It was twenty years ago today, Harry Potter taught the band to play...
Well, maybe not a band. But twenty years ago today, June 26,
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published.
CNN article here.
Edit: Fixed link. It was empty, don't ask me how.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
link isn't working Bob
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin
And
here's an interesting article on
Potter fanfiction and the effect it's had on the culture at large.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Twenty years, wow.
I actually waited until the first movie came out to read the novel, and ended up reading the first three in a week.
One thing I noticed recently.
Ever see how prevalent a brief sojurn in the underworld is in the stories?
It appears (sort of) in pretty much every book.
1) The leap into emptiness to enter the corridor where the Philosopher's Stone is hidden
2) The Chamber itself, of course
3) The underground passage, guarded by the Whomping Willow, to get to the Shrieking Shack and meet with Sirius and Peter
4) The labyrinth followed by the cemetary
5) The Department of Mysteries, wherein Harry confronts Time, Love, and Death
6) ... ok, been a while since I've read this one.
Lots and lots of tease leadup to the Master of Death...
For Half-Blood Prince, there was the bit where Harry and Dumbledore go after the Locket, gloomy cavern with undead coming after them.
Yeah, I knew there was something in there. The sea cave.
It's possibly one of the best fitting of them. You have an underground space, on a border between sea and land, requires a blood sacrifice to enter, guarded by the dead...
Well, you wouldn't hide a horcrux in the city, you'd hide it out in the styx.