Harry Potter readers, here's an extra special holiday gift: J.K. Rowling announced Monday that she has completed the sixth Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
"I know you all expected this to happen on Christmas Day, but I was sure that those of you who celebrate Christmas have better things to do on the day itself than fight your way into my study, whereas those of you who DON'T celebrate Christmas would definitely prefer not to wait until the 25th," the British author wrote in a message posted on her Web site.
Rowling noted that while she is pregnant with her third child, she has had the time "needed to tinker with the manuscript to my satisfaction and I am as happy as I have ever been with the end result. I only hope you feel it was worth the wait when you finally read it."
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
EDIT: More coherantly; this is very exciting news. Does this mean we get a release date, too?
EDIT #2: I guess so! Thanks Skillery.
[ December 20, 2004, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
quote:Scholastic Inc., said a release date would be announced Tuesday morning.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Wooooooo Hooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
yayay!!
but:
quote: Rowling has said that one of her characters will not survive her sixth book, but she refused to identify that character.
! who?!
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I have my suspicions...
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Woo-hoo! Can I hope it will be out by March? ( both Matthew and Neighbor Boy have March Birthdays)
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
No, it must come out TOMORROW! But, March would be nice too.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Chris -- what are your thoughts?
*loves speculation*
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Dumbledore dies.
He duels Voldemort. When he notices Harry watching, he lowers his wand and lets Voldemort have a clean shot at him. Before the spell lands, Dumbledore disappears, his cloak wafting gently to the ground. Voldemort steps on the cloak several times as Harry yells, "Beeeeeeen! I mean, Professor Dumbledore!"
Dagonee
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Harry dies.
Just to throw y'all off your groove.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
I thought that Harry dies at the end of book seven...
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Actually I do think it'll be Dumbledore. Things have been getting worse and worse for Harry, and losing the only person who has successfully fought off Voldemort (and the only person who has always supported Harry no matter what) should leave Harry at the end of the 6th book very lonely, very outgunned, and near the edge of despair. Perfect lead to the last book...
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Not to mention the fact that losing Dumbledore would successfully eliminate all strong parental-type figures from Harry's life, making it inevitable that he will perish after successfully destroying Voldemort and his followers...
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Dumbledore is a character I don't ever want to see die. Therefore he will die. Probably of a heart attack, just to throw everyone off.
Runner up: After that scare in the last book, McGonagall will be the one to die.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I think J. K. Rowling will die, and there will be no 7th book. The entire sixth book will be about Voldemort going to destroy J.K. so that she can't make Harry win. Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
ouaiiiiii !! super méga génial bonne nouvelle !!!
Excuse me. As OSC wrote in the speaker of dead, Emotion are spoken in our native language.
But to read it in french, i must wait a year again... I buy it in english ! it's a hard challenge, but i can realize it !
In my opinion, it's Hagrid who may die. He is the real martyr in this story...
[ December 21, 2004, 04:39 AM: Message edited by: Choobak ]
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Hermione. Definitely Hermione. She dies from an overdose of hairspray she uses to keep her unruly locks at bay. Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
quote:I think J. K. Rowling will die, and there will be no 7th book. The entire sixth book will be about Voldemort going to destroy J.K. so that she can't make Harry win.
Thank you for making me laugh out loud at 4:45 in the morning. I really needed that
I was so excited when my roommate told me it was going to be announced. I was grinning, then I went back to the party at my friend's, and spread the joy. I had a room full of happy happy people. It was fun.
Posted by babager (Member # 6700) on :
OH my gosh... this has made my day!!!!!! Yet somehow I don't think my coworkers will understand my excitement. Posted by luth (Member # 7152) on :
The sixth Harry Potter book will hit the shops on 16 July next year, it has been announced.
BBC News Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Yay!!!!! Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
*marks off July 16 on the calendar*
If it's as long as OOP, I'll mark off part of the 17th, too.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Chris I was sure you'd just posted your column a day early and was pulling my leg.
AJ
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
I was reading the fourth book, and one of the characters wanted Hogwarts to loose to prove that "Dumbledore is only human."
Is it possible that Dumbledore is the half blood prince?
I am sure it was just a figure of speech, but for some reason, it stuck out as significant like only things can at 2:00am.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Ugh date yucky yucky date. Well maybe not, but possibly. It's either the night of the 4-H cat show, or the night that fair starts (cats are a week before fair). If it's the night fair starts I can totallly see myself having my friends pick up the ticket at borders, running over there at 11, reading all night, and being ready for the dog show at noon, putting curlers in my hair, and doing the queen contest. But I'm excited. And I also agree it'll probably be Dumbledore, deffinatly someone in the order.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Yeah!
OK, new Harry Potter book, check... new Outlander book, check... now just waiting to hear about a new GRRM book Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
You know, I really hope it's not Dumbledore. After OotP, he's my favorite character.
Ugh. I'll be at Governor's Honor's Program on the release date. Maybe I can get some of my friends to visit and bring it with.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
It's a friday! If I work I'll be able to read it anyway! .
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Go through Hatrack's Amazon link and OSC will get a cut (miniscule, probably, but what can you do?).
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Really, Noemon? How big (or small) is "minuscule"?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
"Miniscule" is an acceptable variant of "minuscule", I'll have you know!
I'm not sure how much he gets from click-throughs that result in a purchase, honestly, so I'm going to have to go with "some".
[Edit--anybody else have a more concrete figure? I can't imagine that it's much.]
[ December 21, 2004, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Noemon ]
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Oh, Noemon, I wasn't correcting the miniscule/minuscule thing, I honestly didn't notice! The word was in quotations because it was the word you used! Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
You can make 5-10.5% on the amazon links, according to their affiliate site.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Ah--thought you were pointing out to me the error of my ways. And actually, when I saw your spelling I thought that mine was wrong until I looked it up.
So, OSC only gets $.70 for each copy of one of his books that sells, but gets more or less the same amount when someone buys an averaged price paperback through the amazon link on the site? That seems odd.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
It better not be Lupin. I won't forgive her if it's Lupin. He's my favourite!
Posted by Soara (Member # 6729) on :
Oh damn, i still have to read the fifth one.
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
I doubt she'd mention if it, if it was Lupin. He's not in the mainstream enough.
I think it could be Dumbledore. But I also have this weird feeling it could be Hagrid. Which doesn't make any sense...it's just a feeling.
Posted by Brian_Berlin (Member # 6900) on :
Half-Blood Prince is already #1 sales ranked on Amazon (pre orders)
I've said it before and I said it again, Neville Longbottom is going to move into a more-critical role - if not THE most critical role aside from Harry.
GO NEVILLE!
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
No, no, please not Dunbledore!!!
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
Disclaimer: most of this post is a bit off topic, but fear not, I return to the topic near the end.
Saith Noemon:
quote: So, OSC only gets $.70 for each copy of one of his books that sells, but gets more or less the same amount when someone buys an averaged price paperback through the amazon link on the site? That seems odd.
I'd like to take this moment to clear up a misconception. The $.70 figure comes from a post of mine. I'm neither OSC nor his agent, so I cannot speak with authority on what royalties he receives. I can only speak from my experience. For those who don't know the story, I was at a signing and talked a lady into buying a paperback copy of Ender's Game for her grandson. In a lighthearted gesture, OSC then gave me $.35, which he said was half his royalty on a paperback copy of Ender's Game, as a sort of "commission" for helping sell his book. He gave the lady who bought it the other half, kind of like an instant rebate coupon. The point is, I don't know if 70 cents is actually the royalty he gets for that book. It was 10% of the cover price, so maybe he was just doing easy math. As for the Amazon kickback, it comes directly from the Amazon folks (not from the publisher) as a way of saying thanks for advertising our store through your website, but it ain't much.
As promised, I'm now ging back to the topic at hand. Dumbledore dying makes sense. It seems like a "change of the guard" is taking place in the wizard world, and Dumbledore is definitely part of the Old Guard. Can't wait till June to find out!
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
My sister think the victim may be Persil, the Ron's brother. She args he was in a particularly bad position in the last book. So, case 1 : He may be kill to defend his familly with the will to break his shame, case 2 : He was definitivelly turn on the bad side because he is too weak. But when Voldemort will never have the need, he will kill him to destroy the Harry's clan's moral. (the Whisley particularly)
Just for the Hatrack members who don't speak french : Voldemort in french his the link of "Vol" "de" and "Mort" : "Steal Of Dead" or "Steal of Death". I don't know what the translation is the good. Maybe, the twice, because he kill many people, and he "steal" his life to the Death (like Rincevant in the first book of Disk world).
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Something I was just thinking about - the book is slated to be released July 16. Last time it was released the same weekend as the movie The Hulk, and actually made more money than the movie did according to this story. Whil The Hulk certainly had its problems, I wonder if any of its poor showing can be attributed to everyone staying home and reading Harry?
Next year Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens the day before, on the 15th. Just wondering if this will hurt its chances...
Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
Hey !! But July 16th is my birthday !!! I didn't notice it. Wow ! I know what i'll get for this. Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Choobak, you're a Pratchet/Discworld fan? High-five! I thought most of them hadn't been published in French yet, actually.
Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
Most are translated but i don't know the exact number of books T. Pratchett published. So, we have 25 books in french of disc world. The last translated is the 25th tome "the fifth elephant" (i hope it's the good title). And yes I love his funny style !!
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Whil The Hulk certainly had its problems, I wonder if any of its poor showing can be attributed to everyone staying home and reading Harry?
That's interesting. A movie like the Hulk, which did not really meet expectations, is more dependent on first-week gross than "sleepers" like Sixth Sense or Titanic. So it's very possible. I know I didn't do anything the weekend the book came out except read it. I did go see the Hulk that week, but might not have if I had talked to enough people about it before seeing it.
Dagonee
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Since The Fifth Elephant, I believe we've seen the following books released:
The Truth The Last Hero The Thief of Time Going Postal Wee Free Men Hat Full of Sky Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
The last hero was translated too. It's the number 24, i think. Here is a list a little old of the translated books. Add the fifth elephant to complete the current list. But I am still at the beginning ! and i read slowly, before sleeping.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Good Lord, Choobak! Your French translators sure know how to suck the joy out of book titles, don't they?
I mean, Interesting Times turns into The tribulations of a magician in the Orient. Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
The french translator is the same than Ender's game and Mr Card appreciate it as that's wrote on this Mrs Card's Post. But i may be in wrong ?
However, that's a common fact translation are very different. Exemple : National treasure became Benjamin Gates et le trésor des templiers (BG and the templars' treasure)
But it's a wrong exemple because i think productors don't want to seem too arrogant for french people.
So for Ender's game the translation is La stratégie Ender, and for the Ender's Shadow, La stratégie de l'ombre.
What is in the head of publishers/produtors to change title at this point ? I don't know. Somebody can explain me ?
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
Ender's Game is a brilliant title because it works on two levels.
SPOILERS (You never know. There could be someone here who hasn't read it.) . . . . . . . . . . . The first meaning is literal Ender is playing a game. The second meaning foreshadows the finale. He ends the war, and Formic existence, with his game.
End spoilers.
So if the word "end" were different in French, the title wouldn't be nearly as interesting. I'm also curious if "stratégie" would be the same as strategy, a plan, or if the game is implied in the word.
Strategy in English is a serious word. Game is child like and innocent. Important differnce.
Posted by Ginol_Enam (Member # 7070) on :
quote:Something I was just thinking about - the book is slated to be released July 16. Last time it was released the same weekend as the movie The Hulk, and actually made more money than the movie did according to this story. Whil The Hulk certainly had its problems, I wonder if any of its poor showing can be attributed to everyone staying home and reading Harry?
Heh, that's funny. I was in line for Hulk when I saw a paper printout announcing Waldenbooks was open at midnight that convinced me to buy OotP on opening day.
Anyway....
Excitement! Whee!
Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
Stratégie in french is as serious as strategy in english. And I know it perticularly because of my job, and more, my passion of chess. I appreciate the original title, and i don't understand why the translation about title is so changed. Maybe, it's the idea that for French war are not a game but a serious thing... The french title let hear it's the final strategy...
I don't know. But who have decided the translation ? If it's Mr Card, he may have an explanation and we have nothing to say about his decision.
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Chris I was sure you'd just posted your column a day early and was pulling my leg.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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The french title let hear it's the final strategy...