In case you hadn't heard ... (Harry Potter)

[clauclauclaudia]

I'm sure some people's friends lists are afire with the news, but amazingly few people have said anything on my f-list and besides, I wanna talk about it!

So. Harry Potter book 7's publication date has been announced: July 21, 2007. A mere fortnight after the rumored 7/7/7, but this way it comes out more than a week after movie 5 rather than

Comments

[heavenscalyx]

I'd love to see GayRemus too. Or gaySomeonePositive. GayTonks would be nice. (Tonks and Remus get together, realize there's no spark, and decide to both come out and be best friends.)

And ImportantLuna, rather than ComedyReliefLuna. That would be nice.

I expect that either Ginny or Neville will die, and I cynically expect it to be Ginny, because of Rowling's past dealings with girl characters, her continued need to thanatomotivate Harry, and a possible need to reassert Harry's manliness (after motivating him with three dead male characters) without getting him entwined in a relationship. Neville's also a good possibility, possibly going out with a bang that includes him coming into his own in a less than satisfying way that the fans can go, "Um, yay?"

What would be really satisfying for me is if it turned out that Harry was a complete red herring, and Neville has been the Chosen One all along. Heh.

Oh, I'd also like to see Hermione suddenly manifest into something other than a shrew. She had such possibilities early in the

[clauclauclaudia]

I'm okay with Ginny dying in terms of whether I'd miss the character (not so much), but on the other hand I don't think she's well-loved enough that it's dramatically worthwhile to kill her off. And I agree with you about the problematic nature of JKR's girl characters. I'm skeptical that she feels a need to (re)assert Harry's manliness, though. *cue Equus pictures*

My problem with either Harry or Neville dying is that they've both had such a poor lot in life so far. I really don't want the series to come down to "life sucks, then you die", and I strongly feel that is what it says if Harry dies in book 7. And to a lesser degree if Neville dies.

I don't feel Hermione has been portrayed as shrewishly as some think. But it would be nice to see some assertiveness not of the cheap movie variety.

[heavenscalyx]

Well, okay, you have a point about the manliness. And about Harry or Neville dying.

I think the main reason I feel that Hermione has gotten a bum rap was the number of times the "Hermione said _________" lines had fairly pejorative adverbs in them in the last book. It felt like JKR was using "waspishly" at least often as Harry "fired up."

[leora]

I don't think it'd be life sucks and then you die.

It'd be life sucks and then you accept death because while everything will always suck for you, you will make the world better for others by doing so.

I think Harry has to die. I'll be surprised if he lives.

[jheaton]

I'm OK with Ginny dying too, because she needs to be out of the way to clear the way for Susan Bones, but my preferred resolution is that Ginny and Luna end up together. They'd make a cute couple, don't you think?

[cassandrasimplx]

What would be really satisfying for me is if it turned out that Harry was a complete red herring, and Neville has been the Chosen One all along. Heh.

Seconded. There's plenty of wiggle room for it in the prophecy thingy, and it would be satisfying on a gut level to see Harry's role transmuted to "distracting Valdemort to give the real hero time to get his feet under him".

I dunno. I guess I've been getting a bit anti-Harry ever since he started turning into a whiny chosen-therefore-entitled git. I mean. Since he got really adolescent. Given it's a function of age, not stunted development, it's not really his fault he's adolescent. But boy is he sure adolescent. *sigh* Meanwhile, Neville's just sort of sweet and uncertain. He deserves a break.

[clauclauclaudia]

He's very much adolescent. But I really don't get much sense of "chosen-therefore-entitled" from him, except in the limited OotP sense: "I'm going to be fighting therefore you'd better keep me informed about the fight".

Really, I don't think the unreliable narrator perspective really lets us get a good picture of how entitled he may feel, as that's such a very subjective thing.