[News] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [spoilers abound]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movi...ref=rss_latest

WOOHOO! A release date is finally set for the last Harry Potter book! July 21. I'm already counting down.

Quote:

Harry Potter fans, the end is near.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the last of seven installments of J.K. Rowling's mega-selling international phenomenon, will be published July 21 -- at midnight, of course, a time to be marked by celebrations and more than a few tears, as Rowling wraps up the magical adventures of the boy wizard, his friends and his enemies.

The author posted a brief announcement on her Web site Thursday, followed soon by releases from her British publisher, Bloomsbury, and U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc.

Readers immediately rejoiced, with dozens of ecstatic messages posted on the Potter fan site, www.theleakycauldron.com, within minutes of the announcement.

"OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!" read one typical message.

Obviously slightly bittersweet, since it's the end, but I've been looking forward to this book for too long to be upset that it's ending until it's actually ended.

I suppose this thread can also be used for any discussion of expectations/predictions/etc.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Which means I have to make that pre-order NOW.
Great news. I just hope she doesn't kill off Harry. I seriously hate when an author does that. I always feel robbed when the main character dies, especially after a series of books.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Holy shit YES. I thought this broad was gonna wait at least two years to release it. Man I can't wait. Gonna be a pain in the ass somehow getting theEnglish version here in Guatemala. Fuck yes.

Name sounds interesting. And what exactly was the Godric's Hollow Harry was talking about visiting in the end of the last book?

Snape's probably the only hero that's gonna go down.

How ya doing, buddy?

Should've been July 7th. However, that date might as well be the British 9/11 for Londoners, so moving it back is probably a bit of a good idea on that one. I'll be picking this up on the day regardless. Not because I love Harry Potter, but because I can't just not finish the series after reading all six previous books. >_>

Originally Posted by Harry Mason

Name sounds interesting. And what exactly was the Godric's Hollow Harry was talking about visiting in the end of the last book?

His parents' house.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Oh, so true. *preorders*

I figure with my best friend and I both wanting to be involved, I'll preorder a copy now to guarantee it, and then we'll go to the midnight release and get another one. =D Last time we had a party where we read the first 70% of the book out loud. After that we had to read by ourselves because reading out loud took too long. =P

Additional Spam:
Also, OO: If you can't get a copy of the book for a decent price and it would be cheaper for us to get the book and ship it to you, I'm perfectly willing to do so.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Drex, that'd be awesome. I'm sure we can work something up before this baby comes out.

I kinda envy some of you people that can read the entire book the first day. I took four or five days to finish Half Blood Prince, mainly because of my compulsions to double/triple read every page and back referencing anytime I notice something.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I reckon she will kill him. Apparently in interviews she's mentioned that she doesn't want to be harrassed for spin-offs or follow-ups, so she might take the easy way out.

I love queuing up for these books; last time I met a complete madman who could've easily passed for a wizard. He was pretending to read out of the book about Hermione killing Harry, Ron's utter fury, amongst other such things..

I envy you people who can actually take time to read it; I have to go back over the book about 10 times just to make sure I picked up on everything.

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Yeah, first pass is REALLY quick for me, it all lodges itself in my short-term memory, but is quickly forgotten if I leave it be. It takes a second read to cement everything. I can't force myself to slow down on Harry Potter, though, because I always HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. =D

I'm hoping she doesn't kill him off. I could see it being necessary or even a good move, but if I were her I'd leave the option open. She's a strong enough person that she can say no to a spinoff/sequel as long as she wants, but keeping the option open means guaranteed money 25 years down the line when she decides she's going to resurrect the series. (hey, I can dream)

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Damn man, why does she act like such a huge fucking bum when it comes to the idea of continuing to write about Potter? Bitch is like the richest person in the UK, what else does she have to do? Do it for the kids woman!

It wouldn't surprise me if her way of killing Potter off is that, when he kills Voldemort he realizes that the connection they share is so deep that they both have to go down. Something sad like that. If I can get even sillier with my speculations: Maybe Dumbledore will come back at that point and do something sad.

Additional Spam:
You know, I remember when Dumbledore first finds out in book IV that Harry and Voldemort now share the same blood it's noted that Dumbledore has some sort of triumph on his face briefly? Mixed with sadness? I just can't see how the fuck Harry can beat Voldemort so maybe he doesn't. Maybe Voldemort will wipe his ass out and die afterwards because of the blood. Written in such a way as to not make Potter out to be a punk, of course.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

She claims that Dumbledore is dead, and that dead is dead. I find that hard to swallow, since she made it a point or writing in that phoenix stuff with him, and the whole point of phoenix is that they get reborn.

I'm curious to see what direction the overall book takes, since she's always had Hogwarts classes and such to rely on for filling in the storyline. It sounds like Harry might not even go to school in the book. Also curious where Draco's going to fall in this, since he sorta did his job, sorta didn't, and it's hard to tell if he can emotionally handle being in the Dark Lord's employ.

Also, I'm stating now. I call the name Harry Potter when July rolls around.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I GOTZ DUMBLEDORE

Anyhow, yeah. There are just entirely too many clues pointing towards a rebirth of Dumbledore. Have you seen that DUMBLEDORE IS NOT DEAD site? The general setting of the book also gets me curious considering the shit Harry was saying at the end of the last one. What if Draco somehow helped?

Anyway, I wonder if Regulus will be in it as a kind of replacement for Sirius. That'd be cool. Well, unless he actually is dead of course.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I though this was going to be about Harry Potter naked on a horse, which temporarily blinded me yesterday.

You guys really read it that fast? I do a chapter or two a night on the toilet. =)

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I would make a thread about Harry Potter naked on a horse, but he's 17 and I prefer not to go down that path. :P Besides which most people don't care that he's branching out professionally, just the prudes and the ultra-conservatives.

I was speaking idiomatically.

That was just odd. Full frontal nudity a possibility?

Hagrid: Yea Harry! Get ye some blond Ginny!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Nah, I think Rowling knows all too well what criticism she'd get if she "pulls a Gandalf" with Dumbledore. Anyways, it's an important part of his character that he stays dead, as it's one of the things that seperate him from Voldemort - he doesn't fear death, and he accepts it as a natural part of life.

I can't remember where I read this, but I think she said in an interview that she'd changed her mind about killing Harry. She'd originally planned on doing it, but then everyone figured that out, so now Harry lives and two others die as a result, I think she said.

If anything, I bet that Sirius will be coming back. The circumstances of his death are just too suspicious, and if Harry does live, it's one of the few ways to give him a happy ending.

FELIPE NO

Those speculations on Dumbledore; he's got a portrait hasn't he? So they can at least communicate with him that way. I'd love it if Sirius did come back somehow. I'm not sure exactly how it could be done though, if he's not a ghost and he can't be called up in that mirror.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well, Rowly seems just as deadset that Sirius is dead. Though that mirror he gave Harry does seem to play a part in this next book. Who knows. But if Regulus is actually still alive maybe he'll play a Siriusesque role in Harry's life.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Harry will have to have someone he works with, but it will likely be in a partnership role rather than a mentoring role. As the key protagonist nearing the end of an adventure, there can't be a fallback deus ex machina situation, if Rowling expects us to take it seriously. I hope the mirror has something to do with how things play out, but I don't think any incarnation of Dumbledore, Sirius, or Regulus will be playing mentor to Harry this time around.

And yes, full frontal nudity is expected in that play. It's part of the part. Good thing it isn't filmed or televised; the only leaked photos will be things that people get off their cell phones.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Drex you rascal. Did you remove my image above? BUT THERE WAS A HOT GIRL INVOLVED MAN.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'm thinking that Hermione should get it. That way everyone will stop arguing about who should end up together. Unless Ron and Potter turn gay... O_o;;

I'm really looking forwards to this. I'm just lucky that its coming out after the semester is over and not during... I have way too much reading to do right now as it is! It would swallow up my school work!

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I'm marking that day on my calander. I started reading the series around the time the fourth book came out because my son likes me to read to him before he goes to sleep. He requested me to read the first book to him, and the second and so on. I got so into them that I read them all a second time for myself. Since the fifth book came out, my son and I have gone to the midnight parties. Some bookstores do an awesome job and it is fun to buy a book at 2 AM!

I was speaking idiomatically.

OO: I never saw any image, nor did I remove it. You'd see a note at the bottom of your post, 'cuz only admins can stealth edit.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Been a reader since sixth grade. Can't wait for the thrilling conclusion. Unfortunatly, i can already say with confidence, that i will be working that night. Working at a summer camp sucks Harry Potter wise.

My only question, is Rowling gonna even bother trying to write anything else after HP is done? If she tries to create new characters or stories, they'd better live the hell up to HP if she wants to be taken seriously.

Mind you, those books could also sell really well, on account of it being J.K. Rowling who wrote them.

FELIPE NO

Maybe I should actually try reading these books instead of waiting for the movies to come out...

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yes, yes you should.

The movies do the books next to no justice.

Jam it back in, in the dark.