[Nelebh]

First: hello to everyone! And after reading through the entire thread, I'll reply to some of you. This may be a bit large,

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I thought JKR swore she was never going to allow any future stories set in the Harry Potter world?

I thought that too. Not sure where it did come that idea, but I was sure Rowling had swear off writing anymore Potter's books, as in these lines. But looking it up now [1][2] AnemicOak is right, she was careful to let open a possibility, she didn't say categorically no, I won't write anymore about Harry. I was under that impression though.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Somewhat tangential to this, I've been reading a bit of Harry Potter fanfiction recently, and the only thing more alarming than Dumbledore's tendency to be evil is the fact that, when reconsidering the books, it actually makes a fair bit of sense.

Discovering that Dumbledore was less than the all-great, always right mage, pretty much shocked me when I was reading the seventh book. After six books, the change was dramatic, even more so with he dying. But I enjoyed it, because it made him more complex than simply a paternal figure that was always protecting Harry.

But in retrospective, I can also see the tendecy: he marked a high goal, which was to destroy Voldemort at all cost, and he did everything he thought that would work to achieve it. I was sure of this when Harry discovered that he was in part an Horrocrux just before his final duel with Voldemort. Dumbledore purposelly hide that little tidbit from the very first beginning, in hope to make Harry an ally and gain his sympathy and loyalty before he discovered the full truth. He might have hope that Harry didn't have to die in the end, but he was only concerned with making sure his greatest tool was onboard with the plan. And there were other things too: the fact that he didn't prepare Harry to fight against Voldemort, not really. Dumbledore was, if no anything more, a very clever person, why he didn't prepare Harry in advanced magic attacks and defense from the very beginning, or at least after her first encounter with Voldemort in the Philosophal's Stone? He didn't care. He send him instead to his uncles, again and again. But he did make sure that Harry was well-liked an connected, because in the end, he might die on a duel with Voldemort, but if others liked and respected Harry, they would at least try to avenge him. Or the other things: he didn't tell him about Grindewald, or about the Deathly Hallows.

Originally Posted by issybird

I don't have a horse in this race, especially since I thought Deathly Hallows was so poorly conceived and executed that it ruined the franchise for me forever [...]

I do and did have a problem with the 2 final books. Both the Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows introduce a ton of things that aren't told or even mentioned in passing in the other books. Is like the first books were all about entertaiment and creating a good tale, but without major changes (at the end of the fifth, Harry goes again with the Dursleys, didn't he?) Even with Voldemort supposedly gaining power again.

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I've been able to enjoy the books and remain completely ignorant of any ancillary, extra-canonical details from the author for many years.

I didn't and I don't usually go searching for answers beyond what's written on a book, as DiapDealer says. If the author does something I don't like I simply accept it and try to go on (sometimes it's hard when it's a stupid move in your opinion, but what can you do, really?), or if it's too bad a change for me, I don't continue reading anymore. I don't go looking for excuses. If the author writes something, that's it. It's not as if an story has a life for itself and the author doesn't make all the decisions. Trying to change something after it's done is useless.

That's all the major topics I wanted to discuss, I think. Sorry for the so long post. That said, I'm eager to read the new eight book. If anything, it will be interesting to revisit the Harry Potter's world after all these years. I was a teen when I first read the books, but being an adult now hasn't cure me of the soft spot I had for Harry. It was the first series I remember reading by myself, and I haven't stopped reading since them. It's classic amongs the classics.