Format or Storyline?

[Julia]

Please only reply if you gave this play three stars or less (or you gave a fourth star only for the sake of Harry Potter, or you really liked Scorpius).

For people (like me) who were disappointed with this play, what is it that made it unenjoyable? Was it the format, trying to read the really awkward stage directions or figuring out who was talking without reading the speaker tags each time? Was it the fact that the characters came off flat because it only showed what they said, not how they said it? Was it trying harder than you ever had to to imagine yourself in the Harry Potter world without any real descriptions?

Or was it that you actually didn't like the plot whatsoever? The fact that Albus, who wanted nothing more than to be a Gryffindor, ended up in the Slytherin? The way time-turners are re-written as catalysts for the butterfly effect? Voldemort's daughter, for goodness sake? What got you more? Format or Storyline?

Storyline all the way for me!

[Satsuma]

Yeah, definitely storyline. I didn't mind the format- I mean I would rather not script, but it was okay.

[Julia]

In hind-sight, I think the story-line is so awful because it is a play format. If they meant it to be the next *novel*, they wouldn't have been trying so hard to just rehash everything from the old books. Time-turners, Polyjuice Potion, the Triwizard Tournament... these were all successfully used in the original stories as plot devices, but here, they were blatant reminders that we are reading/watching Harry's story in a novel that feels like it has absolutely no place in our precious Wizarding World canon.

So it wasn't a *huge* deal for me to read stage directions and quotes over full-out paragraphs, but the drastic change of format, I believe, is what made the story suffer so much--it had to adapt the story to play format, which, in turn, is what ruined the story.

[Samantha]

100% story line. I've read plays before, and while they aren't my favorite, I wouldn't hate a book because I read it as a play.... knowing that I would read it as a play.

Literally all the characters were out of character and the time turners were so ridiculous. There was a reason they got smashed.... And I just could not stop cracking up about Voldemort's daughter. I mean ..... come on.

Seriously thought this was fanfiction, and even as a fanfiction I've read MUCH better.

[Julia]

Samantha wrote: "100% story line. I've read plays before, and while they aren't my favorite, I wouldn't hate a book because I read it as a play.... knowing that I would read it as a play.

Literally all the charac..."

Yes, I completely agree with you, Samantha! There are tons of effective ways to tell a story-- novels, plays, even the spoken word, and while we may prefer some platforms over others, the story itself needs to always carry through. Here, it failed miserably.

I can't understand how people are loving this story so much based on the things you have pointed out--out-of-character people, time-turners being brought back, and Voldemort's daughter. By the time it was revealed that Delphi was his child, I was so numb to the story already that I was just past the point of being angry.

And I think this story literally just ripped off everything that fan-fiction writers have already been using for the last decade-- time-turners fixing everything, a Potter child ending up in Slytherin, a daughter for Voldemort, and the celebration of "Voldemort Day." (Wait, "Voldemort Day" might have been the only original material!! That is so sad.)

[Samantha]

Julia wrote: "(Wait, "Voldemort Day" might have been the only original material!! That is so sad.) "


hahahahahahahaha. I think you're right.

[Julia]

Personally, I don’t really care for plays. I would much rather watch a movie! I find that plays are too overwhelming... they play to as many senses as possible, which I find to be too much. They also rely on the audience response, so I find that in general they have more jokes and comedy than a typical story and that the acting is done to the extreme. They are meant to be really funny, really dramatic, really exciting, right away, and for me that does not make for an enjoyable story experience.

Sure, a lot of people really do enjoy theatre, but it is just not a medium for me, and it just added one extra layer of annoyance to the story.

[C]

For me it was all about the storyline that made me so disappointed in this book.

I usually don't like reading screenplays, and normally the format would be a nuisance for me, but the plot itself was such a mess I couldn't even notice the format.

[[deleted user]]

the storyline, and the fact that all of the characters were completely drunk: "You're all humor-y and Albus-y. I love it." ~Scorpius

I mean, I liked Scorpius, but what kind of dialogue is that ****?

also, voldemort had a DAUGHTER! gasp! the dumbest thing i've ever heard of. I would've removed one star for Harry Potter's sake actually, because this piece of terribly-written fanfiction apparently gave him a fear of PIGEONS. ARE YOU SERIOUS

[Julia]

Keran wrote: "the storyline, and the fact that all of the characters were completely drunk..."

Yes, exactly! I mean, Fantastic Beasts was a great movie, and the script was not *necessary* but it at least had a Harry Potter feel. This play just left me feeling empty.

[Julia]

On another note, is anyone else not interested in seeing this play because you are, frankly, just not a fan of plays?? I was a sensitive kid, and I saw the play of Snow White when I was four, but I got a bit scared by the dark theatre and the dwarves walking down the aisles, and I haven't been really interested in theatre ever since. I have seen other plays in school, but I just find them to be too loud and overwhelming. So regardless of story, plays just don't work out for me.

Anyone else in this boat?

[Samantha]

Keran wrote: "the storyline, and the fact that all of the characters were completely drunk: "You're all humor-y and Albus-y. I love it." ~Scorpius

I mean, I liked Scorpius, but what kind of dialogue is that ***..."


omg yes to this entire comment

[Kristen]

Julia wrote: "Please only reply if you gave this play three stars or less (or you gave a fourth star only for the sake of Harry Potter, or you really liked Scorpius).

For people (like me) who were disappointed ..."


I wasn't crazy about the fact that it's a screenplay, but I got used to it pretty quickly. I still didn't really enjoy it, but at most, it brought my rating down 1 star.
I actually prefer more dialogue and less description in any story because I can picture things in my head just fine. A lot of the time descriptions are too lengthy and I get bored.
90% of the problem with this book was due to the screwed up plot and characters. It was just a mess.

[Calliope]

The format didn't help, but the storyline is what really did it for me.