It is rare that I don’t like a book and even rarer still that I return a book to the bookstore for refund or exchange. I did so with this book.
From reading the back of the book, I was expecting the book to be theological discussion on elements of the series of Harry Potter books. I was expecting a deep look into the mythos of the series and the elements of symbolism and magic.
Well, my expectations seemed to have been too high for this book. Each chapter is set up thusly: A Question, an argument for Yes and for No and the verdict of the authors.
Well, while some questions were valid (Did Harry Potter die in Deathly Hallows?) others, such as “Who would you rather make out with: a Demontor or Voldemort?” or “Would you rather shave Hagrid’s back or give Voldemort a foot massage?” left me shaking my head.
Instead of a really in depth look at the series, we are presented with a random series of questions with no order and answers with little to no substance. In fact, in reading the book, it felt as if I was in the middle of a flame war on a message board. Not a comfortable reading experience.
The authors previous book, Mugglenet.com’s What Will Happen in Harry Potter Seven, was only a NYT Best Seller because people were so desperate to find out what would happen at the end of the series.
I highly doubt the authors will achieve such a feat with this book. I was incredibly disappointed with Harry Potter Should Have Died. Proceeds from the sale of the book are going to charity, but I still wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
1 response so far ↓
daretoeatapeach // July 29, 2009 at 9:01 pm |
Hi there, full disclosure—I work for the publisher.
I’m sorry the marketing of _Harry Potter Should Have Died_ was not made more clear for you. It is certainly not meant to be deep analysis of anything. It is a fan book, targeted at tween and teen readers that love not only Harry Potter but the site Mugglenet.com.
Note that there were other prediction books out there that did not make the NY Times children’s best-seller list. Ours did because the authors run the world’s most popular HP fansite and their readers know they know that world better than anyone (their predictions all came true, by the way).
The book is packaged as a fun read for the many fans who spend hours on the same mugglenet forums you disparage. For these readers, a book that “resembles a flame war on a message board” would not be a disappointment at all.
In any case, thanks so much for your review!