Harry Potter 7

[Rei]

Yay! I really can't wait! It will be very nice to see how this whole thing wraps up.

The Bloomsbury kids one really does look weird. Almost like they've accidently apparated into Scrooge McDuck's vault or something.

[Young Val]

Harry's wearing the slytherin locket (at least, that's what it looks like to me) in the US version. iiiiiiiinteresting.

also, what is harry fighting off, if it's not voldemort? on the full US jacket, voldemort is off to the side, attacking harry, but harry is looking upward...

[Jebus]

I have a feeling Harry might be wearing the fake locket RAB left behind and not the real Slytherin one, probably wrong though.

And I don't think he's fighting anything off, it looks more like he's trying to catch or receive something.

[Mahatma]

I am excited beyond belief about the cover art... *spaz* oiejfoejfojeofjeoij!

[NWS]

Thinking about just how "accurate" the cover art of most books is, I don't think it's even worth time speculating on a situation represented on a cover. That being said, I like it way better than the one Amazon keeps showing me as a recommendation.

[Young Val]

i think the cover art has been pretty accurate so far, no?

[jotabe]

At least in the Harry Potter series, yes, the cover art is quite accurate.
In my collection (Bloomsbury, sold in Spain) the covers were:
Philosopher's Stone: Harry Potter by the Hogwarts Express.
Chamber of Secrets: Harry and Ron flying on car towards Hogwarts.
Prisioner of Azkaban: Harry and Hermione flying on Buckbeak to rescue Sirius.
Goblet of Fire: Harry trying to catch the golden egg in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Order of the Phoenix: Fawkes, the phoenix (probably the less plot related cover of the series).
Half-Blood Prince: Harry and Dumbledore forging their way to the (fake) locket/horcrux.

... truth is that so far, the only cover that has contained a real spoiler was the PoA cover.

[eriador]

No spoiler, they did ride them during Care of Magical Creatures. The illustration could just as easily be portraying that.

[Young Val]

but they didn't share one in class.

[eriador]

I thought that Ron, Harry and Hermione were in the same section of CoMC... but it has been a while.

[Young Val]

...they are in the same class.

but Harry and Hermione didn't ride a hippogriff together in class. that only happened when they were rescuing Sirius.

[eriador]

Oh yeah, they are on the same hippogriff on the cover.

[anonshadow]

I don't think that, prior to rescuing Sirius, Hermione had ever ridden a hippogriff.

[jotabe]

Yeah... i remember when i was reading about buckbeak's execution, and checking the cover, and thinking "man, there is something really wrong in here". In that precise moment, the cover gives away that Buckbeak will be rescued.

Well, it's spoilers just for a few paragraphs, though

[Mahatma]

After poring over the images to make a desktop image out of them... it looks to me like in the US cover, they're both reaching for something. A Horcrux, perhaps? I also noticed that neither Harry nor Voldemort are holding a wand, which struck me as odd. (Harry was holding a wand in the DoM on the OotP cover, and with the egg on the GoF cover... and on the first three, he was riding something -- a broom, Fawkes, and Buckbeak -- and I don't think he had a broom.) Ooh, and it DOES look like he's wearing Slytherin's locket -- or something like that. I wouldn't have caught that, thanks Kelly! And on the children's UK cover... is Ron holding Gryffindor's sword?

[anonshadow]

Well, it's a spoiler from the point they know Buckbeak is going to be executed all through to when Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore are arguing in the hospital wing.

[jotabe]

Maybe i am too much into computer games, but it looks to me as if he was summoning some kind of magic?

[eriador]

That doesn't make a lot of sense, because all of the magic you've seen before doesn't require something like that. And I don't think it would be some ancient magic, because those are much more simple and deep (like Harry's mother dying for him).

[jotabe]

Yes, i know it doesn't make much sense... but seeing that image, is the first thing that came to my mind ^_^

Let's do a small exhaustive analysis of the image... maybe someone can think of something lol:

In first plane, there are some curtains and debriss made of stone and wood. This suggest the place is a theatre (when i first saw the picture, i thought "omg, a barroque picture!" lol). The debriss could be part of the broken stage machinery.
In second plane we have Harry raising his hand, and staring to a point that is somewhere over it (that point might not be shown in the picture). Harry is wearing a brown robe and green under-robe. Wearing a pendant. (It does seem like a locket, specially compared to the one in the adult version cover).
Harry seems to be slightly flexioning his knees, leaning towards Voldemort. From the position of his robes, he seems to be stepping towards Voldemort.
Voldemort is wearing a similar (but hooded) brown robe. He is staring very possibly at the same point Harry is, and his body faces Harry. He seems to be leaning backwards, and his right hand is between that point both are looking at, and himself. The waving of the robes seems to point that he is stepping back (possibly cowering in fear?).

In the background, we see that the setting is a semicircle with columns. The place is at the open air, possibly at the dusk, from the orange colors. There are very many faceless shadows along that semicircle (death eaters?). The walls with columns look very old, because the way they are cracked seems to tell about a very previous destruction.

It seems to be the place that Voldemort has "staged" (in an old, semi-destroyed theatre) for Harry's death. He even has public for it. But something unexpected happens over Harry's hand (possibly where we can't see it) that scares Voldemort.

Sigh, i feel like such a geek

[Petra456]

The curtains just make me think back to the cover art for the first book. The only difference is the HPSS's curtains are beautiful and undamaged, HHDH's curtains are plain and tattered. I'm not sure if the curtains are actually part of the place, or just part of the cover art.

[peterlocke123]

On the United Kingdom Children's Edition cover it shows a house elf (Dobby?) holding a sword (Gryffindor?).

Anyway, jotabe, Voldemort definitely cowering in fear of whatever Harry is looking at, whereas Harry looks absolutely confident. It looks like Harry is bringing whatever it is towards Voldemort.

[starlooker]

The first thing I thought was that Voldemort and Harry were standing in a quidditch field.

[Jebus]

On the United Kingdom Children's Edition cover it shows a house elf (Dobby?) holding a sword (Gryffindor?).

I totally missed that, thought it was Ron at first, good spot. While Dobby seems to be the obvious choice, Kreacher is probably going to have a large role in this book, so who knows?

[Petra456]

I saw the sword and the weird greenish hand, I just didn't connect that it could be a house elf.

[starlooker]

There are ears and another hand -- it seems to be a house-elf.

Although -- I was wondering, about the UK Children's book -- where the heck are they that has so much treasure? They're basically sliding out of a tube?

And so, I was wondering -- don't suppose it's Gringotts?

I don't know.

[locke]

harry sees the Ford Anglia is coming to beat up Voldemort like it did the acraclamantula.


That or they're doing the macarena.

anyone else think that the Ford Anglia is Sirius' Bike now transfigured into a car?

[jotabe]

Humm... just an amusing detail... well amusing for me (i have a distinct sense of humour).
I am rereading "the Goblet of Fire", and started to think about Viktor Krum's name... Viktor it's latin for "winner, conqueror".
Still, all along the Goblet of Fire, we only see him losing: first Bulgaria is defeated in the final of the Quidditch World Cup. Then in the Triwizard Tournament, in the First Task, he is beaten by Harry (well, they tie, but it isn't an outright victory). In the Second Task, he is beaten both by Cedric and Harry. In the Third Task... well, we all know what happened. And even about Hermione's heart, he likes her, but Hermione actually prefers Ron.

So, when does exactly Viktor become a winner?
JKR has been very ironic giving poor Krum his name...

[Hawkblaze]

I think the cover art for the US version is the best of GrandPre's illustrations so far.

At the Mugglenet site, there's been a lot of speculation that the final battle will take place beyond the veil in the Death Room at the Department of Mysteries. The curtain in the cover art seems to support this theory. However, I believe Rowling says that the veil is gossamer and black, not tannish like in the illustration.

The thing that really boggles my mind about this cover is the background. It looks like some kind of Roman colliseum, with its arches and columns. You can also see shadowy figures watching Harry and Voldemort. A lot of people speculated that Godric's Hollow would be the scene for the final battle, and this exotic locale seems to demolish that theory. In fact, the shadowy figures and the strange background add more credence to the "Beyond the Veil" theory, at least for me. Remember at the end of Book 5, when Luna tells Harry that Sirius isn't gone, he's just "beyond the veil" ? Because GrandPre drew the spectators as shadowy, inscrutable figures, they could be souls that have passed "beyond the veil." The dead themselves are watching this final battle.

Only a hundred or so days left!

[Craig]

I think that's one of the better ideas I've heard Hawk. It sounds possible.

Salaam

[Young Val]

c'mon kids. just a few more weeks to make predictions. let the fever begin!

[Dr. Mobius]

I predict I'll like the book regardless of how close or far it is from my predictions of what'll happen.

[Petra456]

It's like... I want to make predictions, but honestly, I don't have any I fully believe will happen.

I'm so excited though. Who else is going to a midnight party?

[Young Val]

i went to a midnight party for each one, starting with the second book--which wasn't a midnight party at all because they didn't have them back then, but instead was sort of a low-key magic themed day at barned and noble on the pub date.


but this will be the first year that i don't. i'm in new york, and i think it will just be TOO hectic. i'll be sitting on my front steps waiting for amazon to deliver mine. (really. our doorbell is broken. i'll be sitting on the front steps).

[Petra456]

The parties are going to be crazy! I went to one last year and had a lot of fun. The book before that I was in Wyoming and it was horrible just trying to find a book store.

I wouldn't miss this one for anything though.

[human.]

If I hadn't already reserved a copy at Barnes and Noble, it's so much easier and faster to go to a grocery store. For book six, I simply went to Albertsons, walked it and bought it. The only other people in the store were the few employees left there to sell it. It'd be so much easier.. but the midnight parties seem to just add to the suspense and excitement.

I keep trying to make predictions that I would believe, but it really doesn't seem possible..