Emerson Spartz

This book is pretty much brilliant. Ben and Emerson weren't lying when they said that MuggleNet is famous for being opinionated. Being the Harry Potter nerd that I am, I rarely get to hash out Harry Potter topics anymore, but this book was both informative and controversial. I found myself nodding my head in agreement at times, and then shaking my head in frustration at others. I strongly disagreed with a lot of the verdicts, but that almost made reading the book more fun.

The book isn't perfect, however. The writing isn't stellar (nor is the editing), some of the opposing arguments were still very one-sided, and some of the arguments were just plain irrelevant. And, some of the topics they argue—such as the Harry/Ron/Hermione love interests and whether the Trio was responsible for Snape's death—seem to have been brought up simply for the sake of arguing and taking up more space. It would surprise me if either of those issues were actually debated among fans. And it also bugs me that Ben and Emerson are so against traditional values such as marriage and family. It is not stereotypical for a woman to get married and have children—it is normal. Tonks and Ginny didn't throw their lives away, and Mrs. Weasley certainly had a life outside the Burrow.

But all in all, I think Ben and Emerson accomplished their goal: I wholeheartedly agreed with some of their arguments, and I was disgusted with many of them. Some of their arguments were so well argued that I had almost changed my mind by the time I got to the verdict. This book was intellectually stimulating and quite entertaining. It is going in my Harry Potter trunk with my precious Harry Potter books.… (más)

Another reasonably enjoyable speculation on the end of the Harry Potter series. This one is more pragmatic and tends to be driven by interviews with J. K. Rowling more than story arc or plot components. While I disagree with some of their assertions (that is, I disagree that some things they assert as fact have been demonstrated to be facts), I largely agree with their logic and the conclusions they derive. This is a very quick read, so you have time to take care of it before midnight this Saturday when the last Harry Potter novel is published. They make a good case related to the locket and how it was retrieved; I won't say more than that.… (más)