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The troubling timing of Book 7

by David Haber

The official release date of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was announced yesterday. This date is troubling to me for several reasons. We were hoping that Book 7 could be released on July 7, which would have been 7/7/07. But the disappointment that we have apparently missed getting Book 7 on 7/7/07 is not the main reason I am troubled by the announcement of the book's release date.

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Reader Comments: (Page 6)

or maybe, they are having the book come out after the movie because the movie is only two or three hours long, while the book takes most people days or even weeks to read. There wouldn't be as many people watching the movie because they would be too busy finishing the book!

Posted by karen from CA on February 6, 2007 3:42 PM

I agree with some of the other postings here that the book comes out after the movie so that people go see the movie (instead of staying at home with the telephone unplugged, re-reading DH and the six preceeding books!) It's as simple as that. I don't think we can read anything into Harry's fate based on the release date.

As for Harry's fate, I firmly believe he live - good always triumphs over evil. The characters to ? I think Luna and one of the important teachers, either Snape or McGonagall. The character JK has referred to as having a reprieve? I think Hagrid. Why? Well, Harry has suffered through the losses of his parents, godfather and mentor, so I don't think JK off Hagrid or Ron or Hermione. She has said he suffer more in DH, but look at the way Diggory's affected Harry, and they didn't have that much of a connection. Therefore I think the s be poignant but not people Harry adores. Snape's would be sad, but incredibly noble if he is indeed fighting against Voldemort.

One final thought on Harry. JK has mentioned the final chapter of DH is an epilogue, and the final word might be "scar". If Harry s, why would his scar be mentioned at a later point in time. I believe Harry is looking at his scar at the end of DH, and therefore most definitely alive! Hooray!

Posted by Paul from Greenwood, SC on February 7, 2007 08:20 AM

From Rumors section in JKR's website:

Rumour: "The announcement of the publication date on JKR's website was unusually brief. This means that JKR is unhappy about the date."

JKR's Reply: "This could not be further from the truth! The 21st July publication date has given me enough time to write the book I wanted to write, and for the manuscript to be properly edited. These are the most important things to me. An earlier date - eg, 7/7/07 - would have meant that either the writing or editing was rushed, and neither my publishers nor I wanted that. Any brevity in my announcement was down to the fact that I was busy editing!"

Posted by Javed from Vancouver, Canada on February 7, 2007 7:19 PM

Hmmm... it's almost as if she can hear what we're thinking... oh, wait...:-)

Posted by Dave Haber from Los Angeles, CA on February 7, 2007 7:20 PM

Paul--
i hate to burst your bubble..but im going to anyway.
I think harry is going to . It s me to admit it, but deep down, i actually want harry to be ed. i mean, that would be a more dramatic ending, wouldnt it? but...its HARRY! we cant have him ! but i think Voldemort is going to win, because i think thats more JKRs speed
and the whole series is written in third person, so in theory harry could and it would still fit

Posted by Ashley from Missouri on February 8, 2007 1:53 PM

I think that you pose a good point here. I am almost certain that Harry's story in this final book not be a pleasant one, unfortunately. My main reason for this would be that I was watching the news a while ago and the reporter said that they during an interview, JKR had stated that while writing the seventh book, she was creating an ending that would ensure that no other writer would steal Harry Potter and make fake 8th or 9th books. When I heard this I was devistated and was sure that it meant only one thing, Harry Potter not live to see the end of the final Harry Potter book. Another reason I think that this might happen is that the movie company's main goal is to make as much money as possible. They would not pass up free publicity unless it was absolutely necessary. I think that they must have checked with JKR or someone who knows the ending of the seventh book to know whether the ending would make fans so devistated that they would not want to see the 5th movie. I personally think that putting the book after the movie make little difference as I would go see the movie whether Harry s or not. I see it that by going and seeing the movie I am keeping Harry alive in my mind for just a little bit longer. Really all they are doing is creating more publicity for the last book. I really hope that they don't decide to stop making the last two movies because of the outcome of the seventh book. I personally would like to see the 6th and 7th movie come out because after this seventh book, that's it, there's no more. That is so depressing and if they make the movies, at least I'll have a small ray of hoipe in a dark Harry Potter-less world.

Posted by Anonymous on February 8, 2007 3:49 PM

I think that J.K. is clever enough to be able to wrap up Harry's life at the end of DH to discourage rip-off books, without resorting to ing Harry off. Also we've learned that people don't stay in Harry Potter's world [Voldemort, Pettigrew, Buckbeak...]. So all it would take is another author to weave a story bringing Harry back to life by way of a horcrux, time turner, polyuice potion, memory charm, etc. And keep the saga going. Probably it would be easier to write an epilogue that lets Harry of old age after living a long but uneventful post-Voldemort life.

Probably the thing that bothers me most about the timing is why the movie took so long to be released. Has it been something like 6 months longer than the intervals between the other movies. Forgive me but the OOTP book seams like the easiest of all the books to turn into a movie. I just hope we don't see ly Hallows movie where Daniel Radcliffe is sporting a receding hairline.

Posted by Mikey from New Jersey on February 8, 2007 7:17 PM

personally i just see it as a smart move by the movie company. the movies first week be sure fire success so why not spark alittle extra excitment into the second and so on weeks (where movies tend to start to fall because the core aunce has already seen it) rather than opening weekend. i dont know though its all up in the air i hope harry lives though.

Posted by steve on February 8, 2007 11:30 PM

No matter if Harry lives or s it be an end. Endings, even if joyful are sad. We all feel let down, no matter the outcome of book 7. For we all know how it ends and this is something we all have to process. For the written word is more powerful than any movie. I would not feel like watching a movie; right after I found out how all my literary friends lives turned out. The movie, no matter how well made, seem trivial next to Book 7; and the fate of Harry and Company. I would not like to see any of the young characters , for it all started out as a children's book. The Potter main aunce is still young. But, in the same respect I have lost some wonderful friends to the literary pen. The lost of a beloved character can teach quite a bit to the reader no matter the age. No matter what happens, it is in only one persons hands, that of J.K. Rowlings. She has duty to finish Harry her way and to stop any copycats out there. In my realm of reality, they live happily ever after. But no one said Harry Potter was a Fairy Tale.

Posted by Hermione from Hogwarts on February 9, 2007 6:59 PM

no matter what happens in the seventh book, i be seeing the 5th 6th and 7th movie... presumingly that they are made of course...

Posted by Vanessa from Toronto, Ontario on February 10, 2007 09:16 AM

i've been enjoying all the clever theories written in these posts, congratulations to you all.
it's been said that harry potter's book plot follow a definite path of the genre, just like fairy tales or traditional tales do; assuming that, JKR won't Harry (but she'd ensure no one else can write a sequel or something like that). me, i'm waiting for july, whatever the end of this amazing adventure, i'll love the books al the same and i'll keep watching the movies and reading the books over and over again.

Posted by sabri from italy on February 10, 2007 10:35 AM

The whole "I don't want anyone to steal Harry and make fake 8th or 9th books" is just a ruse. No one can "steal" the characters. She owns them and I think she's just saying this to throw as much doubt on every possible outcome that she can so no one can guess the ending. The only way "fake" books can be written is if she were to sell the rights for someone to do so.

Posted by Jim from Houston, Tx on February 11, 2007 1:04 PM

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