Show Be brave dear reader new Potter book demands mettle Emily Green Los Angeles Times Harry who The rest of the world may have been following his progress since owls began flying by day in the first Harry Potter novel in 1997 but at least one person in the buying book-buying world resisted the bespectacled little wiz wiz- ard Me Granted even in Los Angeles miles from its original setting in Privet Lane the hype generated by bythe bythe bythe the books and then movies of the books tapes tapes' of the books books about the books was unavoidable For Forthe Forthe Forthe the last eight years TV networks networks networks net net- works have insisted on showing showing show show- ing us footage of books from Britain being unloaded from planes onto trucks from trucks into shops then from shops being stuffed into the hot little hands of children Yes the hype is a bit much concede the fans who then invariably proceed to mount an earnest lecture about how the Potter books and their author JK Rowling introduced introduced intro intro- a generation of children children chil chil- dren to t the joy of reading One of ou our r book editors even gave it a historical wash Isn't it remarkable he noted that when Harry Potter books are released American children still line up at midnight outside outside outside out out- side bookstores for first copies much like the followers follow follow- ers of Alexandre Alexandra Dumas thronged squares in France for the latest installments of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo more than a century ago Let them watch TV I T thought As if in a cosmic gesture to tn slay the last living skeptic T I and was asked to review the sixth supposedly penultimate book Harry Potter and the Half Half Blood Blood Prince Whatever I said Colleagues whose children were reverently reading vol- vol umes one through five to prepare prepare prepare pre pre- pare for the Rowling's latest Harry Potter and the Half- Half Blood Prince Arthur A. A Scholastic Levine pp 2999 made jokes that I might be an agent of someone someone someone some some- one called Lord From their tone one could surmise that he was not the hero I was given primers about the moral codes of Harry Potter If memory serves there were two books one written by Professor Too Much Time on His Hands and a second by Professor Harry Potter Continued on Page 11 Harry Potter Continued from page 6 Way Too Much Time on His Hands A neighbor decided a cold start starton starton on volume six wouldn't do Her 10 year-old year son could lend me his collection collection collection col col- lection Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Each book was thicker than the last I managed only enough of the first story to become pixilated bv by Rowling's magical setting scene cats who read maps and showers of shooting stars from London to Dundee Then the mails e-mails from the mothers of Potter devotees started Are you reading any H H. H Potter Do you know what youre you're in for You may find yourself surrounded by a reference to Book 3 and no amount of chocolate will help you No no avada Book 4 even your skills wont won't help you you'll be petrified literally by a basilisk Book 2 and then not even evena a mandrake Book 2 can save you GET READING When the highly coveted and tightly guarded review copy for volume six arrived a mere 24 hours before deadline I started smugly enough Oh yes here was a witty little hybrid of a parliamentary farce and Arthurian legend I thought By Chapter 2 however fireside goblin play gave way to chill foreboding foreboding fore fore- boding and a scene in which pale women rush by night through an industrial wasteland in order to forge a deadly pact By the end of the pages I was exhausted Were children up to this kind of high drama Could all those millions millions mil mil- lions of copies be put back in those boxes n back on those trucks back on those planes No No they cantAs cantAs cantAs cant As the sun rises our children have this book and they will have to be brave This much can be said about Half Blood Prince without spoiling the plot Once Harry was was' 10 and stars rained down on England to augur his arrival Now he is 16 and as the book u u u u 11 opens bridges are collapsing Wizards from the Ministry of Magic are popping out of the Prime Ministers Minister's fireplace to explain that the cause is iSI not bad construction Its It's evil Who Not Named is back In what even a newcomer can detect as an alarming cabinet reshuffle the charming Cornelius Fudge has been replaced as Minister of Magic by the shrewd Rufus Harder times demand harder characters Relief comes in the form of well- well observed personality quirks and some first-class first toilet humor Bored figures in paintings are not Wet Wei J above picking their ears Amid the potions in Fred and Georges George's magic magie store there is a sign that reads Why are you Worrying about You- You Know Know- Who Know Who You should be worrying worrying worry worry- ing about U-No-Poo U the constipation constipation constipation pation sensation that's gripping the nation Then theres there's the romance Yes yuck love which turns out to be bea a liability when fighting evil The days are too dangerous to become bogged down by sentiment There is simply too much treachery afoot in the School of Witchcraft and unsecured portals secret enemies As Harry accompanies Professor July 20 2 2005 0 0 5 into the heart of darkness darkness darkness dark dark- ness tolls are not money but blood Corpses line lake bottoms not kelp His ability to obey his mentor is pushed to the limit The good news is that Harry is courageous and true The bad news is that agents have more than Peruvian Vanishing Powder on their side This is a book for children of mettle It will reward them richly but they must not whine they must be sunny and true and above all brave The ending ending ending end end- ing is almost too much to bear I haven't cried so hard since Charlotte the Spider died |