How to Get Ready for ‘Troubled Blood’

May 13, 2020 by 3 Comments

What is the best way to get ready for the publication of Strike5, Troubled Blood?

I think, based on my experience with previous Rowling releases, at least three efforts will yield the best results.

First and most obvious: re-read the books that precede the new entry. Rowling is a maestro of narrative slow release, one who plants clues and foreshadowings of coming attractions in the first books of a series. I enjoy listening to the Robert Glenister audio-books of the Strike novels for a fun review (and I keep a notepad with me while I listen if something catches my attention).

Second: review the HogwartsProfessor posts and MuggleNet podcasts on the books in question. You won’t find discussion of subjects from mythology and alchemy to the links with parallel numbers in the Harry Potter series and the ring composition of each book and the series as whole anywhere else. Get yourself up to speed with the conversation that has been happening here at Serious Reader Central about Cormoran, Robin, and Company.

Third: Join that conversation! There are the comment threads here, of course, and now the #StrikeReadAlong for you to jump in and share your questions, insights, and critique. The more the merrier — and it’s never too late!

How are you preparing for Troubled Blood? Has anyone tackled Faerie Queen or a prolonged listen to Marilyn Manson albums?

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike

Guns Akimbo: Harry Meets Katniss?

May 12, 2020 by Leave a Comment

My first thoughts on seeing this trailer were:

‘Guns Akimbo’ looks like a fun meta-take on video games. I wonder if it is direct to video or whether there will be a video game released akin to the story-line…

Does anyone else feel an irony boundary has been crossed akin to the Gamesmakers being tasked with making film adaptations of The Hunger Games books?

Chris Calderon has actually seen the movie and given it a thorough review:

The fundamental problem of Guns Akimbo is that it is sabotaged by the very message it wants to convey. If Howden is determined to critique the kind of story premise found in the works of authors like Rowling, then in order to prove his point, he must look for the most satisfying outcome for his character. The best possible refute would have been to let the critique play out in such a way that Miles is able to emerge a better and wiser character precisely because he has had a realization of the futility of the path he’s on. That could have made for an interesting premise. The trouble is there’s no such payoff to be found anywhere in the film’s running-time. The story requires a certain type of course correction from the character that never quite arrives. Instead, everything peters to a halt at the very end by Howden being unable to find that other course and letting the character trod the same path that audiences have either seen or read a thousand times before.

Read the whole review at Chris’ weblog, Scriblerus Club, for the several Potter, Everdeen, and Baggins allusions embedded more and less successfully in the movie.

And, if you’ve seen the movie, let me know what you think. Is it worth the hours of viewing time?

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

“Does Rowling Plan Her Work?”

May 11, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Twitter

Rowling Reads ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ — Chapter 5, On the White House Lawn!

May 10, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Hat-tip, the Rowling Library!

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

Harry Potter at Home: Noma Dumezweni Reads Aloud Chapter Two of ‘Stone’

May 9, 2020 by Leave a Comment

‘The Vanishing Glass’! Check out Chapter Two’s reading by Noma Dumazweni here: https://www.wizardingworld.com/chapters/reading-the-vanishing-glass

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes