From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2

John Tiffany (Adaptation),

Jack Thorne (Adaptation)

Start date: September 21, 2016

Finish date: October 13, 2016

Discussion: Book Discussions

Discussion leader: Andrea

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What Members Thought

Apr 26, 2017 Barbara rated it liked it

3.5 stars

This eighth book in the Harry Potter series is the script of a play that originally opened in London's West End in 2016. The play harks back to occurrences in the original series so the reader needs to be familiar with those books to fully appreciate the story.

"Cursed Child" opens 19 years after Lord Voldemort's defeat. By now, Hermione is Minister for Magic; Ron runs Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes; Harry is Head of Magical Law Enforcement; and Ginny is a sports writer for The Daily Prophet.

H ...more

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Jul 31, 2016 Erica rated it liked it · review of another edition

This reminded me slightly of A Very Potter Musical (minus the musical part & I liked AVPM better) because this story comes off as a parody. I'm not considering this canon this is like a badly written fanfiction that I paid for. My favorite part was Moaning Myrtle and considering she wasn't in the story very long that says a lot. I'm disappointed but at the same time glad I got to read this since I'll never get to see the play. I gave it three stars mainly because it's set in the Wizarding World. ...more

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Aug 04, 2016 Jen Hernandez rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This was ALRIGHT. It's not the magical trip back into Hogwarts most die-hard Potterheads are looking for. I like to think of it more like the 9th movie rather than the 8th book, although it is a play. Lemme explain: the movies are amazing because as the characters, the actors, and the fans grow up, the tone and capacity of the movies also mature on pace. So when Harry is 11 and the world is filled with wonder and ambiguous shady darkness, it really is a story fit for 11 year olds. When he's 40 a ...more

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Dec 15, 2016 Alex rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-lit, wank

Harry Potter began to lose some cultural relevance some time ago as the boy wizard felt like he’d become a well-worn part of the furniture that you just couldn’t bring yourself to chuck out because it was a Christmas present from your now dead grandmother. Don’t get me wrong, the original book series was an entertaining romp that can still raise a smile despite the constant irritation caused by the endless painful hype (admittedly, mostly after the fact thanks to eternal movie vs book debates) t Harry Potter began to lose some cultural relevance some time ago as the boy wizard felt like he’d become a well-worn part of the furniture that you just couldn’t bring yourself to chuck out because it was a Christmas present from your now dead grandmother. Don’t get me wrong, the original book series was an entertaining romp that can still raise a smile despite the constant irritation caused by the endless painful hype (admittedly, mostly after the fact thanks to eternal movie vs book debates) that make Star Wars or Game of Thrones look like low-key indie productions.

With the Fantastic Beast movies imminent (indeed, the first is released at time of this review), Rowling obviously felt a little re-familiarisation with the brand wouldn’t go amiss, though she couldn’t be bothered to write this one. Actually, there’s a wider issue in that she could barely be concerned enough to conjure up anything resembling a plot or character that 10,000 people haven’t seen 50,000 times before. Whereas the originals (especially 1-4) abound with life, humour and a whole cast of great characters, HPatCCs instead sports a whiny brat that is Harry’s son, a whiny older Harry, some returning names in side-roles and . There are others, but I read this 2 months ago and their interest.

It’s a play, sure, it’s different, but plays can still be well conceived and well-written and this most assuredly is not. Harry doesn’t get along with his son who is different from him. Harry’s son is in Slytherin and makes friends with Slytherin kids. So far, so good…? Harry’s son, Albus, feels a bit sad and decides to steal a time-turner from under everyone’s noses, so he can go back in time to stop Cedric Diggory from dying because he wants to be recognised as great as his dad.

Well, you’ve seen Back to the Future so you know what happens when you go back in time to try and change things. The future gets messed up and you have to go back again to try and change things back. If this weren’t a Harry Potter book, would it even be worth writing a review about? Can I go back in time and stop JK Rowling from pursuing a writing career so none of us feel we have to go through this anymore. Sure, you liked Harry Potter when you were 7, I appreciate that but it’s time to move on now – Isn’t she rich enough at this point? Does this franchise really need to be plundered any further? If there’s a genuine effort to make it work, then fine, but a half-baked play with zero ideas does definitely not count as a genuine effort.

Anyway, father and son are reconciled and learn to love one another despite their differences. *phew* I was really worried for Harry's future as a parent for a minute.
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Sep 30, 2016 Vincent Darlage rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure

I thought this was a really good book. I enjoyed it. I didn't think I'd like the play format, but after I started reading, the format vanished. It felt like the old novels. At first, I wasn't sure I'd like the time travel storyline, but it really worked and made for a powerful tale. ...more

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Aug 03, 2016 tobes rated it it was ok · review of another edition

2.5 stars. Read like bad fanfiction because it was. I'd probably be impressed if it was at DC Fringe but considering how good this could have been it kind of blew. ...more

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