Lethal White vs Crimes of Grindelwald

September 8, 2018 by 5 Comments

Three quick notes on the Grand Canyon-esque chasm separating Potter fandom interest in Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike novels and J. K. Rowling’s collaborative contributions to Warner Brothers’ Fantastic Beasts film franchise:

(1) Rowling re-tweeted a new contest for an autographed copy of Lethal White on her twitter feed to 14.4 million followers. One thousand of those followers ‘liked’ the idea. She re-tweeted a fan art contest for Fantastic Beasts and five times as many liked that idea, a contest with no prize other than being exhibited. Contact with The Presence and an heirloom book, essentially zero interest and five times the interest for Show-and-tell online? Bizarre. The Robert Galbraith twitter feed has 62.3K followers and CormoranStrike, a StrikeFans twitterer, has less than 7k. FantasticBeasts? 452K.

(2) Serious readers get that Cormoran Strike is not only unadulterated Rowling at her best but in many ways a continuation and commentary on Harry Potter. Constance Grady at Vox goes so far as to call the series a “Grown Ups Harry Potter.” The pathetic online sales for Lethal White, even allowing for Amazon’s tiff with Hatchette Group, the publisher of the Strike series, reflect that this is not at all the opinion of Rowling’s gazillion Wizarding World fans, most of whom seem to be unaware that Robert Galbraith is a Rowling pseudonym.

(3) Check out the YouTube video below about the second Crimes of Grindelwald trailer. After watching it, ask yourself: “What if this kind of frenetic interpretative energy and attention to every detail were focused on Cormoran Strike and the possibilities of what will happen in Lethal White and subsequent novels in that series?” I think that my individual efforts at unlocking Galbraith’s larger story are significant; I know that if Potter fandom were to actually read and join in the speculative adventures of Cormoran Strike, however, that ‘Heroin Dark Lord’ would only be one among several challenging theories.

My tentative conclusion?

Strike remains the biggest secret in the Rowling universe. It is the neglected step-child of global Cursed Child productions, anything Crimes of Grindelwald, and even of Wizarding World theme parks news.
And I doubt the release of Lethal White will change much, frankly.

The engorgement charm size of Strike 4, how much its plot depends on the first three books, and reader’s continued distraction with other Rowling projects means that it will sell less well than Career or Silkworm even after the BBC1 promo shot in the arm.

How many reviewers, for example, after the three year lag between Strikes 3 and 4, do you think will be able to get what is going on in Lethal White in terms of the back story? If Rokeby and Charlotte appear, what will that mean to readers who haven’t been looking forward to that since Cuckoo?

Not much, I’m guessing. I look forward to reading your more optimistic view – and any ideas you have about the Mystery of the Invisible Famous Author!

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike, Fantastic Beasts, Hog Pro Notes

Box 2703: A Pointer to Alchemy in ‘Crimes of Grindelwald’ Plot?

September 6, 2018 by 9 Comments

We’re in the last days of our countdown to the publication of Strike 4, Lethal White, but I wanted to take a break today to point out something that may have been neglected in the online fine-tooth-combing of everything Crimes of Grindelwald. More on Lethal White in the days ahead, believe me!

There are a flood of ancillary texts (that’s ‘knock off books’) whose authors and publishers hope to catch a ride on the tsunami of publicity and promotions sure to attend the release of the second Fantastic Beasts film this November. The designers of the film’s special effects are surfing this wave, too, of course. Today’s post is a closer look at the cover of MinaLima’s The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of The Crimes of Grindelwald (Harper Design).

The book is not selling very well at present in pre-release: it’s #419,506 on Amazon at this writing; a book I wrote in 2008, just for comparison, is at #327,906. At $50 for a 160 page book, maybe Archive is meant only as a collector’s item or last minute desperation gift for the Potter-phile who has everything. But there’s something in everything MinaLima does that’s worth noting. Here it’s the only thing you can see.

Note that the cover of the MinaLima book on the filming of ‘Crimes of Grindelwald’ features Box 2703 from the movie. We have this still of Tina and Newt just in front of that box. Between the cover and the still, I think it safe to assume the box holds something important.

My guess is that it has something to do with Nicholas Flamel. Three reasons after the jump! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fantastic Beasts

Two Weeks ’til Lethal White Publication: How Is Rowling’s Latest Novel Selling?

September 5, 2018 by 5 Comments

Two weeks? A little more than Ten Days! Lethal White, the fourth Cormoran Strike mystery from J. K. Rowling writing as ‘Robert Galbraith’ is almost here.

What have you heard about it among your Potter-phile friends? Have you scheduled the day off on 18 September so you can devote yourself without distraction to a close reading? Are you planning to go to a Midnight Madness Release Party at your local bookstore?

Of course you’re not. There is next to no buzz or excitement about Lethal White, which is a mystery worthy of some reflection and detection, no? How about the clues, then; what do we know?

The Cormoran Strike mysteries are receiving next to no marketing push in the United States and, for a Rowling title, advance orders on Amazon are pathetic. The book is at #129 overall on the world’s largest bookstore’s listing and isn’t even in the top 50 for the categories of ‘Crime’ or ‘Mystery.’ Kindle? It is sitting at #289 there.

Things are a little better in the UK. At Amazon.co.uk. The book is at #21 there — but is being outsold by two math texts for school at #10 and #16 and by new releases from Robert Louis Stevenson (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, #12), Shakespeare (Macbeth, #18), and Dickens (Tale of Two Cities, #21). Something tells me this is not a big book-selling season in Brittania or they use a different calculus for their best seller’s lists. On the book’s page there, Amazon lists the hardcover as #75 in “Books > Fiction.” Kindle has it at #42 at this writing.

I called the airport bookstore to see if I might once again get my Willa Wonka golden ticket and an early copy of Lethal White. Get this — they not only didn’t have a copy to sell me (as they did three days before Career of Evil was supposed to be for sale), I was told it wasn’t on their list of books to be sold this month. They only sell the books anticipated to be best sellers, twenty each month. Robert Galbraith’s Lethal White was not on the list.

What’s going on? Three thoughts after the jump. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike

BBC1 Career of Evil: Synopses and Clips Will ‘Strike’ Viewers Become Readers?

September 3, 2018 by 1 Comment

I thought that the point of the BBC1 teevee adaptations of the Cormoran Strike mysteries was to create sufficient interest in the story and the characters that ‘viewers’ would become ‘readers.’ I was able to see the first two adaptations via a pirated posting of the episodes by an Iraqi on YouTube; I have not seen the ‘Career of Evil’ adaptations.

I have watched the two film clips of Strike 3’s adaptation and read the synopses of each episode that the BBC has posted online. Here they all are: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike

A Message from the Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Conference: “We’re On in 2018!”

September 3, 2018 by 1 Comment

The most important annual gathering of Potter Pundits is the ‘Harry Potter Conference’ at Chestnut Hill College. Professors Wendling and McCauley bring together the leading voices of academic and fan voices about the artistry and meaning of J. K. Rowling’s Hogwarts Saga. There have been rumors of the conference’s demise this year because of Warner Brothers’ crackdown on Potter festivals, however, and I received the note below from the Conference Co-ordinators which they asked that I pass on to you. The very good news? It’s on, it’s twice as long, that is, it is a proper two day gathering this year, and this year’s gathering promises to be better than ever. See you there?

Dear HP friends,

This is a letter to the broad community surrounding the Annual Harry Potter Academic Conference held at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia every October (www.harrypotterconference.com). We want to alert everyone to the fact that we will definitely be holding the conference as usual this year on October 19th and 20th. 

As you probably have heard, many of the Harry Potter events around the country have been shut down recently [or forced to change their names; cf., Roanoke’s Potter Bash is now ‘Generic Magic Festival’ and Staunton’s gathering has been rechristened ‘Queen City Mischief and Magic’ — John].  The downtown event here in Chestnut Hill is one of them, though a “Wands and Wizards” evening event is currently being planned for October 19th. 

We send this letter to assure you that the academic conference has not been affected by recent changes and ask you to please spread the word.  The annual conference has grown over the past six years to be one of the most fertile opportunities to meet and seriously discuss the Wizarding World of J. K. Rowling, as well as its cultural impact.  The conference draws people from around the country. The willingness of people (you!) to come and participate is the conference’s most precious asset.

We are also pleased to announce that we will be extending the conference across both Friday and Saturday this year for the first time. Our college Quidditch tournament will be held on campus on Saturday as well. We ask that you take the time to use whatever means at your disposal to spread the word that the 7th Annual Harry Potter Conference at Chestnut Hill College is ON! Conference Registration is open to anyone interested in attending and Abstract Proposals are being accepted if you would like to present.

See you in October!

~Karen Wendling & Patrick McCauley, Harry Potter Academic Conference Coordinators

 

 

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes