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July 24, 2007

Finished Harry Potter (no spoilers)

Updated to flesh out some thoughts, add some links

Months ago, I preordered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for my grandson Dylan, who originally got me into the series with him when he was 8.

When it came to the order form, the "Bill to..." part went to me, obviously, but I hovered over the "Send to..." before dutifully filling in his name and address.

His mom called Saturday to say the book had arrived by regular mail, and to ask if Dylan could spend the night with us so she could go to the SoundSession parade.

"Have him bring Harry Potter," I said. I thought I might get to start the book when he took a break to play some online games.

Dylan, who's just turned 10, arrived with Deathly Hallows, but he wasn't reading it. He explained he wants to start again at book one, which he had loaned to his cousins. Until it came back, he'd read other books. He seems to know he may have been a bit too young to understand the full sweep of the Harry Potter experience. He's ready now, and doesn't want to miss a thing.

I asked if I could keep Deathly Hallows until I finished it, and he agreed

I was working last night, subbing for a vacationing colleague, so I had Monday to myself. Just before 3 in the afternoon I finished the book. I felt I had to inhale it because I was tired of tiptoeing around the writings and rumors of those who had already read it or read about it or rumors about it.

But now that I've finished it, I'm still avoiding them. I want to have my own experience with books and ideas first, if there's anything to experience.

I'm tired of violence and war and greed, and the series has plenty of that, supercharged -- the uses of power over others in the wizard world range from saving a life to programming betrayals (sometimes in high officials) by shouting Imperio!, one of three Unforgiveable Curses.

With so much power, peace is a survival strategy.

Would a second series in The Potter Dynasty Saga be about the next generation's Hogwarts, one beyond the Dark Arts? Dylan would love to go to Hogwarts rather than to public school.

Hogwarts' magic and spells are a form of technology, coupling intention with action. If you lose your keys, our Muggle technology offers a key chain that beeps if you clap just right, and you follow the sound till you spy or unearth your keys. How much easier to say, "Accio keys!" -- with feeling -- and let the keys come to you.

Future technologies will not be about bigger and faster computers and phones. They're likely to eliminate them, actually. The real frontier may be the development of human intelligence and capacities that will render these crutches unnecessary. Whatever you can imagine is probably possible, maybe in the lifetime of Dylan and his generation.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 3:24 AM | Permalink