JK Rowling Announces Pottermore

A message from J.K. Rowling to her fans:

REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Publishing Information: Paperback U.S. Edition, 652 pages
ISBN 10: 0-439-78596-0
ISBN 13: 978-0-439-78596-9
Series: Harry Potter, Year 6 (of 7)
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket

Synopsis: (from back of book): “The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Hermione scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet…

As in all years, life goes on. The Weasley twins expand their business. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate – and lose a few eyebrows in the process. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it’s the home front that takes center stage in the multi-layered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort – and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.”

Yes, I am well aware that almost everyone else on the planet read these books over five years ago. I like to believe it took me so long to do so myself because I felt so smothered by all the hype surrounding this series that I had to wait for the dust to settle. But really, in my more lucid moments, I know it is due to my own personal prejudice against young adult fiction. I don’t have any children, so I can’t use the excuse when friends drop by and the book is sitting on the counter that “I was just reading it to little Jimmy.” No – instead I resolved to proudly declare that I was the one reading the Harry Potter series – and I would read the hell out of it – and give it the attention and critical analysis deserving of a grown-up book.

By the penultimate volume of the Harry Potter series, things have become quite formulaic. Usually there is some sort of event or prelude before Harry finds himself back at his Aunt and Uncle’s house mistreated by his wicked cousin like a British male Cinderella. Usually, Harry finds a way to escape despite some obstacles, buys the required school supplies at Diagon Alley, arrives at Hogwarts to meet a questionable new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, all while some mystery is keeping Harry and friends from their schoolwork. It’s a winning formula for Rowling. In the previous book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Rowling deviated from this formula too much leading to the overly thick monstrosity that was Book 5. Luckily with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince however, Rowling has successfully corralled the series and found command over it once again.

Rowling’s writing coasts in this one. The prose is smoother and more charming than its predecessor. Rowling writes with ease as Harry and the larger-than-life Dumbledore build a rapport through weekly sessions where they investigate the past of the black-hearted Voldemort. The origin of the dark wizard was somewhat disappointing, as instead of a tragic fall from grace, we see rather a character that was determinedly evil from the beginning. Meanwhile, the tension builds to its boiling point between the Order of the Phoenix and nazi-like bigots that compose Voldemort’s death-eaters. Rowling is wisely putting the pieces in place here for the dramatic conclusion that will be the seventh book.

Still, readers will find the Harry Potter series conventional when comparing it to the more innovative epic fantasy that is geared toward adults. This is another retelling of the familiar tale of an unlikely hero who vanquishes the evil wizard, couched in fancy new clothes for a younger generation. However, it varies enough from its peers aimed at a similar demographic, and is executed well enough to stand out from the crowd. The series’ willingness to confront issues such as death and bigotry makes it rich enough to keep the interests of adults. The purpose of this particular volume is to build the tension that will lead to the ultimate confrontation between good and evil, and prompt us to stand behind Harry as his dear friends Ron or Hermione would. Championing such pure values as friendship, the book (and the series) remind us that loyalty and integrity sometimes can fend off the more sinister and corrupting influences in the world.

Plot…………7/10

Characters……..7.5/10

Style……..7/10

Overall……..6.5/10

Harry Potter FX TV Show

IGN had a quick April Fool's Day joke directed at the world of Harry Potter:

Around the Net

Book News

Cover Art

A lot of cover art has been released this week:

R. Scott Bakker - US Cover

The White Luck Warrior - As Anasurimbor Kellhus and his Great Ordeal march ever farther into the perilous wastes of the Ancient North, Esmenet finds herself at war with not only the Gods, but her own family as well. Achamian, meanwhile, leads his own ragtag expedition to the legendary ruins of Sauglish, and to a truth he can scarce survive, let alone comprehend. Into this tumult walks the White-Luck Warrior, assassin and messiah both, executing a mission as old as the World's making ...

Jonathan Maberry - US Cover

The King of Plagues - Joe Ledger goes up against a secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

Paul Kearney 

Kings of the Morning - The final book in the acclaimed Macht series

The Century of the Soldier- The second half of the Monarchies of God omnibus'

Steven Erikson

Great news from Batnam UK as they have announced they will be issuing the three Malazan novellas- Blood Follows, The Healthy Dead, and The Lees of Laughter's End in an omnibus in August. The omnibus will not include the latest book in the series Bauchelain and Korbal Broach.

Locus Awards 2010

The 2010 Locus awards, voted on by the readers of Locus, the magazine of the professional science fiction and fantasy field, were announced today in Seattle, Washington. Congratulations to the winners!

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Winner: Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor)
Also nominated:
The Empress of Mars, Kage Baker (Subterranean; Tor)
Steal Across the Sky, Nancy Kress (Tor)
Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperVoyager; Ballantine Spectra)
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Winner: The City & The City, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
Also nominated:
Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett (Harper; Doubleday UK)
Drood, Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland)

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Winner: The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade)
Also nominated:
The Manual of Detection, Jedediah Berry (Penguin)
Soulless, Gail Carriger (Orbit US)
Lamentation, Ken Scholes (Tor)
Norse Code, Greg van Eekhout (Ballantine Spectra)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Winner: Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)
Also nominated:
The Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker (Tachyon)
Going Bovine, Libba Bray (Delacorte)
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic; Scholastic UK)
Liar, Justine Larbalestier (Bloomsbury; Allen & Unwin Australia)

BEST NOVELLA
Winner: The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, Kage Baker (Subterranean)
Also nominated:
“Act One,” Nancy Kress (Asimov’s)
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus,” Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days)
Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow (Tachyon)
“Palimpsest,” Charles Stross (Wireless)

BEST NOVELETTE
Winner: “By Moonlight,” Peter S. Beagle (We Never Talk About My Brother)
Also nominated:
“It Takes Two,” Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three)
“First Flight,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor.com)
“Eros, Philia, Agape,” Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com)
“The Island,” Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2)

BEST SHORT STORY
Winner: “An Invocation of Incuriosity,” Neil Gaiman (Songs of the Dying Earth)
Also nominated:
“The Pelican Bar,” Karen Joy Fowler (Eclipse Three)
“Spar,” Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld)
“Going Deep,” James Patrick Kelly (Asimov’s)
“Useless Things,” Maureen F. McHugh (Eclipse Three)

BEST MAGAZINE
Winner: F&SF
Also nominated:
Analog
Asimov’s
Clarkesworld
Tor.com

BEST PUBLISHER
Winner: Tor
Also nominated:
Baen
Night Shade
Pyr
Subterranean

BEST ANTHOLOGY
Winner: The New Space Opera 2, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan, eds. (Eos; HarperCollins Australia)
Also nominated:
Lovecraft Unbound, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Dark Horse)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s)
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Subterranean)
Eclipse Three, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade)

BEST COLLECTION
Winner: The Best of Gene Wolfe, Gene Wolfe (Tor; as The Very Best of Gene Wolfe, PS)
Also nominated:
We Never Talk About My Brother, Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon)
Cyberabad Days, Ian McDonald (Pyr)
Wireless, Charles Stross (Ace, Orbit UK)
The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny: Volumes 1-6, Roger Zelazny (NESFA)

BEST EDITOR
Winner: Ellen Datlow
Also nominated:
Gardner Dozois
David G. Hartwell
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder

BEST ARTIST
Winner: Michael Whelan
Also nominated:
Stephan Martinière
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Charles Vess

BEST NON-FICTION / ART BOOK
Winner: Cheek by Jowl, Ursula K. Le Guin (Aqueduct)
Also nominated:
Powers: Secret Histories, John Berlyne (PS)
Spectrum 16: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood)
This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is “I”), Jack Vance (Subterranean)
Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess, Charles Vess (Dark Horse)



Movie News

Finally, in movie news the first Harry Potter trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Parts I and II) is out: