James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing

James Potter and the Hall of Elders'Crossing by G. Norman Lippert
4/5 stars
405 pages
Source: free ebook on goodreads

The story (from goodreads)

Based upon the characters and worlds of J. K. Rowling, this book tells the story of Harry Potter's son James, and his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The review:

First off I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I've read the books more times than I care to count but they still manage to enthral me every time. So, of course, when I caught whiff of this book I knew I had to read it, even though I'm not one to go for fan-fiction that much. 
After a mysterious break-in at the Ministry of Magic, we meet James Potter just as he's perusing the Hogwarts Express' corridors. Spotting his parents of the platform, he rushes in a compartment to wave them off. This is where we meet Zane and Ralph, James' two best friends to be. They were both raised by muggles and are pretty much ignorant to the wizarding ways. One thing that surprised me greatly was the fact that Zane was American. Being part American myself, I loved it. He's got our trademark humour and he adds a very interesting twist to the story. Ralph, on the other hand, is plain old British (no offence meant) and yet possesses unique wand skills.
On the journey to the legendary school, James turns out to be everything Harry wasn't at 11. He has a loving family, comes off as rich, void of any connection to the dark arts, and frankly a bit dull. He seems to think he has to follow in his father's footsteps, something which greatly influences his behaviour through out the book. He is, of course, placed in Gryffindor, even after hesatating, like his father before him, between that and Slytherin. Surprisingly Zane is placed in Ravenclaw (although I might suspect that's because it's the house of the brainy students and Lippert wants the only official american student at Hogwarts to represent the best our country has to offer) and even more surprisingly Ralph is placed in Slytherin (I was honestly baffled by that one until the very end of the book), which is led by Tabitha Corsica, who seems sweet but is, in reality, pretty evil. 
Once the school's set in, we have a surprising visit from an american elegation from Alma Aleron. They come by flying car (great cars might I add)and have with them none other than Benjamin Franklin himself, among others. He's an awesome bloke, teaches Defence Again Dark Arks in a great way and everyone loves him. Along with him come two other very important characters: The Technomancy teacher, Stonewall, who's loyatly we doubt until the very end (I think he's suppose to play the role of Snape who ended up in the same predicament in the Sorcerer's Stone), and Madame Delacroix, the pawn who serves t orchestrate Merlin's return, believing he will help them "purge the wizarding community", who serves as a divinition teacher. 
As I read on, I was increasingly confused as to who the big arch enemy/Nemesis/Big evil bad guy was suppose to be. The only thing that's off in the first few pages is how the Slytherins are suddenly for muggles knowing about the wizarding folk and them actually fighting for it. Of course that's all a ruse to hide their usual plan of world domination and such but still, there is no real villain is this book. Merlin seems to fit the bill but he never actually clicked, so it's not surprising when he turns out to be good. So basically the whole book leads up to that, Merlin's big return and therefore possibly doom of the world, only to found out that he's not that bad.
 However the real villain may seem to come later. A few months into his first year there, a dryad warns James and his friend about Voldemort having an heir, a successor, a Bloodline. This shocked me and I honestly spent most of the book trying, and failing, to figure it out. I even thought for a while that it was James and that Voldy had cursed Ginny back when he'd kidnapped her the first time in the Chamber of secrets but he turned out to be clean (not that it wouldn't make a great plot twist). Of course all suspicion falls on Tabitha but I'll tell you this: she may seem to fit the bill but you'll be VERY surprised by who it really is. 
Anothing thing that never clicked was the whole story about the muggle reporter that's so sturbborn he finds his way unto the school grounds and such by GPS. You'd think that GPS wouldn't work because it would go haywire but it apparently doesn't work like that because the protective shield around Hogwarts rattles the mind and since that device has no brain to speak of it seems to be able to bypass the protective spells.Throughout most of the book I legitimately thought Tabitha had brought him in and he was there to expose the wizarding world so that they could all stand on equal footing. This is not the case. In fact lead to clearing up why Ralph was in Slytherin. It turns out he's not a muggle but a Dolohov (I'm sure all the HP fans know and hate this name but bear with me, he's not that bad) and his father was a squib, rejected by the familly from a very young age. I find it very wise that Lippert kept that name a secret until the very end because even I had a double-take when I saw it. 
Which brings us to Merlin. Very powerful, the actual Merlin from the stories, he apparently disapparated into nothingness, waiting for the right circumstances to be brought back to this world. When he does reapparate, it's a thousand years later and, in the beginning, he's the odd one out. He doesn't really understand how our world works but he seems to acclimate pretty quickly. He's described as a mountain, probably referring to the great power he holds, and goes around with a staff, part of which is Ralph's wand which makes him so brilliant at spellwork.
A few other things I didn't partcurlarly like in the book as well. For one James sucks on a broom. I mean seriously? He's a natural at football but he can't stay upright on his broom without hurtling to his death... Secondly there isn't enough MAAAAAAGIIIIIIIC in it. We may get a play by play of the most interesting technomancy classes but the one thing I loved about the original series was the great magical detail it contained. And finally, I want more of the original characters. We might get a glimpse of grown up Harry but we BARELY see Hermione or Ron on even George! and there's almost NO MENTION of Molly Weasly! I mean come on! That women is a pillar in the HP universe, you can't just prance around, writting up stories about it WITHOUT mentioning her!
All in all it's an amazing book that can easily be read in a few days. It's even great for the older folk out there because bringing HP back to life is like rekindling with an old childhood friend, both joyful and warming. And, of course, I'm quite confident  it would fascinate young readers to no end.