If the possibilities are very firmly closed down, once we know the final outcome, it is likely that a lot of people won’t like it one bit. They will then either turn into bitter ex-fans or look for ways to force fit the ending to their own beliefs.

What makes this potentially very interesting is that we are dealing with an author who, while enjoying racking up the suspense and dangling the red herrings, is not inclined to pull her punches when it comes down to it, and who has hinted that her point will be quite clear by the final page.

I don’t think she’s painstakingly planned this story and led us through it over so many years only to leave us with an ambiguous ending. I suspect that she has something definite to say.

That speculative boogie is likely to be harder to kill than a mountain troll, but I hope and trust our intrepid author will finally knock it on the head!

Alison

I do hear what you’re saying…I’ve been reading “knowing God” by Packer, and in it he says that “pardon is the heart of the gospel.” After I read your “looking for God in Harry Potter” book, I really got an idea for what draws me to this and perhaps other fantasy books. It’s seeing people set free time and time again. It’s such a recurring theme in the Potter books…Dobby set free, Sirius set free, Harry set free, all of the second chances and pardons are very attractive, it’s a constant reminder of the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice.

I like to speculate, and that red hen essay was really cool, but mercy and pardon on prisoners is one thing that keeps me coming back.

Who else was pardoned and/or set free?…Ginny, Buckbeak, perhaps Draco, there’s seriously alot. Those are just a few I can think of, not including emotional or psychological prisons and being set free from those.

Steve

My concern is merely that the humanity of the books and Harry not be lost.

Who Killed Albus Dumbledore? is a fantastic book and I recommend everyone getting it immediately. The deduction and speculation was so absorbing, amusing, stunning and brain-tweaking, I read it in practically one sitting. What an incredible collection of brilliant writers using considerable detective skills so persuasively and eloquently! Several times I ruefully asked myself, “Did I even READ these books?” Finding oneself convinced by two very plausible essays that a character is both EVIL and GOOD is like doing “six impossible things before breakfast.”

The kitties are yowling,
Arabella

I couldn’t agree more. Although some speculation is natural and fun, I find the intensity of some of it almost disturbing, and avoid it. I can’t help but feel that a lot of people are going to crash after the last book is out.

It’s almost as if the books themselves have become a footnote in this living organism of “speculamania.” In some essays in WKAD, Harry himself is practically dismissed, merely a minor cog in the machine. This is too bad if we lose sight of Harry, who he is, the heart he has, the relational aspects of the series.
True, much of the action takes place offstage, but we ‚Äúlive inside‚Äù Harry, his emotions and perceptions. To cull the humanity from his story and reduce it to merely plot points is just wrong. It‚Äôs fascinating to step outside him and put stuff together (and you’ve done such an admirable job in bringing out structure and meaning), but the series IS titled Harry Potter.

Like you, I love the joy and mystery of the books. And that’s what these books have held for me—pure pleasure and enjoyable anticipation over what magician J.K Rowling will bring. I already feel some grief that the grand journey will soon be over, but look forward to rereading these delightful books for years to come.

And, after all, that great Mystery—love—will never be finished.

Got to feed the kitties,
Arabella