Harry Potter and the Interminable Wait
We’re weeks away from the summer’s biggest entertainment event: the publication of the seventh and final volume of the Harry Potter tales, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” My family likely will have a copy of the book on the day of publication (12:01 a.m. on July 21). Some Potter fans are combing the Internet, discussing possible plot twists and speculating about what will happen to whom.
This is the cover of the U.S. version of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
All author JK Rowling will say is that this indeed is the final Harry Potter book, and that there will be more deaths. She killed off a major character in the last volume.
One of the most active Potter fan sites, The Leaky Cauldron, already has told its readers that it will not post potential spoilers. Rowling has endorsed that policy on her own Web site:
I add my own plea … for one reason, and one only: I want the readers who have, in many instances, grown up with Harry, to embark on the last adventure they will share with him without knowing where they are they going.
Some, perhaps, will read this and take the view that all publicity is good publicity, that spoilers are part of hype, and that I am trying to protect sales rather than my readership. However, spoilers won’t stop people buying the book, they never have – all it will do is diminish their pleasure in the book.
Rowling also provides a handy rumor-killing service on her site. For instance, Rowling notes that NONE of the following speculation is true. I repeat, the following statements are NOT TRUE:
- Harry and Neville must kill one another to fulfill a prophecy.
- Dumbledore is Harry’s grandfather or relative of some kind.
- Harry and Valdemort will merge into a single entity.
If you just can’t get your fill of Harry Potter information, check out the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator for regular updates.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
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