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A review by mayetra
James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing by G. Norman Lippert
2.0
First and foremost, there is no comparison with this novel to J.K.R's novels. This is a work of fanfiction and shouldn't be compared to the originals. I have, however, read, or attempted to read, a fair amount of fanfiction. A lot was just bad, some were fair and then there were the diamonds in the rough. This book is one of those, if you can get past the things that are just wrong with the story. Purists will have a harder time with this novel.
The good part of this book is that for the most part it feels like you are stepping back into the Wizarding world. The author does a fair job of doing that. The good additions to the world fit pretty seamlessly. I really like how James and his new friends all ended up in different houses. I like the concept of James struggling with being compared to his famous father but I don't know that it was executed as well as it could have been. There are times that James comes off as an arrogant, spoiled prat.
The bad parts, however, are jarring enough that it might make the book unreadable for some. I loathed the character of Zane. I'm American and Zane played like an obnoxious American stereotype. He was rude. I wanted to punch the brat on the train when he basically told James to buy them all something from the trolley because he only had American money. Why did he only have American money? That made no sense. Hermione was able to exchange Muggle money for wizarding funds. How did Zane buy his school stuff and why would his parents use wizard money to buy his things and then send him to wizard school with American cash. They are in Britain, why are his parents giving him American money anyway? His dad is well traveled and they are in the UK for his dad's work. He did not speak like a 10 year old modern American kid. He spoke like an old guy from the 40s or 50s. I never said "drat", none of the kids today are saying "drat". My 15 year-old doesn't say "drat" and neither do his friends. His vernacular and slang were just wrong for a kid his age. I hated the fact that he thought he could just throw money at things or that he made zero effort to learn how to navigate the Wizarding world. Not all Americans act this way and we are not all "obnoxious cowboys".
I almost put the book down during the "Wocket" episode. I get that Teddy and his friends are supposed to be the new Fred/George/Lee group who followed in the footsteps of the Marauders. But the entire "Alien" prank fell flat for me.
While some of the new additions the author made to the wizarding world fit smoothly, other things were just jarring. The author wrote this novel for his wife and kids - commendable - but I have to wonder if he'd even read the original series. There were so many details that were just off. When these things happened, I was ripped out of the story and it ruined it for me. In the beginning of the book, bad guys use a different killing curse and it flashes orange. You can argue that the author was introducing a new spell to the universe but honestly, the old one worked fine and it would have made the prologue more smooth. The entire breakfast scene was ruined for me the morning after the great feast. House elves everywhere. He completely reworked how the tables worked from the original. We the readers, along with Harry, aren't even introduced to house elves until the second book, so I doubt they are crawling around under the Great Hall tables picking up discarded silverware. Or worse, acting as porters at the front doors, it's Hogwarts not the Hilton. Also, James owl is his dorm in it's cage rather than in the Owlery with the rest of the owls. So, either the author was clueless about that little detail or James is a spoiled brat who feels he deserves special treatment and can keep his owl in his room. I could go on and on in this vein, we won't speak about the wizarding kid trooping around with his trusty backpack, but you get the idea.
Overall, the story is not horrible and it will give you a Harry Potter Universe fix but it is not the greatness that was the original novels. And, frankly, it wouldn't be because J.K.R. didn't write it.
The good part of this book is that for the most part it feels like you are stepping back into the Wizarding world. The author does a fair job of doing that. The good additions to the world fit pretty seamlessly. I really like how James and his new friends all ended up in different houses. I like the concept of James struggling with being compared to his famous father but I don't know that it was executed as well as it could have been. There are times that James comes off as an arrogant, spoiled prat.
The bad parts, however, are jarring enough that it might make the book unreadable for some. I loathed the character of Zane. I'm American and Zane played like an obnoxious American stereotype. He was rude. I wanted to punch the brat on the train when he basically told James to buy them all something from the trolley because he only had American money. Why did he only have American money? That made no sense. Hermione was able to exchange Muggle money for wizarding funds. How did Zane buy his school stuff and why would his parents use wizard money to buy his things and then send him to wizard school with American cash. They are in Britain, why are his parents giving him American money anyway? His dad is well traveled and they are in the UK for his dad's work. He did not speak like a 10 year old modern American kid. He spoke like an old guy from the 40s or 50s. I never said "drat", none of the kids today are saying "drat". My 15 year-old doesn't say "drat" and neither do his friends. His vernacular and slang were just wrong for a kid his age. I hated the fact that he thought he could just throw money at things or that he made zero effort to learn how to navigate the Wizarding world. Not all Americans act this way and we are not all "obnoxious cowboys".
I almost put the book down during the "Wocket" episode. I get that Teddy and his friends are supposed to be the new Fred/George/Lee group who followed in the footsteps of the Marauders. But the entire "Alien" prank fell flat for me.
While some of the new additions the author made to the wizarding world fit smoothly, other things were just jarring. The author wrote this novel for his wife and kids - commendable - but I have to wonder if he'd even read the original series. There were so many details that were just off. When these things happened, I was ripped out of the story and it ruined it for me. In the beginning of the book, bad guys use a different killing curse and it flashes orange. You can argue that the author was introducing a new spell to the universe but honestly, the old one worked fine and it would have made the prologue more smooth. The entire breakfast scene was ruined for me the morning after the great feast. House elves everywhere. He completely reworked how the tables worked from the original. We the readers, along with Harry, aren't even introduced to house elves until the second book, so I doubt they are crawling around under the Great Hall tables picking up discarded silverware. Or worse, acting as porters at the front doors, it's Hogwarts not the Hilton. Also, James owl is his dorm in it's cage rather than in the Owlery with the rest of the owls. So, either the author was clueless about that little detail or James is a spoiled brat who feels he deserves special treatment and can keep his owl in his room. I could go on and on in this vein, we won't speak about the wizarding kid trooping around with his trusty backpack, but you get the idea.
Overall, the story is not horrible and it will give you a Harry Potter Universe fix but it is not the greatness that was the original novels. And, frankly, it wouldn't be because J.K.R. didn't write it.