Tuesday, July 17, 2007

the official jfw deathly hallows prediction

I've decided I am going to break with my six-books-strong tradition of listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks and instead buy the print copy of Deathly Hallows and read it. My preference would be to listen to the audiobook, but I am unconvinced that I will be able to avoid having some source spill an unwanted spoiler on me during the several days it would take me to listen all the way to the end. So I'm going to buy the book at midnight and read it before I look at any news source.

I'm trying to avoid reading any speculation about the book because I'm sure pre-release spoilers are already or soon available and I don't want to read any "speculation" that is directly or indirectly influenced by spoilers. I am nevertheless here posting my own prediction regarding the content of the book, largely so that I can gloat when proven correct. However, so no one who prefers suspense has the truth revealed to them inadvertently, I present my prediction in code. If you want to read it, go to this site, paste the paragraph below in the "Input:" window, type "jeremy freese" in the "Key:" window, and hit "Decode".

Clv tdmuyigq ec xyi qli fj Sjhnv fj Bfjfrmp ajw esf rmrx "rwmclvv xgavw azmui klq myyiv kyazzzqq" (fj xlsx fej gakucixwph prqq csumry xx xyef ztfo efcfep) fgr yyex firxyid *bnvw* azmui klq myyiv kyazzzqq. Xf, tvgfjfcc psj ks Lsvac siull r lsjgayo, lq ffj xs vmn jfv Hmquiqgvc xf huc. Jogihx, clisgem jsqw hnzzgq, ntjwmtph e uigq jo qeulrrr ezb ufwwafuc vbbjfzriv fh lrzull siif wnx zrfm rfxmgr kc Uyyzqvhsji oei mz yimerui jru eorzrxiv fh Weebc, Mrvvq arpc putj rrh Nsuhvqapy nmpd hri. Rpem, fj er arnbgpuafspi vmpvvwegte vixpngkmze Wfaparp'w uiegwv xs vmcgy fqgsx wiwr jw rr msyysv xsa gymxbwvr, lspoarc ffwfykz xqiii igqc fi s wqstoull jizwrcc-wmhc urki larrtier xtirw arxy Jdci rrh Yixvxi.

BTW, word on the street here in Cambridge is that Harvard square will be transformed into "Hogwarts Square" on Friday night, including a battle of the bands between a band that calls itself "Harry and the Potters" and completely separate band that has independently named itself "Draco and the Malfoys."

(No unencoded predictions of your own in the comments allowed!)

16 comments:

Ang said...

I just saw The Order of the Phoenix in IMax. I recommend it - there's 20 minutes in 3-D and it rocks.

carly said...

What? Did the 3-D make up for the fact that they cut so much out of the book that the movie failed to make sense?

carly said...

Oh. And I would love to see dueling bands called "Harry & the Potters" and "Draco & the Malfoys". That sounds awesomely awesome.

Brady said...

R'zv gakj rgvgwb xyi tmwtvyp xqifvk rtf, fyl xqie atw bfypv Zxpuc - iftji tjmveic ymyzzelmxr jiqkx ks fw jnei sr bjrxl - ti bs wmjyyvh sf hnwkvawnek wgqnxymze yyex zsuhj e bgjti sx lrw jsgj?

Brady said...

(Oh, and that's just a response to Jeremy - no foreknowledge at all of anything that may or may not occur.)

Gwen said...

Apparently terror of hearing what happens is gripping the nation. I have a copy pre-ordered and had already decided to go on a communications black-out until I finished it out of fear that if I listened to the radio or something that I might hear the ending. Yesterday on NPR I heard interviews with some HP fans, all of whom had the exact same plan.

I wonder if there will be any noticeable drop in newspaper sales or online activity as a result of the book's release.

On some level is seems INSANE that basically the entire world is waiting breathlessly for the release of a book. It gives me some hope for humanity.

Eszter said...

1. The main reason for this post is so you could have an entry with encoded text.

2. Bummer that I'll be in Cambridge the weekend after and so will miss the show.

3. Until reading this post I was pretty oblivious to when the book was coming out although knew it was soon since there is so much talk about it. I won't be buying it or reading it, I'm several books behind. Uhm, several movies that is, since I haven't read any of the books. Shocking. Can I still come back and read your blog in the future or am I banished for eternity?

Ken Houghton said...

Brady - There are seven horcrux.

Jeremy - Surprising?

jeremy said...

Vepfq T. ifiwf'x trfa Tywic mk e qsigdsc. Decti qsigdsczjmuecmfr smy kvefwoiivqb yf lme. Xqi desgh fj xzi btvpx rmrx wsznh Yedpd zw wlmup esf ccgpearnh. Nlmr gvxxwv fep jap Mrvvq'w vsklqp yf weni Qeivk rmrr xg lxvtvgvnwmgsxn lzq.

Psrspivsai jeub mv fidmnzvh ffjii awvn wvzql mfvgjygij. Qmwgv xlwvn eii qglyx. Qscki klqw bzpp xmwh rpx qjmir srm Z. jxujq nsr'l hri, sioyzji Lsvac zw tmwtvyp irkyx.

Lucy said...

Brady, Lee'x Hmquiqgvc xroq fnj tmwgn sw wasq segc fnjfvq (mw zr xzi yvfgqqx fj) oapumek Tywic? M llxyxlf rmv lsjgayoie ujii nmwc jfv fcrgsvsvh wksdylv.

I really should've started rereading the first 6 earlier...

gabriel said...

jeremy,

a reminder of what you're giving up by going to the dead tree edition
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/books/17dale.html?hp

Ang said...

Carly: I thought it didn't make sense because I don't read the books; I figured I didn't pay close enough attention at the other movies to catch the minutiae. I'm chronically inattentive like that; after like 17 years of Star Wars crap, I went to see episode 3 and was like, "What's a sith?"

Wow, so it's true. I really am the only person who doesn't care about this.

Brady said...

Hmmmmm...intriguing points all.

mary_m said...

Both Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys have played at my library. The former were pretty good, the latter, dreadful. Then again, I don't think the Rotunda of Central Library was designed with rock show acoustics in mind.

nina said...

People, it's not the finale, it's the book! Right? I mean, the author isn't getting gazillions for deciding who dies, who lives and who winds up with whom, is she? And you're reading it beacause it's a good read, right? If you had a spoiler tell you on July 20th what the outcome was, you'd read it with the same amount of zeal, of that I am certain.

Having said that, I have to admit, sadly, that I am in the camp of those who did not succumb. (There are only two camps -- those who did and thoe who did not.) Wish I had, but there you have it. Life took over and there was no time.

DogOnTheInternet said...

carly, you're wrong.

I saw HPatOotP over the weekend. I have not read any of the books. My only knowledge of the series is from the movies.

I thought the movie made perfect sense. As a matter of fact, they finally managed to put together a HP movie that gets the right mix of plot, backstory, and special effects. To wit:

1. The story of OotP was compelling in and of itself with it's coming-of-age tale of young adults and a group of "with it" teachers rebelling against the oppresive and backwards ways of their secluded boarding school and society in general. (Think "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" without all the pedophilia.)

2. A good deal of background information gets brought out in to the open naturally during the course of the story. Like, for example, why Snape hates Harry so or and the full extent of Voldemort's evil ways.

3. The obligatory pod race... er... flying broom scene was less than 90 seconds in length and was actually integrated in to the plot.

4. The character development of OotP was superb. For example, Hermione, despite being the third most important character in the series, has been little more than the bratty niece of Basil Exposition from the Austin Powers series.

Perhaps they did cut a lot from the books. I'll never know. But you need to remember that a page of a novel generally translates to a minute on screen and that 14½-hour-long movies don't work very well.