HB and HBP

[rj_anderson]

First, I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to shoebox2, who has recently returned to the Canadian Idol recapping scene with the advent of CI3 -- huzzah!

Second, in regard to the just-released full cover of HBP, lizbee and I had this conversation on IM tonight:

Comments

[rj_anderson]

I don't think JKR's ever read Mage, or at least I'd be very surprised if she had: I was just using the way the Fisher King was handled in that particular story (meaning Mage) as an example of how a character might be vitally important as the centre of a quest, and yet his identity and appearance be really not important at all.

Throughout Mage Kevin Matchstick and his friends are trying to find and protect the Fisher King, as are the bad guys, and as the story unfolded lot of fans were speculating about the King being this or that character we'd met in the context of the books. But when we actually see the Fisher King in the last issue, he's nobody we've ever seen before, has no dialogue, and only appears in a couple of panels. And yet, in the context of the story, it makes perfect sense -- it's not any kind of cheat, because the story is about Kevin, not about the King.

So what I meant is that I could see JKR doing something of that kind in this book, seeing as the series is about Harry, not about the HBP. But like I said, I really don't think she's read Mage or was inspired by it in any way. It's... a lot different from HP.

[boji]

Thank you for the length explanation. I have to say that no matter how I wish it were otherwise, I do agree. JKR not only writes from Harry's POV but makes sure that he's got tunnel-ish vision. I had issues in Book 5/OOTP with how his friends seemed almost incedental when not converging as the DA.

Why? Well he's at boarding school. He's tripping over people, their junk and their moods, morning, noon and night. No matter how angry and/or depressed you are it's unavoidable. I wish she'd brought more of that out.

Thankyou again for clarifying.