It appears Rowling truly cannot let Harry Potter go. This is just getting a bit ridiculous now, especially after she has said that HP is done.

 

Well since The Cursed Fire is pretty much a garbage fire I can't say I'm looking forward to this.

 

The hp-lexicon published encyclopedia died for this. Uhg.

 

I'll reserve judgement for when I actually read them. That said, are these just compilations of Pottermore stuff? The article states these are stories, but the way it describes them, they come across as just information. One of them has "profiles" of Lupin and McGonagall, but those are already on Pottermore. Same with Umbridge and Azkaban.

 

From what I can make it, this seems to be the case, perhaps with a little additional detail thrown in. Although the Slughorn and Tom Riddle stuff might actually be something new.

 

It actually sounds okay as it is diving a bit deeper into characters we already know. It's what I loved about pottermore.

 

The premise sounds good. I've always wanted to know about the behind-the-scenes stuff in the Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. I can't shake the feeling that the entire ordeal is going to be heavy-handed and disappointing.

 

I must say, you seem unreasonably upset about JKR publishing new HP books.

I haven't read HP for years, and I'm not sure if I'll ever reread the books. I have no interest in Cursed Child and doubt I'll ever know more about it than what I've casually gleaned from reading this forum.

Why are you so upset about it?

 

If she's going to do 3 more books, I'd prefer actual novels instead of what I assume are going to be collections of maybe short stories like the founding of Ilvermorny. Worldbuilding by itself isn't a hook for me, I don't dig into -verse encyclopedias.

 

See, we're allowed to obsess over and write story upon story about her world and characters, but when she does it it's a crime against humanity. Or something.

 

You can't blame him for being sceptical. Any sequel to any book, movie or whatever needs a reason to exist besides making more money. The fact that Rowling was adamant that HP was done and is now making a new trilogy? That's something I'll wait and see about. And if it is just three new encyclopaedias I don't feel like it would be advertised as three new books... otherwise they were just click baiting.

 

This is actually the sort of stuff I'm happy to see more of. I'm not really interested in new full length stories like the Curse Child or Fantastic Beasts, but short stories to fill in the characters that I'm already interested in can be nice. That desire to further explore the world of the books is why I got into hp fanfiction in the first place.

 

My worry is that these short stories will just be the JK Rowling writing from pottermore in book form. However I still hold onto the hope that we will finally learn more about horcruxes.

 

I'm interested in Tom Riddle and Slughorn stuff.

 

I'm the opposite, I love worldbuilding and all the little details.

I'll probably end up buying these books.

Sure, the Cursed Child was a major disappointment, but it's 19-Years-Later so who cares.

 

I don't even care anymore at this point. I still like the book series but I've never really found the extra stuff interesting in the slightest.

 

I hardly think JKR is a person you can criticize for being greedy, is she not the only person to lose her billionaire status due to charitable giving?

She's repeatedly said that Harry's story is done, and she's stuck to that for over 10 years now. Cursed Child is not about HP, and neither are the upcoming books.

As for click baiting, why on earth do you assume that any news site is doing anything but these days? They can't survive without views.

I seriously don't understand this outrage.

 

Yeah, I guess I sounded quite irritated in the OP. It's just that I feel like JKR could have done more with the series, and the last couple of books were just ehhhh. Plus she has adamantly said that HP was done, so this is a little weird. Add that to the fact that the Cursed Child was(IMO) so bad that I cannot believe JKR actually had any input in it.

That said, they'll(hopefully) be providing some interesting info, especially the Riddle & Slughorn stuff, so I'll certainly be reading them. I'm willing to give them a chance.

 

Ok, so let me get this straight. You are irritated that JKR is writing more books because you are angry that she hasn't done more with the series...?

Regardless, I think what you, and a few other people, need to understand is that JKR has set out to tell a story of her own making. That story isn't necessarily going to be what you (and me when I was younger) want it to be. If you look at the type of stories that we have on DLP, they can all be characterised by their focus on HPs competence, fighting ability and usually feature characters making logical choices (good decisions) that always make sense. I would argue that these characteristics that can be attributed to young males power fantasies. However, they are almost always incompatible with reality. Humans (as much as we like to believe) are not rational beings, we don't always make good decisions. Ron is a great example of this in book 4.

This isn't what HP is about, JKR set out to write a story of a young man put in an impossible situation and to explore how he and others around him might react to these terrifying circumstances in what she considers to be a realistic manner. Despite what I used to believe, JKR's interpretation of HP is much more congruent with reality than the fanfiction we devise. Evidence of this can be found in the worldwide appeal the books have found.

When you think about it, that's basically what fanfiction (and consequently this board) is all about. We want to see something that's not necessarily real but appeals to our imagination. It's quite interesting, if you look at how DLPs taste in fanfiction has changed over the years you can see how we as a community have matured in our interpretations of the world. The fics we used to enjoy compared to what we enjoy now are very different.

Because of this, I believe that if you go ahead and read these new 'books', you will be just as disappointed, and it will further your disappointment and anger at JKR. A problem that is circular in nature.

On the other hand, I think I may have just convinced myself to go and reread Harry Potter... It would be interesting to revisit the books considering how differently I look at life these days, compared to 10 years ago.

 

Okay as for her losing her billionaire status, I thought it was estimated that she's given away $160 million. While this is a substantial amount you make it sound like she's given away her livelihood. C'mon. Bill Gates has clearly done way more, giving half his money so that people can fund their science projects. I don't think his kids are set to inherit much of his money, so he's probably got some plans for the rest of it. He may not have lost his billionaire status but he wasn't tinkering on the edge of it either.

What I heard about Cursed Child doesn't fill me with confidence that, even if the stories are about the next generation or whoeverthefuck, there is a purpose to their existence beyond making more money. I could be wrong which is why I will wait and see. Like I said. Hardly outrage, I'd classify it more as scepticism.

But I definitely agree with the spirit of what you were saying, that people shouldn't be outraged. (I just personally didn't think they were)