Kill The Spare

Ok folks, this has taken a while, but I am finally ready to ramble about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  I know I finished rereading it a while ago, but you know...life and such.  If you need a synopsis go to the HP Lexicon and you will get all the details.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

This is my favorite HP book, it takes us into the wizarding world as a whole, and starts the end game in a most spectacular fashion.  We also get our first glimpse of just how far the author is willing to go for her story.  Let's go through the things that struck me the most.

Quidditch World Cup - So many things to love about this part of the book.  First off, it is the wizard version of the FIFA World Cup, which is a favorite of mine, so right off the bat I'm pretty happy.  I also really liked seeing people live their everyday lives in the wizarding world.  Having Harry stay at the Weasly's as they eat, clean, play and figure out basic things like how to get to the Quidditch World Cup with a bunch of kids takes the magic from the classroom to the everyday.  We also get to see that wizards are from all over the world, each with their own culture, dress, and ways of doing things. The game itself was wonderfully written and a prime example of why I love these books so much.  It could easily get muddled or boring, describing a bunch of people flying around on brooms and hitting balls, but Ms. Rowling shows us the whole thing from Harry's perspective, which is that of a first timer, just like the readers.  I could read this opening over and over and over...oh wait I have.

Tri-Wizard Tournament - There is a ton to love about the tournament, starting with our first glimpse of other schools.  Hermione makes a point that there obviously has to be more then one school of magic out there as their are thousands of wizards and at most Hogwarts graduates apx 40 kids a year, and that is assuming that they all pass.  Seeing the different way's the students are taught, how their enviroment and culture infulence their uniforms and attitudes is pretty neat.  The challanges are pretty cool, being varied in nature and once again showing us a bunch of things we have never seen before.  Each of the contestants comes at each challange in a different way, showing us that critical thinking plays a part in most magical dealings.  I do however feel bad for the rest of the students at all three schools.  Durmstrang and Beuxbatons both left the bulk of their students behind with some substitue headmaster, while the Hogswarts students have nothing to do all year except go to the three challanges spread through out the year...and the second two were not even visible to the audiance.

Hermione and the Boys - I love love love Hermione in this book (ok I love her in all the books, but seriously she is awesome in this one).  She shows everybody that while she may be super smart and practicle, she is also a girl, with feminine feelings and the ability to clean up pretty when she wants to.  This is one of those cases that adds a sense of reality to the books.  Hermione is around Ron and Harry so much, in the role of friend, researcher, homework nag, and awesome spell caster that the fact that she is also a teenage girl is totaly lost on them.  It takes a boy ( a kind of dumb boy) who has some distance and perspective to make them realize that yes in fact Hermione is a potential love intrest...or at least somebody to ask to a dance.  I like that Hermione deals with it partially in a grown-up, roll her eyes at the idocy of boys way, and also in a frustrated, tear filled, teenage girl way.  It is good to show that even our smarty mcsmarty pants has emotions, and that they are valid and in no way make her any less of an awesome person.

Ron and Harry - Ron and Harry have always had an interesting relationship.  They are mostly inseperable, teaming up when Malfoy gets out of hand, Divination homework is due, or Hermione gets a bit high and mighty for their taste.  It has to be hard on Ron though, already being the youngest boy in a very chaotic family, and then the best friend of the kid who everything seems to happen too.  When Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, I imagine Ron just lost it, I'm sure he was thing "of course Harry is going to be in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, why would he?  Everything happens to him, or is given to him, or is about him."  Of course Harry rarely goes searching for these things, and many times much angst and anguish accompany these "adventures", but I can see where it would be excruciating at times for Ron.  The fight in this book between the two of them is realistic and heartbreaking, and lets the reader explore some of the problems of being the percieved her and sidekick.

The Ending - So much happened in this book, but of course what most people talk about is the end.  Several BIG things happen in the last couple of chapters.  First of all the normal culmination of all the little tidbits that Ms. Rowling has sprinkled through out the book come to the awesome conclusion of Mad-Eye, Barty Crouch Jr.  and of course the return of HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED!  Second, they way that Voldemort came back was just...evil.  If we ever thought that maybe our resident Dark Lord was just misunderstood, these chapter's completely dispelled that notion.  The casual death of a young person, the brutal collecting of flesh and blood, the toying with his followers and then attempting to kill Harry (which would be a second dead kid in a short span) all show us just how bad this bad guy is.  The ending leaves us with a sense of dread and foreboding, knowing that it can only get worse.

The Film - The movie version of this book is a bit dissapointing.  I know it is mostley because the book is stuffed full to bursting with all kinds of awesomeness that just does not translate to the screen...but still.  They cut out a lot of characters, Dobby does not even make an apperance, despite his pivotal role in the second challange.  The movie feels rushed and bit like they were catering to what they thought the audiance wants, rather then what the book was doing.  The change to make the two schools all male and all female seemed odd to me as that was not in the book, skipping the whole Duddly and the Ten-Tounge Toffee bit was sad, Dobby missing is never good and...well there was just a bunch of stuff that made me go blah.  The visuals were stunning as always, and I could watch the under the lake challange several times over.  Danial Radcliff , still does a great look of wonder when encountering new magic that makes me smile every time I see it.  The interaction between the three friends is still wonderful on screen, and the kid who played Victor Krum was quit tasty.  Overall the movie was ok, but the book was much better.

I love rereading this book, there is so much to it and it gets the second half of the series off to a rousing start.  When I think of this series, this is the book that usually comes to mind.  It is the perfect mix of a school age adventure, growing up, and how events in the world will always play a role in a persons life, regardless of their age.  I give this book 9 out of ten Hungarian Horntails.

What was your favorite part of this book?  Were you dissapointed in the movie, or do you undertand that it can't be 10 hours long?  How bad do you wish you had the ability to turn certain people into ferrets?

Wizard Detective

Hello All!  Did you get some good reading time in this weekend?  My life finally calmed down to less then hurricane style madness for a wee bit, so I got some great book time in.  I also got some time to sit down and ramble about a couple of books I have finally finished.  Today is a rambling about a book I kept forgetting I had, and then kept forgetting that I finished it.  The book is Storm Front, the first in the Harry Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.  I have read several short stories featuring Mr. Dresden and thought I would give the full length version a go.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Harry Dresden is an openly practicing wizard in Chicago Illinois.  He uses his magic skills as a Private Investigator and sometimes consult for the Chicago PD.  In this first book his private case and his consulting PD case come together in a bloody, buggy mess of awesome.  On the private side, Harry is hired to find the missing husband of Mrs. Sells.  He had started dabbling in magic so Harry was the go to guy for a case like this.  Meanwhile Karrin Murphey of the Chicago PD calls Harry in on a scene of gruesomeness that could have only been committed by magic.  The bodies have had their hearts ripped out from the inside and can only have been accomplished through very powerful magic.  This makes Harry a bit nervous as he is essentially on probation with the White Council, a governing body meant to keep magic users in line.  After an encounter with a mistress vampire, grappling with giant scorpions, mixing spells with the help of a talking skull, screwing up a couple of dates and bribing a fairy with pizza, our detective wizard realizes that his two cases are related.  A couple of gory deaths later, Harry discovers that the missing husband is actually an amature wizard who has learned to harness the power of storms to boost his own magical ability.  He is using this power to distribute ThreeEye, a mind altering drug, and to disrupt the street trade of local gangster Johnny Marcone.  Harry battles Victor Sells and his assorted demon monsters, killing the amature wizard in the process.  The case is solved and Harry is absolved of his previous issues, unfortunately this all comes at the cost of a couple of friendships.  Harry Dresden is now ready to solve more crimes in more books.

I actually really liked this book, it had a great mix of old school, hard boiled detective novel, and some good wizard vs wizard magic.  The author did a really good job combing these two genre's, keeping everything balanced through out the story.  Harry Dresden comes across as a classic private investigator complete with the witty quips and his own way of doing things.  He is also a bit of a scholar, really understanding his magic and the need to study and practice to perfect it, in fact this comes into play in a very big way in the story.  The other characters are a bit stock, but fairly believable.  My favorite characters are probably Murphy, who is actually a believable PD character.  Her job puts her in a precarious position, one that forces her to believe in magic and utilize people like Harry to help her, while at the same time keeping the law and dealing with her fellow officers.  The trust that is broken between Harry and Murphy, while necessary, was a very realistic issue that would come up in these situations.  The fact that Murphy does not automatically forgive Harry, even after the case is solved, actually made me very happy.  My favorite part of the whole book had to be the spirit that lives in a skull in Harry's basement.  He is snappy, horny, funny and I love him.  He helps Harry with his spells (which are done in a really cool way) and has a ton of knowledge that he has no problem using to get what he wants.  Overall the book was enjoyable and I will probably pick up the next book in the series at some point.  If you like urban fantasy or detective novels, this would be a great book for you.  I give it 7 out of 10 wise cracking skulls.

What do you think of mixing genre's?  What is your favorite type of mystery?   Where would you keep your horny, spirit infested skull?

You're A Wizard Harry

Who here has not wanted to hear those three little words "You're a wizard", I know ever since reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher (Sorcerers)Stone (now known as PS) that I am convinced that my letter got lost in the Owl Post somewhere.  If that last sentence made any sense whatsoever then you are in the right place.  That is right people today is the first post in my Harry Potter (HP) re-read!  This will be a bit different from my usual ramblings because I am not gonna sum up the book, mostly because the few people who have not seen it, watched the movie, played the games, or visited the theme park can get the complete plot from one of the zillions of sites dedicated to the HP phenomenon.   That being said as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

First off here is a list of things I did for the PS reread.
Read the book by J.K. Rowling (It is only called the Sorcerers Stone in the US)
Watched the movie
Played the Book 1 Level on Lego Harry Potter
Went through the first book on Pottermore

All of this combined with rehashing it with my siblings, parents, Hubbin and anybody who would listen to me made for a great experience.  And now for some completely random thoughts on this book.  This is the book that made me give up my snobbish "well I don't read books just because everybody else is reading them" attitude.  I was house sitting and had run out of books (I know sounds like the start of a horror film) and picked up PS because it was there.  I remember starting on the first pages, not really expecting a whole lot and finding myself looking up and hour later realizing that it was now dark.  I promptly made myself a cup of coffee, canceled all non-essential plans and classes (this was during my college days) and tried to figure out if I could afford to call in sick to work.  This book completely drew me in.  This was my start to my great HP adventure that would grow to consume my whole family, and later my Hubbin.
I think even though this is not my absolute favorite book in the series (that would be Goblet of Fire), but I loved how it introduced this whole entire world to us, through a person who knew even less then we did.  The idea that we can exist along side all of this wonderful magic, and to watch Harry's joy and confusion (which let's be honest, we would all be feeling if we got taken to this world) really hit home with me.  I loved how everything was introduced in a practical way, and that most magic seems to have some type of purpose.  On the flip side I also love how certain wizards had a fascination with Muggle (best descriptive word ever) technology, even referring to it as magic of its own kind, reminding us that magic is all a mater of perception and while we may not be wizards, we all have our own brand of magic too. This is one of those books where you live in the world that was created, long after you have closed the covers on the pages.  This to me is the ultimate test of a good book/story.
This gets me to the other thing I love about this book.  We are not introduced to the top tier group as our guides to this madness.  We have a boy who has been

neglected and downtrodden with little to no self-esteem who is more clueless then the reader is as our hero.  Our sidekicks (though I would argue by the end of the book we end up with more hero's then sidekicks) consist of a lower middle class boy who has either perfect brothers, or class clown brothers to live up to, no easy going for our favorite red-headed best friend Ron.  He is constantly trying to stand out as outstanding at something,  yet finding it difficult to even maintain good enough.  Hermione is every kids worst nightmare, the know it all, who is not only extremely proficient at magic, but being Muggle born knows the other world as well.  Unfortunately socialization is not her strong suite, and she isn't even all that pretty (which is a smart girls saving grace in most books, ugh eyeroll).  Add to this the clumsiest boy who may have ever survived his fifth birthday (aw I love my Neville) and our guides to the wizarding world are far from perfect.  It is this humaness, these kids who react just like normal 12 year olds would react, regardless of them going to a school for magic, or a boarding school, or a public school.  The magic aspect is just one more facet to these all too human kids.

Ok moving on to some other media.  I love the movie.  The casting was sublime (seriously Maggie Smith AND Alan Rickman my life is complete) and this is what made the movie for me.  I had read the book at least twice before the first movie came out and I was very anxious because this world and especially the characters had become a major part of my life (if you were wondering just how geeky I am I think that last sentence probably summed it up nicely).  There were a few castings that did not 100% what I had in my (Mr. Weasly and Professor Quirrell being two) but on the

whole I was astounded how closely the actors matched what I saw in my head.  Of course after the first movie I had visuals in my head for all the books going forward, which usually irritates me, but since they matched so well, I could deal with it.  The trio (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson) not only pulled of there characters wonderfully, but you could see the actual growing of a friendship that is the basis for the rest of the series.  This movie very much set the tone as far as visuals and music went so very beautiful.  I think you could tell that the author had a hand in the movie, because a lot of what made the book successful was also put into the film, you know the little things like tapping the brick, and Quirrell twitching and stammering, and even the owl that distracts Dumbledore.  You can never replace the book, but I thought this is one of the best adaptions of a book I have ever seen.  I think of all the HP movies this is my favorite, just because it is that first real glimpse of magic and awesomeness, and after it is more like returning home then it is so wondrous.

Playing the Lego Harry Potter games makes me very very very happy.  They are funny, interesting and add one more dimension to the HP universe.  My favorite things about the Lego games is that they are geared for the younger crowd so some of the more scary elements are comiced up (that is a word I promise). For instance, when they go into the woods, instead of a dead unicorn, they find a sleeping unicorn in Hagrids hut and he is helping it.  You play little episodes so it is less of a full blown story and more like vignettes.  You also get to explore a lot of places.  In the first book you see Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, The Forbidden Forest and the Quidditch Pitch.  All in all a humorous non-frustrating way to get a little HP time.

Pottermore has improved greatly from when it first launched.  It used to be kind of clunky and a wee bit confusing, but the new interface is very nice.  It still has a few glitches, and we are still missing the last three books, but they have been steadily adding to the site.  This is a great place to hang out with other HP fans and get your own Hogwarts experience.  In the first book you get to go get your wand, school supplies and get sorted into your house (I'm a Slytherin).  The artwork is gorgeous and there is a ton of extra tidbits the author has thrown in, background about certain characters, where she got some ideas, the books and myths she used in her stories.  Totally worth checking out.

Whew, you sick of my undying HP love yet?  In case you haven't figured it out.  This first book in this magical series makes me so very very happy.  The budding friendships, the first innocent look at magic before we are terrorized by the evil, the shiny newness of this world that is so different and yet so familiar. There is so much to love about this book, and I agree with the people who have declared it a classic, it sits next to my Narnia's and Lord of the Rings books on my favorites classic shelf at home.  Ok I will quit gushing now so I can go start on the next book!
Here are a few other great Harry Potter obsession sites for you to check out while reading this series.
Mark Reads Harry Potter- Follow along chapter by chapter as a guy reads HP for the first time, it is like reading it for the first time all over again, very cool and since he goes chapter by chapter you can follow along if you like.
The Harry Potter Lexicon-Pretty much the wiki of HP, a great place to look up your favorite spells, or get a handle on all of the characters.  Also great for those tricky British words for us 'Mercans.
The Leaky Cauldron-Your place for EVERYTHING HP, books, movies, games, park, news, chit-chat, debates, even issues of the Quibbler.
What is your favorite part about this first book?  How innocent do they all seem?  What part of the wizarding world would most like to visit? How much convincing would it take for me to get my husband to buy me compete sets of every cover of these books?  How geeky am I?

The Great Harry Potter ReRead

Hello All, I am embarking on an ambitious journey.  A journey that will lead me from the depths of a lake to the peak of a turret in a castle called Hogwarts.  That's right boys and girls it is time for the GREAT HARRY POTTER REREAD!  This will be unique because not only am I going to read the books by J.K. Rowling, but I am going to watch the movies, play the games, go through Pottermore and find all the online resources that make this little geeks heart smile.

These ramblings will be different then most of the ones I do, I will probably not be rehashing the plot in the agonizing detail that I usually do for two reasons.  One I'm pretty sure most people have read them already, and two there are a zillion places to get the full plot of each and every book along with mind boggling analysis on every conceivable detail.  My ramblings will mostly be of a personal nature, what I liked, what I loved, what I didn't do it for me so on so forth.  I will also ramble about the movies, games and any other places I stumble upon that provide me with Harry Potter entertainment.
I will be starting with Harry Potter and the Philosophers (Sorcerers) Stone this week, and will be watching the movie at some point before I start the next book.  If you all want to read/watch/play along I will be giving periodic updates as to when I will be doing my ramblings.  Hopefully you will all enjoy the Harry Potter overload and not become to disturbed at my super duper geeky side.  Happy Reading Everybody!