New Harry Potter Book Coming Summer '16!

It's been nearly a decade since J. K. Rowling published Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, but the Potter hype has never quite ended. The series has captivated millions of minds worldwide, whether through Rowling's books themselves or the Warner Brothers cinematic adaptations, and everyone has been asking the same question: when will the next chapter in Harry Potter's life be revealed.

The answer was given in 2015 when Rowling announced that she had developed a screenplay called Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, which describes Harry's life as an official for the Ministry of Magic seventeen years after the events of the last book. Excitement for the play was high and, obviously, it sold out in record time. This left millions of Harry Potter fans tasting bitter disappointment, but Rowling has just announced that she will be releasing the play's script as a book on 31st July 2016 after countless appeals! Her agents have confirmed that the play will be released in novel and ebook formats that will hopefully lead to more Potter novels!

Series Review: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

OVERALL RATING: FIVE STARS
AWARD: SHELF OF FAME

Harry Potter is just an ordinary boy, albeit a rather downtrodden one. After his parents were killed in a car accident while he was just a baby, he was sent to live with the Dursleys.' His uncle likes to think Harry doesn't exist, his aunty ignores him and the only attention his cousin, Dudley, gives him is to criticise or bully. Harry can't foresee his life getting better any time soon and was as surprised as any of his family when a letter arrives, addressed to Harry's cupboard under the stairs. It was a letter that changes everything and Harry learns that he is not an ordinary boy afterall. He is a wizard--just like his parents before him--and has been offered a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry!

Harry's life takes a dramatic change and he finds himself in a world where the magical and fantastic are mundane. He takes classes for transfiguration and potions, defence against the Dark Arts and charms. He learns how to fly on a broomstick and has the freedom of living in a boarding school. But, best of all, he has friends. It is not long before Harry meets Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, two fellow students that would fight at his side. For not all is at it seems at Hogwarts and Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived. Lord Voldemort is neither gone nor defeated and many of his old supporters escaped the wizard prison of Azkaban after the first war against He Who Must Not Be Named. Voldemort is determined to return to his full power and knows that Harry is the key to his success.

Plots circle Hogwarts like the tightening of a noose and every year sees Harry face perils that even a fully trained wizard or witch should not face. He learns courage and defiance in the face of evil as the gruesome truth of his parents murders come to light. But most of all, he learns that there is power in love and strength in the true, unwavering friendship of loyalty . . .

Book 1: Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone
Book 2: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets
Book 3: Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
Book 4: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
Book 5: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
Book 6: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
Book 7: Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

The Good
The Harry Potter series needs little introduction and the fact that the franchise is one of the most successful children's series in history speaks for the quality of J. K. Rowling's work. Rowling writes each book with a vivid, fast-paced style that makes their reading effortless. She has managed to perfect the balance of events, dialogue and description, allowing her to produce a detailed, vibrant world to back-set her stories. I fell in love with the Harry Potter books ever since I began reading The Philosopher's Stone as a child, but I don't think this has biased my opinion of them in any way. They are unbelievably enjoyable to read and I did not become bored a single time! In fact, I read The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban within three days when I re-read the series last year!

One of the reasons the books are so good has to be due to Rowling's flair for characterisation. She has an uncanny ability to make her character's come alive and each one is completely unique. Furthermore, each character reads like a real person, where they have their own thoughts, personality, personal issues and motivation for their beliefs and actions. This helps the whole story seem more real somehow and really makes it easy to engage with the characters. I found I was invested in them and genuinely worried about them at that time when the books were still being released and nobody had any idea what would happen!

Rowling's whole concept of a secret magical world living alongside us 'Muggles' is also extremely well thought-out and she has invested a lot of time in developing their own culture, ways of doing things (including keeping the existence of magic and fantastic beasts secret) and how their society works. The locations of her story, such as Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, have all been beautifully described which forms a solid foundation for the story. As well as this, Rowling has also constructed a very plausible ethos of magic that involves spells and potions. Many authors get carried away with magic and the power a person can have in their books, which isn't always a bad thing in all fairness, but Rowling's limitations on magic and the way it's performed makes it much more believable than it usually is. This basically forms the keystone of the story, one which helped me become truly immersed in the story. It's also clever how most of the spells that are used have their roots in Latin, which provides a very old and very real link back to our rather mundane world.

The last thing that makes the Harry Potter books truly great is the story itself. Each of the books has been beautiful written and is exciting and fast-paced. They are very difficult to put down and are an easy way to kill hours of time. The overall story arc is also fantastic and I really liked how it's simply a battle between good and evil. Obviously, Voldemort and his followers are agents of control and order, believing in the purity of the magic in very old families. Harry and those like him, believe in freedom and the right for anyone to live freely and without fear of persecution. This means that the books carry very powerful messages, such as the power of love and the value of loyalty and friendship. This concept is nothing new, but I think it adds weight to the story and Rowling has written the story extremely well to make sure the books contain powerful messages for children.

The Bad
To be honest, this heading is only here because of my format for reviews. There was nothing I didn't like about the Harry Potter books and they truly are masterpieces of the fantasy genre, being enjoyable for children and adults alike. They're exciting, well executed and show us a world that we've all secretly wished we were part of at one time or another.

My Thoughts
Overall then, the Harry Potter series is a stunning example of what fantasy can be when it's done well. J. K. Rowling has created a rich, detailed world that is in dire trouble. Her protagonists are relatable and plausible, helping to produce an exciting story that's difficult to put down. If you haven't read the Harry Potter books and are only familiar with the films, you really need to. These are books that have captured the imaginations of an entire generation and will probably be moulding minds for generations to come. Each one of these seven books is truly worthy of their place on my Shelf of Fame and I expect I'll re-read them again and again throughout my life.

H10N1 - M. R. Cornelius

RATING: THREE STARS

The world has been thrown into disarray by a coordinated terrorist attack that unleashed the deadly Korean Influenza virus, H10N1, across the globe. Not even the terrorists could have predicted just how destructive the virus would be and humans have been all but eradicated. There are just a few thousand left across the world and civilisation has ended. There are no workers to produce new foods, medicines and electricity. The lucky survivors are fighting for whatever is left, desperate for help from the scant few hospitals that are still able to provide it.

Dr. Taeya Sanchez is one such medic and works in one of America's last remaining hospitals. The staff there are overworked and the only way they are able to help their patients is through assisted suicide, making the pain of H10N1 disappear forever. When Taeya finally has enough and speaks out against the new regime, she is forced to flee her sanctuary at the hospital. She is plunged into a brave new world that is ruled by the gun, surviving only because of the help of an unlikely alliance with a defecting supply gather, Rick DeAngelo.

The Good
M. R. Cornelius has done a fair job with this story and both of the main protagonists are interesting, telling the story from different mindsets. They quickly form a love-hate relationship which Cornelius develops throughout the book as their friendship turns into something more, despite both of them not really wanting it to and disbelieving that the other likes them in a romantic way.

The story itself is also exciting, with lots of action and surprise events, but Cornelius has stayed away from the traditional viewpoints of post-apocalyptic worlds. The book isn't all about violence and people fighting for resources, which features in the book only as pivotal events. Instead, the book is more of a journey of self-redemption, love and survival, which is nicely refreshing.

The Bad
Sadly, some of the characters in H10N1 are a bit bland and stereotypical. Some of them are villains for no real reason and do things which don't actually benefit anyone, even the antagonist themselves. This does make the book slightly implausible at times and, as a reader, I just had to suspend my disbelief and roll with it.

Cornelius' prose it also lacking in description and focuses more on events and dialogue. This does help keep the story moving at quite a fast pace, but it's difficult to imagine the world around the characters some of the time and he often uses generic description to set the scene, such as 'cars pulling up in a forest.'

My Thoughts
Overall though, H10N1 was an interesting read and I enjoyed it. It was more of a story about love and redemption than a grisly post-apocalyptic horror of murder and violence and M. R. Cornelius has a few nice ideas about what living in such a world would be like.

The Phoenix Darkness - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: FOUR STARS

The Empire is still in disarray and wanting for a legitimate monarch. Princess Kalila, scion of House Akira, is desperate to reclaim her father's throne and birthright from the usurper Caewyn Martel. The two have already clashed in a devastating battle that halved their fleets and destroyed the Apollo Shipyards - a resource that will be sorely missed in the impending war. For war is coming and the Rotham are mobilising their fleet outside of the Demilitarised Zone. Their ships are being called for one reason: the invasion and occupation of human space.

Calvin Cross is the sole provider of this information, having ventured deep into Rotham space with a small handful of his crew. His mission is dangerous and the warships he scans are not without scanners and he had a Rotham spy in his midst, whose loyalties are ambiguous at best . . . Calvin desperately wants the Nighthawk for this mission, but his ship has been entrusted to Summers. Summers, who must find and destroy the last of the isotome weapons before they can be brought to bear against humankind and its space.

The Good
Richard L. Sanders had written yet another story that is full of twists and turns, The book is exciting and difficult to predict with the sheer number of people trying to create the universe they desire through chicanery and deceit. This means that the story is fast-paced and it gets going straight away, maintaining tension and uncertainty throughout.

The Bad
Once again, Sanders' writing is sadly lacking in description and this did detract from my enjoyment of the book slightly. The Phoenix Darkness is full of novel warships and a whole host of different worlds and environments, yet none of them have been described so there's little guidance for their visualisation. It's a shame really because it means his writing is quite 'stripped down' and predominantly focuses on events. The same is true for his characters and alien races; except for a few vague descriptions here and there, Sanders largely glosses over what they look like.

Another issue with the book is the use of words like should've and hasn't in its prose. Although this isn't a major issue and doesn't really detract from the story, it just doesn't look professional and is a constant (and unnecessary reminder) that the novel is self-published.

My Thought
Overall though, The Phoenix Darkness is pretty good and makes for an exciting and enjoyable read. It's a great instalment to The Phoenix Conspiracy series as a whole and I had a lot of fun with it! It's part of what is one of my favourite science fiction series at the moment and Sanders remains one of my favourite indie authors! I would definitely recommend this book (and series) to anyone who is looking for a sci fi series of action and subterfuge!

Let's Drown Out on 'The Eye of Argon'

One of my friends has just introduced me to a fantasy novel called The Eye of Argon by Jim Theis. Surprisingly, this isn't because the book is a fantastic must-read and the recommendation was actually because the novella was so bad! While I genuinely don't like criticising an author's work, The Eye of Argon is widely considered to be the worst novella ever written and (quite simply), is hilarious to read. I'm not exaggerating when I say that every word the author has used is an adjective and he's basically strung a story together using a theasaurus and terrible fantasy names.

I doubt I'll ever read the actual book per se, but Let's Drown Out have a hilarious video on YouTube where they try to read Theis' work without laughing! It's much funnier than it sounds and is definitely worth checking out!

The Fellowship of the Ring - J. R. R. Tolkien

RATING: FOUR STARS

When young Frodo Baggins inherits Bag End and a strange ring of invisibility from Bilbo, his eccentric uncle, he pays no mind to it and settles down for the quiet life of a respectable hobbit. Little does he know the significance of the ring and that his possession of it will lead to a dark and arduous adventure. For the ring is none other than the Ring of Power itself and the dark lord Sauron has returned to Middle Earth. His thought is bent on finding the Ring and his only lead as to its whereabouts comes from the creature Gollum. Searching for 'Baggins' in the 'Shire,' Sauron's Ringwraiths speed from Minas Morgal to seize it for their master.

Frodo is forced to flee his home in the Shire and is determined to bring the Ruling Ring before Elrond in Rivendell as Gandalf the Grey instructed. Yet even delivering the Ring to a sanctuary deemed safe is not enough and Frodo is the only one the quarrelling Free Races trust to carry it forth and forever destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. Frodo becomes one of the Nine Walkers to oppose the Nine Riders and, with the help of Aragorn, Gandalf, Boromir, Legolas, Gimili, Merry, Pippin and Sam, means to end Sauron forever.

The Good
So where do I start here?! The Lord of the Rings is still one of the finest works of fantasy ever written and it has a depth to it that has inspired an entire genre. J. R. R. Tolkien is the grandfather of fantasy and The Fellowship of the Ring is a reflection of that. The mythology behind it, the cultures of the races, the history of Middle Earth... The scope of all of these things is staggering and no other author has come close to it as of yet. This book has inspired every generation since it was published, which speaks for the story's enduring quality! It is superbly written and is filled with detail and back-stories that an avid fan can literally lose months of their life reading about.

Furthermore, it's exciting and full of peril. The quest to destroy the Ring truly "stands upon the edge of a knife" and the Fellowship has to give everything of itself for the quest to succeed. I'm sure most people have seen Peter Jackson's stunning film, so I don't really need to go into the plot and characters too much - you all know what it's about!

The Bad
Criticising The Fellowship of the Ring feels like blasphemy, but, to be brutally honest, it was written in a time where authors emphasised description over dialogue and events. The book is quite dry in places and doesn't make for the easiest, page-turning read. In fact, Tolkien spends the first part of the book constructing a very detailed backstory which can get a little stale at times.

My Thoughts
The Fellowship of the Ring is a little dry and over-descriptive at times, but don't let that put you off reading it. It's worth every dry page and the scope of Tolkien's story is simply mind blowing. It really is like you're reading a story from a real world, with a long established history, and the fact that it has birthed the entire genre is evidence enough of its mastery. It's more than worthy of its place on my Shelf of Fame and is a must read for anyone who has only seen the film.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling

RATING: FIVE STARS

Dumbledore has fallen and the Order of the Phoenix has all but broken. None other than the treacherous Death Eater, Severus Snape, is now the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry and Harry Potter knows that his life will be forfeit if he should return to study there. Even if that was not the case, he knows that he has something much more important to do than continue with his magical education: Dumbledore entrusted him with what is perhaps the most important task of the age and, along with his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must find and destroy each of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry is the Boy Who Lived and fate has prophesied that he must face Voldemort, for neither can live while the other survives.

Harry's task borders on the impossible and he's forced to become a fugitive on the run from Voldemort's Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic, which the Dark Lord now controls. His life becomes challenging and full of danger, but Harry knows that he must face the adversity before him with a stout heart if he is to defeat Voldemort and finally put an end to his subjugation and terror campaign.

The Good
The Deathly Hallows is an interesting, exciting book that is certainly unique among the Harry Potter series. This is largely because Harry doesn't actually return to Hogwarts this year and most of the book involves his roaming of the British countryside. That being said, the book isn't boring in the slightest and it's as exciting as any of its predecessors, maybe even more so!

J. K. Rowling has proven her unparalleled ability to bring her characters to life once again and they are as real and engaging as ever. As well as adding to the scope and enjoyment of the story, this makes the inevitable deaths in the war against Voldemort all that more tragic and it's extremely difficult to read about the passing of characters that I kind of regard as actual friends!

I also particularly liked Rowling's epilogue, where she describes Harry and his wife, Ginny Weasley, dropping their children off at Platform Nine and Three Quarters so they can board the Hogwarts Express. This provides a nice little tease for what happens after the story and it's nice to know that even after all of the pain and death in the series as a whole, there is a happy ending at the end of it. I also like the way this scene continues the story forward via the new generation of students at Hogwarts and leaves room for the imagination to delve into what is happening at the school and what it would be like to study there yourself (which I think is one thing we've all secretly done and probably has a role in the series enormous success). It's also nice how Rowling doesn't actually say what Harry did after he defeated Lord Voldemort, leaving this open to the reader's interpretation. I like to think that Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts was so disrupted that he--along with his friends and the other students that were forced to flee the school for their lives--were allowed back to complete their education (where Professor Mcgonagall is the new headmistress), finally having a year of peace where evil doesn't rear its dark head. Once Harry graduated Hogwarts with his N.E.W.T.s, I've always liked the idea that he's so sick of fighting and war he sets aside his ambitions to be an auror in favour of the coveted life of a professional Quidditch player. Once his sporting career invariably wound down, I like to imagine Harry becoming the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, working in Hogwarts alongside his friend Neville Longbottom. Obviously, this is just how I like to imagine 'what comes after' and everyone will have their own ideas!

The Bad
Once again, Rowling's storytelling is excellent and The Deathly Hallows is the perfect ending to an outstanding series of fantasy and adventure that highlights the importance of friendship and love! I have just one fault with the book and that is it being the final instalment of the series! Don't get me wrong and Rowling concludes it perfectly, but I'm always disappointed that my great Harry Potter adventure is over and I have to find something else to read . . .

My Thoughts
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows is the perfect ending to Rowling's world renown series and I can't stress how good a job she has done with it. It's a real page turner, just like the other Harry Potter books and is a must read for anyone - Harry Potter is a definite must for anyone's education and should be added to your reading list immediately if you are only familiar with the series through the films.