Harry Potter 7 to be Released on July 21st!

I was still bleary-eyed this morning when I was inundated by announcements about the seventh of seven books in the Harry Potter series. The final book's title had been released over the holidays in a puzzle on J.K. Rowling's website, leaving fans eager to know when they could get their hands on it. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is already available for pre-order on amazon.com. If you're anywhere near as excited as I am to get your hands on this book, pre-order and avoid long lines and sell-outs in June!

There will be lots of speculation today about how Rowling will end the series, but I hate spoilers. I'm all for the buzz, but I really don't want to know what happens until I get to the last page. I feel so strongly about this, that my husband lost his voice reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in an attempt to finish before we accidentally heard anything about the ending on the news.

What I'd like to talk about is how the Harry Potter series fits into spec fiction. Harry Potter is fantasy, one of the three major genres of SF. Rowling used some pretty conventional fantasy staples- fantastical creatures from Anglo-Saxon lore, magical spells in Latin, the idea of witches and wizards- and made something magical of them. She isn't the most original or inventive writer out there, her prose style isn't head and shoulders above the rest- but she sure does understand story. Rowling brought fun and adventure back to the mainstream perception of reading a book. That isn't the only key to her success. Her world building skill is absolutely head and shoulders above the rest. Think about it, wouldn't you love to take your next vacation at Hogwarts? The Harry Potter world is real to anyone who has read even one book in the series.

So, not only has Rowling captured a huge audience and been translated into at least 47 languages (I've even seen a copy in Latin), but she revived the spirit of storytelling. I have fond memories of sitting in rapt attention with my equally enthralled sister-in-law and mother-in-law while my husband read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) aloud. The Harry Potter books speak to the spirit of wonder in all of us, regardless of where or when we were born, or whether or not we're diehard SF fans. I think that's quite an accomplishment, and I can't wait for July 21st, so I can hear the rest of the story