru the fun and important bits and meanders on the least important parts (Yule Ball...). The 5th book I love - but if they leave out the really important things like the detentions with Dolores and those items - I'll be crushed. And I hope Dumbledore softens up and starts acting more true to the books... that'd be nice.

I actually loved the last two films. They were a tad darker, more adult, and the actors were more comfortable in their roles and it showed.

Azkaban could have been longer, and I wish they had explained the Marauder's map, but it's a movie. Unfortunately with movies, it's limited to screen time, and there is only so much that can be shown on film! What Cuaron did show was amazing. Give me Gary Oldman any day, though I for one will dread the fifth movie for that same reason.

Goblet of Fire had some amazing sequences. I wish the quidditch match had been longer, but I'm kind of glad we didn't have to deal with Hermione and her "free the elves" campaign. I loved the ball. I thought it was hysterical. Adolescents are hysterical.

Seriously, I can't wait for The Order of the Phoenix. Actually, I want to read book 7 more.

I thought that Azkaban was depressing (especially considering how much of a point they make it to have Dumbledore say "even in the darkest times..."). The fact that they completely changed Lupin's relationship to Harry's family - and didn't explain the Maurader's Map (as you say). And there needed to be more DADA classes - those are just great fun. Also, the fact that the director had never read the Harry Potter books and had no investment in them, didn't make him as faithful to the books.

Goblet of Fire was soooooooooooo disappointing. I am very sympathetic to people who adapt books - but I just didn't understand this one. The Quidditch World Cup needed to be longer - the Yule Ball (tho' amusing) needed to be about 5 minutes shorter. And Dumbledore is just flat out mean!

I can't wait for book 7! I'll do what I've done - buy it at midnight, finish it by sunrise!

Miss Dev,

My favorite of the four movies is #3. I think is true enough to the story that the exceptional direction and cinematography made up for the plot gaps.

The new Dumbledore is fine with me. He's really not even a main character until the 6th book (debatable, I know), so he doesn't bother me.

I agree with the rest of your critisism of the 4th movie, but I enjoyed it anyway. My favorite part of that book is the lake task, so I was a bit put off by the minor changes to that scene. I guess I can't like everything. I also was sad that the Ritta Skeeter (sp) reporter issue was never brought to its novel conclusion.

Addressing the commentors above and below that think Harry may die because he is a Horocrux or that he must sacrafice himself to kill Voldemort, if Harry dies in a whole Alpha/Omega-Matrix Senario, I'm going to be pissed. This would be a most unsatisfying ending.

However, I do think that Harry's scar could be a Horocrux, not Harry just his scar. Hmm...speculation.

-Rob

I think Neville is going to play a bigger role in the 7th book. And interesting about the horcrux issue... I'll have to think on that.

No kidding, I found out the spoiler of the last book the day before the book came out on accident. I was so pissed. Only 1 more day!!

YES!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO

That Doby one annoyed the crap out of me.. especially in the movie version. blah.

Man, I really hope not.

There's something to be said for a happy ending in a book that was created for young adults. I just don't see "why" she feels the need to kill of beloved characters in the last few books.

Edgy is one thing, but killing people just for the sake of killing them is pretty lame.

@Brian - killing Harry would not just be for the sake of killing him. In the prophesy as well as other events in past books, it has been alluded to that Harry might not survive.

However, he might. But I find it more likely that Harry and Voldemort will kill each other.

I don't think Harry is a horcrux because Voldemort was extremely weak after he tried to kill Harry and as far as I can tell it takes powerful magic to create a horcrux.

Voldemort hasn't been truly been killed as of yet.

I meant to include quotes around killed.
sorry

I think that it was declared to be a series of seven many years ago. I think, I'm not absolutely sure when it was.

Well, everyone assumed that there would at least be one book for every year that Harry was at Hogwarts at very least (being seven of course). The aforementioned shake-up thus led me to speculate that maybe Rowling would continue the series past this "restriction."

She's said it will be 7 books for as long as I can remember. I kind of wish there would be one book for each horcrux though, I just don't see how he can find and destroy all the horcruxes and kill Voldemort without the book being 2000 pages(not that you'd hear any complaints from me if ti were 2000 pages, I'd be happy with 10000).

I agree. And it's also a testament to the love people have for these characters.

My 3rd grade son, who's seen the first couple of movies just discovered Book One 2 weeks ago and hasn't put it down. I asked him which was better at dinner last night, without equivocation he said the book. (Yeah! Score one for reading as entertainment.)

@Ty - that's what I don't understand about people who rip on Harry Potter. If it gets kids to read and think and be imaginative - it's grand by me! I mean - think about the things that get, not only kids, but adults as well, this passionate? Harry Potter, LotR for books - and Star Wars and Star Trek for film/tv. Supernatural, fantastical, complex stories that demand attention and thought - instead of silly brain candy.

Yeah, it's hard to avoid the lure of mind-numbing activities due to the suffocating influence of the media (online, broadcast and print) telling us what's "cool" and "hip" (That's still a phrase right...? ;)