I just received word from work that the 7th book in the Harry Potter series has been named... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There is no release date as of yet, but I can imagine that will be the next thing on peoples minds.

The series will come to a prolific end I fear and we already know that some of the characters are not going to survive. If you are a fan, I'd suggest that you pre-order the book as soon as possible to ensure that you get your copy. I imagine they will have plenty to go around, but I have a feeling they will be flying out of the stores faster than you can shake a stick.

Or a wand!

I read somewhere that she plans two other books set in the HP universe, not actual stories, but something akin to the Star Trek Technical Manual.

There have been a lot of rumours circulating lately and I am getting excited about finishing the series. Its a good thing that I work in a bookstore, otherwise I might not have been able to get my hands on one. As for a release date, I will let everyone know as soon as I find out... although I am sure it will be announced on every news site around the world.

That final chapter would be most interesting. Its been a huge debate about who will survive and who will not... and certainly, some of the major characters will probably not make it through.

It seems like the last few Potter books have come out in early summer, which would indeed put it near the release of the film, which I believe is due some time in July.

I haven't read any of the Potter books. I was ambivalent about reading them until after I saw the first movie or two, and then subsequently decided that I would wait till all the movies were out before reading any of them. I find that I enjoy adaptations more if I haven't read the source material first.

A date has been set - July 21st!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6320733.stm

Wonderful! This means that I can probably pre-order it from my bookstore

It is sad to know that this is the end of the saga. Its something I've come to enjoy about reading... following a continuous story.

Well.

I finished the book last night. I won't say anything about what happens for quite some time in case people are still reading or want to read it. I will say that it finishes off the story very well and it does the story justice. Rowling is a wonderful storyteller and has an incredible talent.

I would recommend to anyone who has not had the chance or has shied away from reading about Harry Potter, to go out and read them. You are missing out big time.

I'm backing Thorin up on this one.

I haven't been a big fan of the book series, and I have to admit I'm still not a -huge- fan.

However, all together, the 7 books make a fairly good story. Any single book on its own isn't that great, but the overall story is good.

That being said, the 7th book is a VAST improvement in just about every fashion from the first and so on. Her writing has definitely evolved (as book series tend to do, especially those with younger characters/readers).

Revive the thread

Well, I just saw the movie. I thought it was very good, or shall I say, it was half of a very good movie, LOL!

Anyone here who actually read the last book Deathly Hallows?
I'm curious as to whether or not it's following in great detail with two films, or running a bit vague as the others seemed to have drifted.

One thing is for sure, the story has gone from fun and fancy to serious and quite gloomy. I found part one of DH to be disconsolate.

I've read the book, but haven't seen the film yet.

Guess it's time to rent the DVD

[quote=""Jamanticus""]I've read the book, but haven't seen the film yet.

Guess it's time to rent the DVD [/quote]

I'm on the flip side of that coin, so let me know after you've watched it.

The book is just as somber. It's an amazing read though, Thrand. Pick it up! You won't be disappointed.

Well, I saw DH Pt. 2 last weekend. I thought it was good but not the be-all and end-all of movies that are some are making it out to be. I'll keep this spoiler free. There were things that were set up in Part 1 that were not paid off in Part 2, to the extent that they could simply have been left out of Part 1. Additionally, I thought the climactic moment of the story was rather...anti-climactic. Without giving anything away, I can't go into more detail, but suffice it to say that the moment that is the climax of 8 movies should not have to be e xp lained after the fact why it played out the way it did. It left me scratching my head.

However, I am sure this movie is going to make a pot full of money. Certainly, it is head and shoulders better than any other movie I've seen this summer but that's not saying much.

Well, I thought it was nearly perfect, and I'm a mega fan of the books. The only thing I didn't like was a lack of Harry's speech during the climax, but I think that the rest of the movie made up for that. I knew what was going on, as did anyone who read the book. And it's not like they changed the story of the elder wand's ownership, they just didn't have Harry draw it out for everyone like he did in the novel.

Some people have really been hating on this film. I've never walked out of the theater after watching a Harry Potter movie and wanted my money back. There's a reason this is the highest grossing series of all time, and it's not just because of over-publicity. I love this story, book and film, and no critic will persuade me to think otherwise. It is what it is, if you really thought the book was so much better, go read it and take your negativity elsewhere. I'm sorry, but I can't stand people bashing something this good.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Well, I thought it was nearly perfect, and I'm a mega fan of the books. The only thing I didn't like was a lack of Harry's speech during the climax, but I think that the rest of the movie made up for that. I knew what was going on, as did anyone who read the book. And it's not like they changed the story of the elder wand's ownership, they just didn't have Harry draw it out for everyone like he did in the novel.

Some people have really been hating on this film. I've never walked out of the theater after watching a Harry Potter movie and wanted my money back. There's a reason this is the highest grossing series of all time, and it's not just because of over-publicity. I love this story, book and film, and no critic will persuade me to think otherwise. It is what it is, if you really thought the book was so much better, go read it and take your negativity elsewhere. I'm sorry, but I can't stand people bashing something this good.[/quote]
Careful Fin, you're e xp ressing your opinion.

[quote=""Thranduil""]Careful Fin, you're e xp ressing your opinion.[/quote]

How dare I!

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Well, I thought it was nearly perfect, and I'm a mega fan of the books. The only thing I didn't like was a lack of Harry's speech during the climax, but I think that the rest of the movie made up for that. I knew what was going on, as did anyone who read the book. And it's not like they changed the story of the elder wand's ownership, they just didn't have Harry draw it out for everyone like he did in the novel.

Some people have really been hating on this film. I've never walked out of the theater after watching a Harry Potter movie and wanted my money back. There's a reason this is the highest grossing series of all time, and it's not just because of over-publicity. I love this story, book and film, and no critic will persuade me to think otherwise. It is what it is, if you really thought the book was so much better, go read it and take your negativity elsewhere. I'm sorry, but I can't stand people bashing something this good.[/quote]

I'm going to assume that your backlash was aimed at the world in general and not at me in particular.... My slight reservations about the final film are from the perspective of someone who hasn't read the books (though I plan to, now that the movies are over and the books can no longer bias my e xp ectations of what the movies should be). It just seemed to me that there were a few things set up in Part 1 that were dropped in Part 2, or had much less significance than I e xp ected. Examples: the Grindelwald story and the power and significance of the Deathly Hallows themselves. And then there was the way the climax played out. When e xp lained, it made perfect sense, but it had to be e xp lained. I'm guessing that because of the way the story was written, that was the only way they could shoot it.

I wasn't aware that there were lots of people hating on the movie. It has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes right now, which is a very, very good score. However, regarding it being the highest grossing franchise of all time, there is another reason for that, in addition to the movies' quality (which is undeniable): there are 8 of them. How many other high-quality franchises have 8 movies? Even Star Wars only had 6 (and the quality of some of its installments are hotly debatable). If PJ delivers on The Hobbit the way he did on LOTR, even that franchise will only be 5 movies.

[quote=""Olorin""] It just seemed to me that there were a few things set up in Part 1 that were dropped in Part 2, or had much less significance than I e xp ected. Examples: the Grindelwald story
[/quote]

In the book, the Grindelwald story is e xp lained by Aberforth. I have read that they filmed a full e xp osition scene where Aberforth tells Harry, Ron and Hermione about Grindelwald. That was my only complaint about the film, that they dropped that bit. Hopefully they'll put it on an extended version of the film.

There is one character's story however that they captured brilliantly and that is Snape's story. No spoilers here but I just thought it was amazing in the book but it felt more emotional in the movie and Alan Rickman really knows how to play that part.

Oh yeah, Olorin. Sorry, I should've made that clear. I'm angry at people on entirely different sites and a few people who I know in person.

But you're right about the Grindelwald/Hallows story, that should've been made slightly clearer. In the book, Dumbledore e xp lains everything that Aberforth didn't while Harry is in the "limbo" state, FYI. And I too, EG, hope that that scene is in an extended release of the film. The actress who played Pansy Parkinson also said that there was a seen filmed where a blast hit part of Hogwarts above the Slytherin dungeons and the Slytherin students escaped to upstairs, where we can assume they fought like they did in the books on the side of the Hogwarts defenders.

[quote=""Elvenguard13""]There is one character's story however that they captured brilliantly and that is Snape's story. No spoilers here but I just thought it was amazing in the book but it felt more emotional in the movie and Alan Rickman really knows how to play that part.[/quote]

Rickman was fantastic throughout the series and I was sorry to see Snape's story come to a close. Say, did anyone else think that Snape's face looked freakin' enormous in his final scene, compared to Harry's? I found it a bit distracting. Of course I was watching on a giant IMAX screen, so that might have been the reason.

[quote=""Olorin""]Rickman was fantastic throughout the series and I was sorry to see Snape's story come to a close. Say, did anyone else think that Snape's face looked freakin' enormous in his final scene, compared to Harry's? I found it a bit distracting. Of course I was watching on a giant IMAX screen, so that might have been the reason.[/quote]

I had seen a few pictures that people had taken from that scene before I saw the movie and his face did look huge. But when I saw the film it wasn't too bad, it was mainly the angle I think that made his face appear bigger and also it was really close in his face to capture the emotion of the scene, but when it cuts back to Daniel its a normal angle and its less closer.