Scan barcode
judeandolin's review against another edition
5.0
This might be one of those books where five stars is a knee-jerk reaction and it really should be four, but I’m going to go with my heart and give it five because I really, truly loved some parts of it. I’ll be the first to admit that it was undoubtedly cheesy at times, but somehow I honestly didn’t care. I went into it with such low expectations that I think even pure, flaming garbage would’ve impressed me a bit, but this was a lot more interesting and twisty-turny than I hoped! I had no idea what to expect, so the wibbly-wibbly, timey-wimey stuff took me by surprise and honestly got me so riled.
First of all, the bad: Albus sucks. He was a truly unlikeable main character. Scorpius, however, was not. Secondly, some of the dialogue is cheesy. Majorly. Especially the “meaningful” moments between Dumbledore (or his portrait, at least) and Harry, as well as between Delphi and her … ahem … relative.
The good: This book made me like Harry. Yes, I love Harry Potter, but I’ve never actually liked Harry Potter. He’s always been a boring character for me, for the most part, but Cursed Child had me wanting to give him a big ol’ hug. In one especially heartbreaking scene, while Harry blames himself for all that’s happened to Albus and Scorpius, he says to Ginny, “How many people have to die for the Boy Who Lived?” It tore my heart out and made me take back every bad thing I’ve ever thought about him. My poor precious magical forty-year-old bean.
While some parts weren’t convincing, and while I do wish that the playwright had left more to the imagination rather than laying all of the characters’ feelings out in the open — I’m one of those people who likes subtlety, and the writer had very little, unlike Rowling — the book as a whole flowed really well and it was fast-paced and exciting. Overall, way better than I expected, and a lot better than all those liars saying it was a total dumpster fire.
I would loooove to see the live action of this. It definitely brought back some intense waves of nostalgia (I cried, btw, if that’s any indicator), and now has me dying to reread the series in 2017.
First of all, the bad: Albus sucks. He was a truly unlikeable main character. Scorpius, however, was not. Secondly, some of the dialogue is cheesy. Majorly. Especially the “meaningful” moments between Dumbledore (or his portrait, at least) and Harry, as well as between Delphi and her … ahem … relative.
The good: This book made me like Harry. Yes, I love Harry Potter, but I’ve never actually liked Harry Potter. He’s always been a boring character for me, for the most part, but Cursed Child had me wanting to give him a big ol’ hug. In one especially heartbreaking scene, while Harry blames himself for all that’s happened to Albus and Scorpius, he says to Ginny, “How many people have to die for the Boy Who Lived?” It tore my heart out and made me take back every bad thing I’ve ever thought about him. My poor precious magical forty-year-old bean.
While some parts weren’t convincing, and while I do wish that the playwright had left more to the imagination rather than laying all of the characters’ feelings out in the open — I’m one of those people who likes subtlety, and the writer had very little, unlike Rowling — the book as a whole flowed really well and it was fast-paced and exciting. Overall, way better than I expected, and a lot better than all those liars saying it was a total dumpster fire.
I would loooove to see the live action of this. It definitely brought back some intense waves of nostalgia (I cried, btw, if that’s any indicator), and now has me dying to reread the series in 2017.
asaph95's review against another edition
2.0
Awful.
I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this. I pre-ordered it, I read it the day I got it and I hated it. Okay, I didn't hate it.. but it wasn't what I expected at all.
The characters in this script didn't seem anything like the original characters that J.K. created. But that really was only a small issue that I had. I still imagined them as we saw them in the films, and I still thought of them as those quirky book characters we originally met them as
Full review on my blog!
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/harry-potter-and-cursed-child-review.html
I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this. I pre-ordered it, I read it the day I got it and I hated it. Okay, I didn't hate it.. but it wasn't what I expected at all.
The characters in this script didn't seem anything like the original characters that J.K. created. But that really was only a small issue that I had. I still imagined them as we saw them in the films, and I still thought of them as those quirky book characters we originally met them as
Full review on my blog!
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/harry-potter-and-cursed-child-review.html
njdarkish's review against another edition
4.0
I was actually quite pleased with this play. I'd very much enjoy seeing it performed (in part because I'm sure the sets and special effects have to be crazy!).
If you've spoken with me about Harry Potter before you know that I generally have a great love for the series, but felt like the last book was a bit of a trainwreck. I thought that Harry should have actually died (what's the point of a great sacrifice if the sacrifice itself gets taken away?), I was mad that almost all of my favorite characters were killed off in a single paragraph, and I felt like it just didn't draw me in the like previous books had. Plus, I thought the sentimental ending with the main characters being adults, dropping off kids to Hogwarts, felt too much like "and everything was bright and shiny and nothing bad ever happened to them again." Which was ridiculous, because the whole wizarding world had been in a state of civil war, and that leaves some deep wounds.
This play actually helped me feel a little better about book 7. It did a great job of showing that there are lasting repercussions of the war and the Battle of Hogwarts. It showed that life was still hard for the main characters and they had to work hard to live up to the standards they'd set for themselves. Well, except Ron. He was pretty much just comic relief.
I thought the story was good-- it was a great blend of pulling from the past and telling a compelling new story. It was a great time travel story. The new characters-- particularly Albus and Scorpius-- were fun and interesting. I loved that the story's focused more on the newer generation than the old.
Was it as good as the first 6 Harry Potter books? No, but it was still pretty solid. I had a lot of fun.
If you've spoken with me about Harry Potter before you know that I generally have a great love for the series, but felt like the last book was a bit of a trainwreck. I thought that Harry should have actually died (what's the point of a great sacrifice if the sacrifice itself gets taken away?), I was mad that almost all of my favorite characters were killed off in a single paragraph, and I felt like it just didn't draw me in the like previous books had. Plus, I thought the sentimental ending with the main characters being adults, dropping off kids to Hogwarts, felt too much like "and everything was bright and shiny and nothing bad ever happened to them again." Which was ridiculous, because the whole wizarding world had been in a state of civil war, and that leaves some deep wounds.
This play actually helped me feel a little better about book 7. It did a great job of showing that there are lasting repercussions of the war and the Battle of Hogwarts. It showed that life was still hard for the main characters and they had to work hard to live up to the standards they'd set for themselves. Well, except Ron. He was pretty much just comic relief.
I thought the story was good-- it was a great blend of pulling from the past and telling a compelling new story. It was a great time travel story. The new characters-- particularly Albus and Scorpius-- were fun and interesting. I loved that the story's focused more on the newer generation than the old.
Was it as good as the first 6 Harry Potter books? No, but it was still pretty solid. I had a lot of fun.
makaly's review against another edition
2.0
esto es literalmente un fanfic, y ni siquiera es uno de los buenos
daumari's review against another edition
2.0
It was ok.
I get the hype, that it's an 8th Harry Potter story, and I imagine this is different on stage, but I feel the same way about this as I do with Andrew Lloyd Weber's Love Never Dies...
Theater and novels are different mediums, but I also have difficulty imagining people sitting through 4+ hours and/or two plays to see this. I'd feel very frustrated leaving Part One knowing I'd see Part Two the next day instead of immediately after, but that would be difficult for the actors and stage staff, I imagine... it might fix the pacing, though.
I get the hype, that it's an 8th Harry Potter story, and I imagine this is different on stage, but I feel the same way about this as I do with Andrew Lloyd Weber's Love Never Dies...
Spoiler
...in that wow, this reads like mediocre fanfic, which is disappointing considering this comes (partially) from the author and is therefore canon... time travel to drastically change events from midseries that creates multiple timelines, a villain that's very much like a fan OC (original character), and death of a regular series favorite offscreen in at least one timeline.Theater and novels are different mediums, but I also have difficulty imagining people sitting through 4+ hours and/or two plays to see this. I'd feel very frustrated leaving Part One knowing I'd see Part Two the next day instead of immediately after, but that would be difficult for the actors and stage staff, I imagine... it might fix the pacing, though.
gayatriii's review against another edition
2.0
Ok look, this would have been a lukewarm 3 stars, instead of a heartbreaking 2, if it weren't for the last 7 books. But the fact is is that it picks up from where Rowling left off, and it is necessary prerequisite that it be just as good. It's not even close.
The characters are just lame. They go from having zero personalities, to having God awful personalities, in 60 seconds. Each one of them is an incredibly unlikely adult version of the characters we know so well.
Albus is whiny and dumb, Hermione has zero spunk, Ron seems aging and desperate, Harry is bitter, Draco is a nice guy with none of his swag... and all this won't be so bad, but they're all also incredibly dull and one dimensional. Draco's kid Scorpius is the only semi-interesting character.
The plot's not half bad, I mean how elaborate can you really make a play? It's the characters and their dialogues that are lacklustre and severely under representative of the awesomeness that are HP characters.
The characters are just lame. They go from having zero personalities, to having God awful personalities, in 60 seconds. Each one of them is an incredibly unlikely adult version of the characters we know so well.
Albus is whiny and dumb, Hermione has zero spunk, Ron seems aging and desperate, Harry is bitter, Draco is a nice guy with none of his swag... and all this won't be so bad, but they're all also incredibly dull and one dimensional. Draco's kid Scorpius is the only semi-interesting character.
The plot's not half bad, I mean how elaborate can you really make a play? It's the characters and their dialogues that are lacklustre and severely under representative of the awesomeness that are HP characters.
enerinaz's review against another edition
3.0
Bittersweet. To be honest I would read almost anything related to Harry Potter since the saga has been a huge part of my life since my mum would read the books to my sister and I when were five years old so even though I had heard this could be a great fiasco and I took a while to get my hands on the book I finally did it; quick reading, I read it in three hours or so out of nostalgia (I miss having a new Harry Potter book in my hands for the first time) but most time I kinda felt like I was reading a fanfiction with no beta reader. I liked the way Scorpius and Albus characters were going instead of the fan-canon theories but I kinda miss the rest of the characters, where are James, Hugo, Teddy...? most of them are not even mentioned!! But the plot was the most dissapointing point of the play.
Quick review after book high. Long review coming.
Quick review after book high. Long review coming.
itslorei's review against another edition
2.0
Very disappointing. I kind of regretting reading this book.