Amph TERF Chronicles: J. K. Rowling writing a new book!

Could someone remind me why I should give a **** about this groundbreaking news? The only shocker is that she didn't tap the well and decide to make another HP book.

 

(OK, I'm about to (carbon)date myself) Ever hear someone gush about how Maneudo, Justin Bieber, Madonna, or The Backstreet Boys are like, the best band ever?
And, in short, they are not?
In fact, the infatuation is purely juvenile drivel?
And yet it is being touted to the skies?

If not, count yourself lucky.

Otherwise, Yeah.
I'll take Robert Asprin's Myth Adventure series 30 times over JKR. More timely. More topical. More funny. Better fantasy. Doesn't take itself seriously or have delusions of literary greatness. Pretty much unsung series.

 

That's fine... do that, and try not to push your tastes onto others.

 

A Casual Vacancy should be out in just a few weeks.

 

Has there been an excerpt released anywhere?

 

What do you mean "delusions?" Harry Potter is great story.

 

Harry Potter is better-than-average, but still pretty generic brit kid-lit.
Ever notice that everyone was complaining that "John Carter of Mars" was just a copy of everything that ____ has done, and nothing but a series of tropes? Because JCoM was written 100 years Before those other movies came out. In fact, it was because of JCoM that those tropes came into existence? If not, count yourself lucky.
Out of curiosity, did the Dursleys ever develop any depth or motivations for their hatred and bullying, or were they pretty much just the same straw-men petty villains that they were in book 1?

 

Yes, they did.

 

And the reason for their abuse of Harry was??? (aside from obviously not in the movies).

 

Petunia's issues with Lily being a witch and her not?

 

What, all of them were petty and malicious because the mother had sibling rivalry issues? That seems a bit... naf.

 

That accounts for Petunia, yes. As time passed though it was clear she would never have denied Harry a home with them (their last moments together suggest a degree of understanding). Vernon never wanted Harry in the first place. He would've kicked Harry out had Petunia not been there. Dudley... Dudders was a product of his parents. We're not dealing with a vast number of people here. Just two massively insecure parents and one simpleton of a son.

 

So, Petunia is the only one with a trace of depth. Vernon and Dudley remain the straw-men that they always had been. Kinda what I figured.

 

Don't you remember Dudley's big moment in Deathly Hallows?

And Rowling has said Vernon Dursley was the character she despised the most, the ordinary and common form of... maybe evil is too strong a word, but you know what I mean.

 

In a word, no--I don't remember anything significant about Dudley. In effect, he was the most realistic villain, in that he was evil because he was the spoiled brat older sibling type, so at least he had a motivation that made sense and stayed within his means, and did everything within his means.

Silly question: yahoo news had something about Daniel Radcliff shocking Rowling. It was one of those annoying eyecatches I caught a brief glance of, but I had clicked off before I could read more. What was this about?

 

I don't know.

But about Dudley in Deathly Hallows... he stood up for Harry, and became his friend. Rowling said that they even continued to have a relationship, getting together for the holidays and stuff. It was revealed that the Dementor experience revealed to Dudley what he really was... a bully... and he repented and became a changed man.

 

Also, I think Petunia may have had little crush on James...judging on how she spied on them...as Vernon, in my eyes represents the people hate and fear what they don't understand... there's a lot of that in the world.

As for Jo's new book, I'm excited! She may not be the greatest writer but, a brilliant story teller none the less.

 

Newspapers were full of comments about the upcoming book (it's out Sep 27 here in the UK). I doubt I'll get it in HC as the synopses I read didn't really appeal to me.

 

This comes out today! I think I shall go out and get my copy.

 

Yeah, she's been on the news here. I'm gonna pass on the HC unless it appeals after a thumbthrough when I'm in town next week.

 

Rowlings writes great people. That was the real strength of the HP books. Aside from magical powers, the main characters mostly seemed very authentic to me. But the reviews of Casual Vacancy are not good.

That seems to be the emerging consensus. I'm sure it will sell very well though.

 

That's what I was afraid of when I read the synopses in the papers. My first reaction was 'who cares?'.

 

Just started- 13 pages in. This is definitely not Harry Potter. One character meditated at length about her breasts and Rowling dropped the F-bomb already.

edit 2: several more F-bombs and a C-word.

 

This is why people read Game of Thrones. F-bomb. C-word. And dragons.

 

For me, the appeal of the Harry Potter books was, aside from the general universe, how intricately plotted they were--seemingly innocuous sentences in the early books could turn out to be crucial plot details. Aside from that, they were thematically empty and the prose pedestrian. I wouldn't expect much of a one-off story set in the real world from Rowling. I'll probably read it eventually, but I'm certainly not going to pay $30 for the privilege to do so.