Quick Review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Quick Impression by Lyn Perry

Read this in a day or two and really enjoyed it. But some will not. So fair warning: since Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is actually a play, you'll want to read it as such and imagine the story unfolding on stage. Caution: quite a few (too many?) scene changes. Just be forewarned and read the play for what it is - an extended telling of all that we know and love about Harry and Voldemort, but featuring "TNG."

If you keep that in mind, then it's a nice revisiting of the HP canon, a trip down memory lane (and into Godric's Hollow). In fact, it's kind of like an homage to the original series while introducing another related storyline. Sort of what Star Wars Episode 7 did for the original 3 movies. So if you want to immerse yourself in Pottermore, then this offering from J.K. Rowling (and company) serves that purpose well.

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The Aedyn Chronicles by Alister McGrath

Discovered a blog post at Koinonia Blog (Fantasy meets Theology) about The Aedyn Chronicles (Zondervan, April 2010), a new fantasy series for children by renowned theologian, Alister McGrath. Here's a blurb from the publisher:

The land of Aedyn is a paradise beyond all imagining. But when this paradise falls, strangers from another world must be called to fight for the truth. Peter and Julia never suspected that a trip to their grandparents’ home in Oxford would contain anything out of the ordinary. But that was before Julia stumbled upon a mysterious garden that shone on moonless nights. It was no accident that she fell into the pool, pulling her brother along with her, but now they’re lost in a strange new world and they don’t know whom they can trust. Should they believe the mysterious, hooded lords? The ancient monk who appears only when least expected? Or the silent slaves who have a dark secret of their own? In a world inhabited by strange beasts and magical whisperings, two children called from another world will have to discover who they truly are, fighting desperate battles within themselves before they can lead the great revolution.

Sounds intriguing. I've read some of McGrath's books on apologetics and very much enjoy his writing style - he can communicate profound truths in an appealing and understandable manner. Like C. S. Lewis, McGrath can straddle the worlds of deep thinkers (see his interview with atheist Richard Dawkins here) to the person in the pew.