2/5 stars
803 pages (in ebook format)
source: sequel to James Potter and the Curse of the GateKeeper
The story:
Follow James and Albus along with the Potter family and friends on their adventures in America.
(Sadly that's all they'll give on goodreads...)
My thoughts?
From my point of view, this book strayed so far from its original intent that it disappointed me. The only reason it can be called fan-fic was because its main characters were in the original HP series.
- The universe changed, instead of taking place in England, they're whisked off to Alma Aleron in good ol' USA, which is nice but The States? Really?
- The nature of magic changed. Lippert wants to explain most aspects of it. Gone are the days where magic was just there and it was mysterious and untouchable to us, mere muggles.
- The whole book veers towards the sci-fi genre. When I approached it, I had magic and mystery in my frame of mind. If I wanted to learn about the different dimensions and how to access them, I would've picked up some scientific paper, not this book.
- The accents and the whole 'American thing'. During most of the book, Lippert is running after his American characters, searching to justify every last stereotype. I've never stayed in America myself for more than a couple weeks at time, but it can't be all that bad. I mean when American films paints us Europeans as posh and, sometimes, utterly ridiculous, we don't feel the need to justify ourselves.
Also, straying from my purpose that it doesn't fit the HP bill, I didn't like the romance in this story. I don't think I've ever said that about a book before... In the second book James spends his year longing for Petra's love but its still superficial. I don't know if the author implies something happening during the summer Petra stayed with James' family, but for a simple crush to turn into a love so strong it rivals that of Lilly towards Harry seems a little far fetched to me. Not to mention the fact that the age difference is a little disarming. She's an adult and he's only 14... And what's this about a budding romance between Lucy and James? I know they're not relate by blood but she's been his cousin since they were both very young Am I the only one who finds this outside her comfort zone...? And, even if that's the case, was it really necessary to have it end that way?
And, I believe this is the only book I've read who managed to take modern day magic and a world like HP's and revive the Arthurian legend all the while sprinkling it with elements belonging to the sci-fi genre. That takes talent but its not what I would've liked for this kind of book. And even then I can't decide. He goes through all this trouble to bring Morgan, Morgan Le Fey, Isabella, who plays a side role in the original Legend, and Judith, The Lady of the Lake and Merlin's supposed former lover, into the game only to kill off, or at least temporarily remove, one of the Legend's main characters...
Finally what about the whole evil professor guy? It was too easy. Most of the book amounts to that moment and you ask yourself: what happened to him? did he actually flee to another dimension? did he die trying to get there? is he still alive and is waiting for the right time to come back and reign chaos on our world? But no. Instead he dies rather mundanely. Picture this: the big bad wolf is stalking your way and he has a huge thunderstorm going on all around him, murder shines through his eyes, he's so evil people cringe away from him, his mind is truly twisted ANDDDD suddenly he's gone because someone put a hole through his heart. Leaves a bitter taste doesn't it? Well now you know how I felt.
Of course, like most books, it wasn't all bad.
- Three words: Winged. Sea. Serpent. How awesome is that? I swear the boat trip in the very beginning must have been, by far, the best part of the book. Including a trip through the last of the great underwater cities had me flying off to the mythical city of Atlantis, crown jewel among ancient cities.
- I also like the clever reference to the first owners of New York City, the Dutch, and how their original city is the Big Apple's magical twin. As well as the Statue of Liberty being the source of the spell that hides one city from the other.
- The zombie house rocks. And so does the FREAKING ZOMBIE PROFESSOR. The only things missing were a bunch of real werewolves and you'd have the perfect set for a horror movie right there!
- I also appreciated the play on words, even if it was unintentional. You see, Baruti in Greek means gunpowder. I don't know if that somehow fits into the story but it amused me to have a potions' master named after gunpowder. Also the Magical Integration Bureau, when shortened, becomes MIB, which we all know means Men In Black. Again, I have no idea whether this was intentional or not, but it's funny to think if how he makes magicians appear alien to the muggles who work there.
- After two books wait, we finally get some real flying talent! The concept of flat brooms you stand on and use like you would a hover board is awesome, even if it brings it close to sci-fi. Although I have to object to Clutch, the sport. I don't like it. It's too complicated and it looks just like a magical version of American Football (or egghand, as I like to call it) which put me off. But the hover boards are still awesome.
- And, to complete the sport, Lippert resurrected-wait for it-OLIVER WOOD! I was so excited when I found out about him BUT, again, came to be slightly disappointed by how he turned out. He's nothing like the Wood back at good old Hoggies. This one lacks the passion, the fierceness that made his previous version totally awesome. The guy who would do pretty much anything to win, as long as it was within the rules, is reduced to a shadow of himself since he wants to 'play a clean game' and win by skill alone in a game WHERE MAGIC IS ENCOURAGED! It's kind of sad...
But anyway, moving on, this third instalment also left me with a fair amount of questions. Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, for one. I can't decide if that couple is good or not. I love them both but as a couple? Not so sure
Also what's up with this world between worlds thing? Isn't that where the Gatekeeper supposedly lives?
What's up with this whole three Fates thing? That part has me baffled. The three Fates are represented as mother and two daughters? Old lost love of the greatest sorcerer on earth? A mixture of both? And what's their role in the whole thing? They cause chaos beyond measure and yet they don't really fit into any sort of master plan. What I meant to say is the book would have worked perfectly without the interference of The Fates. And what's this about magic revealed and stuff? I mean, WHY?! Sure the whole series is centred around a similar threat but was revealing magic really the best way to go out with a bang?
Of course this is my POV, one among the many that exist out there, so no need to take what I say for granted. I mean looking at it from a different angle, this would would've been great, had it stood alone. But what with it's ties to the previous books and the Harry Potter series, it didn't fit my bill of what fan-fic should be like.
All in all, it wasn't a bad read, it was easy to get through and I do recommend it if you have nothing else lying around.
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