For all the time J.K. Rowling has been spending chatting about book seven lately, I hope she's spent a bit writing the damned thing. I've got 7/07/07 on my calendar as the release date, and I don't know if I can wait one day longer than that.
Today she's leaked some very interesting information:
"The final chapter is hidden away, although it's now changed very slightly," she said in an interview broadcast on Monday on Britain's Channel 4. "One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die."When asked to be more specific, she added: "No, I'm not going to commit myself, because I don't want the hate mail or anything else."
This is big news, in a way. Two characters died who Rowling didn't intend to kill originally? Who could they be? And who got a reprieve?
She goes on to talk about how she understands the impulse to kill off the main character, which seems like a clever dodge to me.
My first guess, for the record, is that Neville will die. Heroically, I hope, but nonetheless. Perhaps Luna, too; she seems not to fear death anyhow--and to understand what's really beyond the veil--and so her death would be less sad somehow. And it would be hard to fathom every member of the Weasley clan coming through alive. Percy, perhaps? I don't think readers could handle Ginny or Ron. Or maybe Rowling didn't know she was going to kill off the twins?Who do you think will die? Who do you think was spared? Will Harry live to the end?
6 comments:
Je ne sais pas qui va mourir! Plus, I don't like to think about that kind of thing. I already think the whole saga is off now that Dumbledore is dead. All I can say is that if she does kill off another main character, her fans are going to be pretty darn pissed off. Especially me--I can't stand when series end crappily ever after.
The whole saga is off? Oh, ye of little faith. Dumbledore can never truly die. I believe, with all my heart, that he will somehow help Harry before the end.
As for the deaths, it does seem like she's been getting more and more aggressive. First poor Cedric Diggory, then Sirius Black, then Dumbledore...who is left that would be suitable? Hagrid? Snape? At this point, it seems like there's got to be one more BIG death of one of the good guys before the end. Who will it be?
I wouldn't say I have little faith--I am just the type who likes every good guy to be around when Potter finally kicks Voldemort's ass. I don't think it will be Snape--she's got to resolve the whole "he's a Death Eater who ran away with Malfoy" thing (unless, of course, the resolution involves his death). I want to believe that Snape is truly good and is just playing to the Dark Side to somehow help the Order of the Phoenix. I'm hoping that, if she has to kill off main characters, that the deaths are at least balanced--one good guy, one bad guy. But who those are to be, I dunno. Whatever happens, I'm sure I'll enjoy it--I have loved every book, even with her killing off Dumbledore.
On Page 723 Harry dies.
Lies! Lies! I can tolerate many deaths--Hagrid, the Weasley twins, Neville, Luna, half the staff of Hogwarts--but I cannot fathom a circumstance under which I would be OK with Harry dying. If he does, poor JK Rowling will have to go into hiding when book seven is released...
Amen to that! She'll need to enroll in an author protection program.
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