Well worth a read

[Barry Arrowsmith]

Never found most of the books about the Harry Potter books  
particularly enthralling. Possibly because too many read as if they  
were penned by teachers who work in remedial schools. However,  
there's a new one out that fell through my letterbox a couple of days  
back - The End of Harry Potter by David Langford.

Well organised, easy-going style, some nice tongue-in-cheek humour, a  
keen eye for detail and doesn't take himself too seriously. And it  
appears to be slanted towards the adult reader, which is a relief.

Of course, most of the contents (and speculations) have been   
subjects heavily - even endlessly - discussed on the boards. Even so,  
there were potential internal links and possible plot developments  
suggested that I can't remember having come across before. If Jo  
hadn't been so relentless in knocking most of the more fanciful (or  
as some might have it, interesting) theories on the head, I'd be  
sorely tempted to fire up my enthusiasm and give the old keyboard a  
good workout dissecting or adding to some of the ideas mentioned.

Don't agree with some of the ideas, but there again I wouldn't be a  
true Potterhead if I did, would I?

For those unfamiliar with him, he's responsible for the two Disk- 
World quiz books, a couple of encyclopaedias - SF and Fantasy (as a  
co-editor), and a number of collections of his short stories,  
reviews, critiques and essays on SF, fantasy and classic detective  
writers/stories, plus other less easily classifiable stuff - most of  
which already sits, well thumbed, on my bookshelves.

As the jacket quote from Pratchett puts it: "David Langford. Wit,  
slightly deaf person, raconteur and finest swordsman in all of  
Christendom."
Quite.
But the book is worth dipping into IMO.
Cheap, too. The hardback edition (from Amazon) cost £5.99.

Kneasy