Book Haven discussion

I just learned that another author has picked up J.K. Rowling's torch and has been writing a sequel to the Harry Potter series!!!

James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing
James Potter and the Curse of the Gate Keeper
were written by G. Norman Lippert.
They are basically about Harry Potter's two sons...

Has anyone read them? Are they good?
What does everyone think about another author picking up where J.K. Rowling left off?
Is anyone going to read them?

Oy vey.
Okay personally I really can't stand when someone else tries to pick up another author's work! One, it's usually never as well written because if they were actually a talented writer they would come up with their own stories. Two, I can never actually believe what happens to the characters because it's basically just a higher form of fan fiction and not their characters to make a life for. Nothing the characters do is real unless JK Rowling writes it. Three, why the hell does this nobody think he can pick up Rowling's work. Who the hell is he? Four I kind of hope he gets sued by JK Rowling because she doesn't even like fan fiction because unlike these wannabes she is creative and has back stories for all her characters and therefore anything else written about them destroys the character she created a little bit.

If you couldn't tell I will not be reading these and hope they are taken offline.

Sorry for being so ranty Joy, wannabe authors like this just really make me mad and I feel it takes something away from the original stories.

Lisa Anne wrote: "Oy vey.
Okay personally I really can't stand when someone else tries to pick up another author's work! One, it's usually never as well written because if they were actually a talented writer they ..."

Don't worry about it. I knew that this would tick some people off. I was shocked when I found out. LOL I actually might read them out of curiosity, but I agree that it is usually terrible when one author picks up where another author left off.

It kind of bugs me though, because maybe Rowling wanted to write about Harry Potter's kids, and instead this other author has already done it. :(

Wow...that actually shocked me. I've thought of a continuation but had no clue that someone was going to do it. It's a good idea in theory but I must admit I'm not thrilled about it. I mean I'm somewhat alright with fanfic as long as it stays somewhat to true to the storyline and characters but this is different. This is something she barely touched and it just doesn't seem right to have it out there like this.

I don't know...maybe curiosity will get the best of me but I doubt it.

I always kind of hoped that Rowling would eventually write a series about the kids. Now, I doubt she'll do it since this other guy has done it already. :( I would have been more okay with it if this other author wrote about Hogwarts WAY in the past/future without using any of the characters in the Harry Potter series...

REALLY??? How do Rowling react about this?

I hope she writes more books anyways. Screw him, it's fake Potter characters at best.

I have to second Lisa Anne's opinions on this one. It's simply not right to ride on another author's coattails. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets sued.

Jackie wrote: "I have to second Lisa Anne's opinions on this one. It's simply not right to ride on another author's coattails. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets sued."

I don't understand why he would do this. Create a sequel to the work of a living author? Without her permission?

It makes me doubt his creativity.

I had no idea that there were even sequels to the Harry Potter series.

Ellen♥ wrote: "I had no idea that there were even sequels to the Harry Potter series."

LOL Neither did I until minutes before I posted this thread...

First I think many people are a little confused George the author of this series has gained no profit from his JP series. This is simple a fan fiction and there is tons and tons and tons of Harry Potter fan fiction oneline. This one has just gotten more attention then most fan fiction largely due to the Author creating a website for it and also doing artwork for it as well. The author of these JP books has written his own original books. In fact he is currently trying to get his first novel to be picked up by a literary agent. Here is the books website http://riverhousebook.com/ it has a synopsis and a few pages. He has also written a short novella called The Girl on the Dock it is available through amazon.

JK Rowling has said on several occasions she does not have a problem with fan fiction and is actually quite honored that people would want to write about the world she created. If an author has a problem with fan fiction (i.e. Ann Rice)then you wouldn’t see it online. There are many authors like JK Rowling who have no problem with fan fiction as long as someone is not making money off of it. The author contacted Jo's people before publishing his website to see if it was ok and they had no problem again since he is not getting a profit. JK also probably knows that fan fiction writing can lead to original work.

Here is article that came out in 2004 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainm... in which it talks about JK’s feeling on Fan fiction about her world/characters. Here are a few quotes from the article

“A spokesman for Rowling's literary agent said she was "flattered people wanted to write their own stories" based on her characters.”

“The spokesman for the Christopher Little literary agency said: "JK Rowling's reaction is that she is very flattered by the fact there is such great interest in her Harry Potter series and that people take the time to write their own stories.”


If Jo ever wanted to write a book on Harry’s kids this would not change it again this is fan fiction its not cannon. It’s no different then any other fan fiction that is out there and again there are loads of fan fictions out there about the “second generation” , about the Marauders time period, Founders time period , Alternate Universe. People who have written their own version of one of the books or even wrote their own version before the cannon version came out. Even if someone writes a good fan fiction story – series it does not take away from the cannon versions. Bottom line if Jo ever plans or wants to write a series staring Harry’s kids or any other character this fan fiction series, nor any other fan fiction series or story is going to stop her.

Well, that's very gracious of her. That's a good attitude.

There is one more thing about fan fiction, which has been around as actually physical fanzines you could hold in your hand as well as on the Internet for multiple decades. A lot of authors started out writing fan fiction. You would be surprised at how many did that.

And there have been anthologies published were ALL of the authors in those anthologies started out writing fan fiction because and many of the stories in those anthologies actually were fan fiction. I'm especially thinking of the SF anthologies edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley when she was still alive.

Huh. You learn something new every day.
=D

=P

I was curious about this as I have heard of it but haven't read it. Both of his books, however, are getting really great reviews on GR. Anyways, I just found this letter written by GNL and thought I'd share.

Excerpt from the website...
Dear Readers,

As of 18 July, I received correspondence from a representative of Warner Bros., Ms. Rowling and the Cristopher Little Literary Agency, suggesting that I clarify some details reported in a recent article concerning my stories.

First, the article mentions my understanding that Ms. Rowling had previewed an advance copy of "James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing". This belief was based on emailed conversations I had with Ms. Rowling's agent. While the agency did accept my offer of an advance copy, this was apparently never shown to Ms. Rowling, thus any assumptions about her having viewed it are quite incorrect.

Second, the article mentions that many of you have asked whether my stories will ever be available in book form, and quotes me as saying that I would love to see this happen, however unlikely it may seem. I have been assured that this is indeed an utter impossibility: "You obviously know you can't do that without permission, and J.K Rowling has no plans to permit that sort of publication. So we ask you not to suggest that future book publication is a possibility or to encourage speculation in that regard."

Also, while the recent article does set the record straight in this regard, the correspondence asked me to reiterate that, despite the claims of various news stories late last year, there was never any legal action aimed at stopping the free release of my stories.

In short: this is fan fiction, written by somebody other than J. K. Rowling. It is not "canon"; it will never be permitted to be published in any way; Ms. Rowling herself has never viewed these stories, and has no intention to do so (which is perfectly understandable, of course).

This has, however, changed any plans this author might have had about writing any further installments in this series. I had hoped (as most fan-fiction writers do) that these stories would be viewed as homages to the original author, and perhaps, had they ever made it to Ms. Rowling in person, they might have been. Reality being what it is, however, the best I can hope for is to entertain myself and some of the other fans who, like myself, were sad to see the story end.

I do still hope you all enjoy the upcoming sequel. It wraps up many of the loose ends. Not all of them, of course, since this was shaping up to be rather a saga, but enough to satisfy. The rest I will leave to your very active imaginations.

G. Norman Lippert

Thank you for posting that Jennifer. :)

I saw this book at Barnes and Noble today, and it reminded me of an adult version of Harry Potter...not the exact same, but a similar plot. I actually sounds kind of good! Has anyone read it?

The Magicians A Novel by Lev Grossman

Joy wrote: "I saw this book at Barnes and Noble today, and it reminded me of an adult version of Harry Potter...not the exact same, but a similar plot. I actually sounds kind of good! Has anyone read it?

[b..."

Funny, I just read a review of this book on salon.com and found it highly rated! I gotta read this one sometime.

Joy I have The Magicians A Novel on my TBR list.

As for the other author writing about Harry Potters sons well that kind of makes me sad. I mean I always hoped Rowlands would write about the boys! I just don't think another auther can make it right because you know there will be interactions with the already created characters. I mean you can't have the kids without putting Harry in the books! It is just never the same when someone else does it. Some people where commenting on its okay because it is just fan fiction and he is not making a profit but he is since he is selling the books! He is making money on something someone else created and put a lot of time and energy into.

Jen, no he is not selling the stories in books! It is only available in a free ebook. I think :p

Sasja you are right I looked into it and he is only doing a read ebook. I still think is weird

Yeah, me too. I don't have a problem with fanfic, but this goes just a step too far for me.
He wants to make a name for himself by making a fanfic and promoting it, personally, I don't think I will ever read a book written by him after this.

I completely agree with you! This is why I have all the issues with the Mr. Darcy books out there....its just not the same

i read a story about the Harry potter world online by G. Norman Lippert. .....a bit weird.. different...

I don't think I even want to try and read them. I like the originals!!

I've read the first and reallky enjoyed. As a big HP fan. I like that another fan wrote something so well written and true to JK world. Millions of people write HP fanfic and put it up on the internet. He took it a step farther with the site and illustrations which I think the work deserves. It's actually one of the best fanfics I've read.

Third book starts being published online one chapter at a time on Jan 1st 2010. I will get to reading it eventually but I think I will go back and re-read the first two.

interesting, of course they wont be published but maybe if they are good the fan fiction author could write their own fantasy not related to Potter and Hogwarts and start a whole new saga craze like Potter, Twilight etc.

I have not read the Potter books however I do own them and plan to read at a later date. With all the book/movies releases I've had enough of darling Harry for awhile. My kids are Hogwarts crazy so we watch the movies alot.

I just went to the website, how freaking awesome and Potter-ish(if you can call it that)

WTH, How can/Why would someone else write It's sequel?, It's just dumb imo.

I just think of them as longer-than-average FanFic. I have downloaded them, but haven't gotten around to reading either of them yet.

Lisa Anne wrote: "Oy vey.
Okay personally I really can't stand when someone else tries to pick up another author's work! One, it's usually never as well written because if they were actually a talented writer they ..."

Sometimes they can do so correctly. A lot of the works that sequal 1632 by Eric Flint are pretty epic and are written by a multitude of authors. And David Weber and John Ringo also do a good job with their works complementing each other--they could totally trade off without making a horrendous mess. It just depends on the writing style of the authors meshing.

As someone who has written fanfic for many different fandoms, I say "Way to go!" If he has got so much attention when there is so much fanfic out there (especially HP) then he's doing a pretty good job.

I might read it but I don't know

Greetings all! I am the author of this series and I have just discovered this very vigorous conversation about the stories.

Without wishing to open myself up to too much criticism, I do wish to say simply that I never intended to compete in any way with Ms. Rowling (even if I could!) These stories are an homage, a loving tribute, and a cathartic response to the end of the original saga. That's all.

I did not release them with the intention of "making a name for myself"-- indeed, writing fan fiction is something one must ardently hide if one means to be taken seriously by the legitimate publishing industry. Thus, while the stories have been read by well over a million people worldwide, releasing them has actually been a detriment to my official writing career, and is now something that I do not admit to in "official" company.

Still, I wrote the James Potter stories because I loved the magical world Ms. Rowling created and simply wanted to enjoy it a bit further. I only released them online because my friends and family encouraged me to share them-- and I am glad I did. I don't think my own stories could compete with any "real" James Potter stories Ms. Rowling deemed to write anymore than the millions of existing Harry Potter stories compete with the original series.

So: all that to say, I appreciate and understand the derision that has been expressed in my direction (in some of the above posts) and I would probably be expressing it myself if I was not the author.

Still, for what they are worth, the stories have been well received and enjoyed by many, if one recognizes them for what they are: high-end fan fiction.

Either way, I am enjoying the conversation here. Do keep it up!

I have read the first 2 books in the James Potter series and I am definitely a fan. The books are very good and it is obvious that the author is extremely talented. I obviously love JK Rowling and her work, but that doesn't mean that someone else can't also contribute to the overall story and create new characters and storylines. It's unfortunate for Mr. Lippert that he can't sell his JP books because I for one would pay to read more from the series.

I'm just reading this thread and therefore, finding out about the James Potter stories. I'm only on page 14 but I'm enjoying it. I used to be more against other authors taking over someone else's original work or making their own twist. But some of it is quite good. Just because this gentleman posted his own story on the internet doesn't mean J.K. Rowling can't ever release her own stories about the family now. Her books would still sell like hotcakes regardless of Mr. Lippert's online stories. So I'd like to read more of this and I'm sure I'll continue to like it.

I guess I am going to have to download these books for myself, and decide for myself. I have heard a lot of different opinions that have honestly made me more curious...
For the people who read these books already...
What did you think?
Would you recommend them for people who are die hard HP fans?

I bet these books are rubbish. I've sent him an email of disgust.

I just hope he inherited a hefty amount from old aunt Clara before the lawyers call.

My personal opinion is that if Rowling would write something else instead of still milking Harry Potter through what is it a game site now? She wouldn't be having issues like this. She doesn't want people putting out spin off from her work, ok I get that but put out something new for readers, the original fans instead of trying to keep gaining money with a series that once this last movie has been on DVD for a year or two I don't think will get much mention if she doesn't give us a new book to read about SOMETHING. Don't get me wrong I loved the Harry Potter Series, but how long has it been since we've seen a real book from J.K. Rowling, I don't really count the Tales of Beetle Bard. I seriously hated that booked and was completely bored reading it, it wasn't nearly up to the standard of her other novels. Just because the actors don't want to sign on for another movie doesn't mean she can't write another book in the world if she so chooses. She's a writer, not a film director. She makes a bigger deal out of this than any other writer out there and yet produces no new work instead, milking the ones that got her noticed until soon people will be just tired of hearing about it. If she's not going to write things herself I don't get why she throws such a fit when other do. If she was still writing books maybe I'd understand, but I don't know maybe it's just me that doesn't approve of her behavior in this regard.

Jenn no offense, but I don't see how this is really our call to make. If Rowling doesn't want to do anymore Harry Potter based books then that's her decision. Sure I adore the books, I grew up with them and I don't think there is any series out there that will take their place for me. I would love to see more from her but as you said Jenn, she's a writer. It takes time, and if she's done with ideas for Harry Potter there isn't anything she can do about it except wait for something new to spring up and if they never do...well we as fans just have to make do. Just because she's not writing anything new doesn't mean that she can't get mad for someone else using her work as a basis for their own stories, they are still her's regardless of the series completion or not. I personally would be pissed if someone decided to use my work for their own stories and I would complain as loudly as I could. Also I don't think this guy is actually making money off of these James Potter stories, he's not allowed to or he would be sued (and I'm not sure that's something he'd be able to pay), this is basically glorified fan-fiction. I don't necessarily believe her decision to make a site has anything to do with money, she's made her millions and she's not hurting. This year is a big year for Harry Potter fans, it's finally come to an end and I'm sure Rowling realizes that. So instead of completely letting the series go she decided to try out something new. As for Tales, it was just a storybook. It wasn't meant to be as detailed and in depth as the actual books, it's meant to add depth to the world. It's sort of like the Qudditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts, they were just companion books nothing more.

You are still entitled to your opinion of course, I'm not saying that you aren't at all. I just don't see your argument as completely fair. Sorry if it offends you

It doesn't offend me, I do get you point, I just don't agree I guess. I mean yes I can see how she'd be offended if he were making money, which he isn't. I just think she should be responding by launching something new in writing whether it's Harry Potter Books or Fluffy the Big White Bunny, something. Obviously Fluffy isn't a Rowling title, it's a subject pulled off the top of my head. It comes across to me personally like she's walked away from writing because she can't make more movies of the books that made her famous using the same actors but is somehow getting angry about Fan Fiction or spin off novels. It may be completely possible that I'm misinterpreting her actions based on the few snippets based here and there that happen to be the only ones I catch. However the way I'm interpreting just doesn't seem like acceptable behavior in my personal opinion. But again that's just my opinion and I'm only one in a few billion people.

I would love to read a new Rowling book instead of hearing how busy she is setting up websites. My colleage has a count down til Potterwatch. I'd kust like a new book, well-written, any story line.

J.D. wrote: "I just learned that another author has picked up J.K. Rowling's torch and has been writing a sequel to the Harry Potter series!!!

[book:James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Cros..."
I'm interested in reading them.

Helen wrote: "I would love to read a new Rowling book instead of hearing how busy she is setting up websites. My colleage has a count down til Potterwatch. I'd kust like a new book, well-written, any story line."

She is working on an encyclopaedia for the hp series. That will ne out on five or more years. And she is working on a book for adults, away from the hp universe.

Sonya wrote: "I'm interested in reading them."

Me too, I've already downloaded them. But I'm treating them as fan-fiction. So I probably won't commit much to memory once I've read them.

Okay, I've gotta be honest. Part of me thinks that J.K isn't writing something besides HP... might be because she is afraid she won't be able to write something that is on par with HP. I mean, it would be hard to top that...However, since it is J.K. Rowling people would buy it simply because it's buy her. That doesn't guarantee they will love it though. I would LOVE to read something by her that is entirely different from Harry Potter. I think she is a phenomenal writer and her talents are being wasted because she she is holding onto HP too tightly. It's time to let him go and try something else. Her fans are dying for her to write more!

She did try w/Beetle Bard but it wasn't well received.

Well I just downloaded all three of the JP books and I am going to give them a try. I have read a lot of fanfiction and I know that there are good writers within the realms of FF. FF is a way for writers to practice the craft and develop skills. It is also beneficial in the area of receiving "constructive criticism." For those unfamiliar with constructive criticism here is a brief summary via everyone's favorite online encyclopedia. Constructive Criticism via Wikipedia