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James Potter #3
James Potter y la bóveda de los destinos
This Changes Everything...
It is a year of change and upheaval for the entire Potter family. Harry, as head Auror, has been sent to the United States to help investigate a nefarious underground group whose proclaimed goals are to unite the Muggle and magical world by any means necessary. Unwilling to be separated for the lengthy trip, Ginny insists that family accompany Harry, launching a year long journey to the United States and the American wizarding school of Alma Aleron.
Determined to avoid adventure for the term, James finds himself unwittingly pulled into an international incident involving Petra Morganstern, who has accompanied the family to the states along with her younger Muggle step-sister Izabella. Apparently framed for a crime she didn't commit, James, Ralph and Zane must prove Petra's innocence before she is separated from Izzy forever.
Complicating matters, however, is the very real possibility that, despite James' growing feelings for Petra, she may indeed be guilty of the crime she has been accused of, and perhaps even worse things. Because Petra, as James slowly learns, is no ordinary witch. Her magic is mysteriously powerful, even without a wand, and headmaster Merlin himself seems wary of her.
In the end, James must choose to confront the truth that he has been seeking, knowing that it may well shatter his perception of the girl he loves, and even the stability of the magical world at large.
It is a year of change and upheaval for the entire Potter family. Harry, as head Auror, has been sent to the United States to help investigate a nefarious underground group whose proclaimed goals are to unite the Muggle and magical world by any means necessary. Unwilling to be separated for the lengthy trip, Ginny insists that family accompany Harry, launching a year long journey to the United States and the American wizarding school of Alma Aleron.
Determined to avoid adventure for the term, James finds himself unwittingly pulled into an international incident involving Petra Morganstern, who has accompanied the family to the states along with her younger Muggle step-sister Izabella. Apparently framed for a crime she didn't commit, James, Ralph and Zane must prove Petra's innocence before she is separated from Izzy forever.
Complicating matters, however, is the very real possibility that, despite James' growing feelings for Petra, she may indeed be guilty of the crime she has been accused of, and perhaps even worse things. Because Petra, as James slowly learns, is no ordinary witch. Her magic is mysteriously powerful, even without a wand, and headmaster Merlin himself seems wary of her.
In the end, James must choose to confront the truth that he has been seeking, knowing that it may well shatter his perception of the girl he loves, and even the stability of the magical world at large.
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First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 492 reviews
December 4, 2013
Is it bad form to rate one's own book?
I enjoyed this story, as the author, because it gave me so much more wiggle room for invention. Taking the story out of Hogwarts and into Alma Aleron made it a much more personal story, and allowed me to make up my own rules along the way, which I quite like.
Furthermore, the Megaplot (as I call it) is finally becoming fully evident. In this story our main conflict is finally introduced, along with the key players. It is a bit more grown up than my previous installments, but is hopefully still quite accessible to somewhat younger readers.
Will there be a book 4? Well. It already exists in my head. It's just a matter of making the time to get it down into words.
I enjoyed this story, as the author, because it gave me so much more wiggle room for invention. Taking the story out of Hogwarts and into Alma Aleron made it a much more personal story, and allowed me to make up my own rules along the way, which I quite like.
Furthermore, the Megaplot (as I call it) is finally becoming fully evident. In this story our main conflict is finally introduced, along with the key players. It is a bit more grown up than my previous installments, but is hopefully still quite accessible to somewhat younger readers.
Will there be a book 4? Well. It already exists in my head. It's just a matter of making the time to get it down into words.
October 1, 2012
I'm 3 books into Lippert's series and it's still very nicely done. In this book, the action shifts to the US as James and his family and friends visit the magical community in Philadelphia and the wizarding school, Alma Aleron. The new environment is painted vividly, and gives Lippert a chance to show what he can do when given free rein to build his own school of magic. It isn't as well-constructed as Hogwarts, but hey, it's an American copy, look what they did to football... Speaking of which, Lippert also introduces surprisingly well-formed touches like a brand-new sport for the kids to indulge in. Like Quidditch, Clutchcudgel takes a bit of getting used to, but is surprisingly internally consistent once you understand how it works. The houses of the US school are arranged more like fraternities, each with their own mansion in the grounds of the school. These houses are more whimsical than their British counterparts, and seem somewhat more arbitrary too. There is no strong sense of destiny in the US sorting process, and indeed James and Ralph both summarily ignore it.
The plot takes a little while to really get going, but once it does, it's as gripping as the first two books (and indeed the original Harry Potter books). The prose might not be as sparkling as it could be, and there are a few real clunkers in there too, but in the main I found myself so invested in the story and the characters that I was willing to overlook any stylistic concerns.
Overall, the book is well worth its 4 stars. I still think someone should take Mr Lippert by the hand and really go to town on the editing of these books, but the fact that I believe they're worthy of that (and they're essentially still fan-fiction, remember) speaks volumes. Honestly, if this guy doesn't get a book deal, there's no hope for the rest of us. If you haven't read them already, and you're a Harry Potter fan, you owe it to yourself to check them all out. I have to keep reminding myself that none of this should be considered official, because it's so tempting just to adopt these stories and work them into your understanding of the Potter universe. They are good enough for that. Really.
The plot takes a little while to really get going, but once it does, it's as gripping as the first two books (and indeed the original Harry Potter books). The prose might not be as sparkling as it could be, and there are a few real clunkers in there too, but in the main I found myself so invested in the story and the characters that I was willing to overlook any stylistic concerns.
Overall, the book is well worth its 4 stars. I still think someone should take Mr Lippert by the hand and really go to town on the editing of these books, but the fact that I believe they're worthy of that (and they're essentially still fan-fiction, remember) speaks volumes. Honestly, if this guy doesn't get a book deal, there's no hope for the rest of us. If you haven't read them already, and you're a Harry Potter fan, you owe it to yourself to check them all out. I have to keep reminding myself that none of this should be considered official, because it's so tempting just to adopt these stories and work them into your understanding of the Potter universe. They are good enough for that. Really.
December 4, 2013
Okay, well, I finally finished. One good thing about this series by G. Norman Lippert is that I did feel I grew with the main character, James. I could tell he matured, as well. However, I do feel like the story really dragged through the beginning and middle...And then I feel like the ending was rushed. Oh well.
G. Norman Lippert does have an outstanding imagination. I can tell that he has grown as a writer, too.
This part of the James Potter series has James, his family, and Ralph in the United States. James and Ralph reunite with their good ol' trusty friend, Zane, who happens to be my favorite character. James finds that he is a natural at Clutchcudgle, the main sport at the American magic school Alma Aleron. Throughout the story James is working to try and prove the innocence of Petra, who is thought to have attacked the Vault of Destinies and basically messed up some dimensional reality stuff. It's kinda complicated.
This series does not end happily. One of the characters dies (& I'll admit to getting a little teary-eyed) and though Petra was innocent the problems are really not solved and even more are created. In the last few pages the Muggle world is made aware of magical community living among them. I'm kind of hoping now that there will be another book in the series to tell how that all will work out.
G. Norman Lippert does have an outstanding imagination. I can tell that he has grown as a writer, too.
This part of the James Potter series has James, his family, and Ralph in the United States. James and Ralph reunite with their good ol' trusty friend, Zane, who happens to be my favorite character. James finds that he is a natural at Clutchcudgle, the main sport at the American magic school Alma Aleron. Throughout the story James is working to try and prove the innocence of Petra, who is thought to have attacked the Vault of Destinies and basically messed up some dimensional reality stuff. It's kinda complicated.
This series does not end happily. One of the characters dies (& I'll admit to getting a little teary-eyed) and though Petra was innocent the problems are really not solved and even more are created. In the last few pages the Muggle world is made aware of magical community living among them. I'm kind of hoping now that there will be another book in the series to tell how that all will work out.
April 30, 2012
Thus concludes the available series so far.
This time, we follow James, Ralph, Petra and her Muggle sister Izzy, Merlin, adopted cousin Lucy Weasley, and their families across the sea to Alma Aleron in America. We are reacquainted with Zane Walker, Benjamin Franklyn, and Theodore Jackson in their native American wizarding school.
Petra's ominous storyline continues from Lippert's The Girl on the Dock, weaving into the James Potter plot-line seamlessly and catastrophically. This story also gives us a glimpse at James' hidden athletic talents. This novel is the integral turning point for the overall plot-line of the series, despite it's rather slow beginning and James' initial apathetic involvement in the major action.
Lippert clearly has begun to integrate characters that reflect real-life people into the series. In James Potter and the Curse of the Gate Keeper, we met Juliet Revalvier, who was credited as writing Harry Potter's exploits into a set of novels marketed as fantasy fiction to Muggles (hello, obvious reference to J.K. Rowling). In this novel, we meet Zane's father, who works on movies and other creative endeavors, and writes fiction for fun... a work that James thinks involves his name in the title (hi, Lippert, nice to meet you). We also meet Persephone Remora, the head of Aleron's "Vampire" house, who wrote a popular yet generally poorly written series about teen Vamp love in America, which I couldn't help but feel was a reference to Stephenie Meyer...
Lippert made it clear that his writings were meant to reflect the original Harry Potter subject matter (similar thematic references in each ascending story), but I found this particular novel to notch up the danger factor rather quickly for the overarching plot-line. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I feel that Lippert is finally loosening the reigns on paralleling the series to the originals.
While the story is interesting in itself, this volume also incorporates the largest amount of grammatical and punctuation errors thus far. From quotes lacking the initial quotation mark to subject-verb agreement debacles and even the occasional switch mid-sentence from past to present tense, I found it difficult to concentrate on the story from time to time.
Otherwise, I am interested in the next James Potter installment and this read, while sometimes confusing, was entertaining.
This time, we follow James, Ralph, Petra and her Muggle sister Izzy, Merlin, adopted cousin Lucy Weasley, and their families across the sea to Alma Aleron in America. We are reacquainted with Zane Walker, Benjamin Franklyn, and Theodore Jackson in their native American wizarding school.
Petra's ominous storyline continues from Lippert's The Girl on the Dock, weaving into the James Potter plot-line seamlessly and catastrophically. This story also gives us a glimpse at James' hidden athletic talents. This novel is the integral turning point for the overall plot-line of the series, despite it's rather slow beginning and James' initial apathetic involvement in the major action.
Lippert clearly has begun to integrate characters that reflect real-life people into the series. In James Potter and the Curse of the Gate Keeper, we met Juliet Revalvier, who was credited as writing Harry Potter's exploits into a set of novels marketed as fantasy fiction to Muggles (hello, obvious reference to J.K. Rowling). In this novel, we meet Zane's father, who works on movies and other creative endeavors, and writes fiction for fun... a work that James thinks involves his name in the title (hi, Lippert, nice to meet you). We also meet Persephone Remora, the head of Aleron's "Vampire" house, who wrote a popular yet generally poorly written series about teen Vamp love in America, which I couldn't help but feel was a reference to Stephenie Meyer...
Lippert made it clear that his writings were meant to reflect the original Harry Potter subject matter (similar thematic references in each ascending story), but I found this particular novel to notch up the danger factor rather quickly for the overarching plot-line. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I feel that Lippert is finally loosening the reigns on paralleling the series to the originals.
While the story is interesting in itself, this volume also incorporates the largest amount of grammatical and punctuation errors thus far. From quotes lacking the initial quotation mark to subject-verb agreement debacles and even the occasional switch mid-sentence from past to present tense, I found it difficult to concentrate on the story from time to time.
Otherwise, I am interested in the next James Potter installment and this read, while sometimes confusing, was entertaining.
February 17, 2012
I have to say that this is the best of the series so far , I hope there will be more?? The author took this to a whole new level when he took the whole magical ideals into America, where he continued on with the themes that have run in the previous books.
The book was left on an obvious cliffhanger with the Potters running home with the tail between their legs, and they used to worry about malfoy? I doubt they will anymore, not after all of this that has happened, this book has left so many questions unanswered wanting the reader almost to want to pick up the next one straight away!!
One shock moment was the death, ok in the original haary potter series I think people were really shocked when Sirius had been killed. But the death in this book, really made me think, no not her, but I think maybe that was because she had become one of my more favorite charachters, in a way a replacement for Hermoine, but sadly she will be gone now.
I sincerely hope that the author carries on.... or else he may end up with someone else writing james potter fan-fiction !!
The book was left on an obvious cliffhanger with the Potters running home with the tail between their legs, and they used to worry about malfoy? I doubt they will anymore, not after all of this that has happened, this book has left so many questions unanswered wanting the reader almost to want to pick up the next one straight away!!
One shock moment was the death, ok in the original haary potter series I think people were really shocked when Sirius had been killed. But the death in this book, really made me think, no not her, but I think maybe that was because she had become one of my more favorite charachters, in a way a replacement for Hermoine, but sadly she will be gone now.
I sincerely hope that the author carries on.... or else he may end up with someone else writing james potter fan-fiction !!
August 18, 2023
Entonces, voy a arriesgarme (admitiendo que mis recuerdos siguen siendo pocos y muy distantes) y diré que este libro podría haber sido el que cambió toda la historia y llevó al final que… eh. Cruzaré ese puente cuando llegue ahí.
¿Y es que cómo podría no hacerlo? desde la existencia de un inexplorado entorno mágico, un telar del destino que ciertamente no redescubrió mi miedo hacia los telares, un juego que pareció meramente deportivo pero que fue mucho más importante y cosas así… y todo con el objetivo de enviar al lector directo a una conclusión accidentada, trágica y todavía con algunos misterios.
¿Y es que cómo podría no hacerlo? desde la existencia de un inexplorado entorno mágico, un telar del destino que ciertamente no redescubrió mi miedo hacia los telares, un juego que pareció meramente deportivo pero que fue mucho más importante y cosas así… y todo con el objetivo de enviar al lector directo a una conclusión accidentada, trágica y todavía con algunos misterios.
May 20, 2013
I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as the first two in the series. The departure from the setting and the confines of the Harry Potter world is disturbing and disjointed. I did not like Petra as a character, or the "linkage" of her dark spin-off storyline to this book. The ending is very bleak, sad and unsatisfying. This book is way too long and completely over-indulgent on the part of the author. I think the only saving graces are the elements that can be tied most closely to JK Rowling's books- that being the reader's desire to see Harry and his family succeed- and there are a few of those moments. I will also say I enjoy Zane very much as a character, clutch as a sport, and the Heckle/Jeckle comedy duo. I am glad to have read these 3 books...but this last installment has made me glad they are done and I will happily return to my fond memories of the original 7 and leave my first experience with fan fiction behind with mixed feelings.
December 27, 2012
Ahh another Potter book down. This one was quite enjoyable. Nice twists and imagination. I was glad I read "The Girl on the Dock" before I read this book. Adds quite a bit of extra insights. Not nessessary but helpful.
August 22, 2010
The third book in the James Potter series was definitely the best so far. The story takes a much darker and dramatic turn when James and Ralph relocate to the Alma Aleron campus for the school year. James is sucked further into the mysterious and powerful world of Petra Morgenstern, which ultimately leads to a world changing event. Mr. Lippert does an excellent job at creating the wizarding world in the U.S, creating new games and venues. I just can't wait for the next book in the series!
March 4, 2015
He showed himself as Zane's Father!!!!! Smart move!
"For a moment, he thought he saw his own name there. He shook his head and blinked. That was ridiculous, of course.
Mr. Walker turned the computer slightly, and clicked a button. The text on the screen disappeared"
"For a moment, he thought he saw his own name there. He shook his head and blinked. That was ridiculous, of course.
Mr. Walker turned the computer slightly, and clicked a button. The text on the screen disappeared"
February 10, 2010
I was really looking forward to this book and I was so excited when I printed it out and read it. Once again Lippert has given us an entertaining novel for free which we, the readers, can't thank him enough for. This book moves our favorite characters to the wizarding school of Alma Aleron, located in the United States. The kids first have to try to get into one of the six "houses" that Alma Aleron have, which are quite like fraternities and sorities in the US and Canada. Being from Canada, it was nice to be able to relate! I don't want to spoil the story, but the story revolves around James and Petra and it takes the reader on a crazy rollercoaster ride! I always enjoyed the "clutch" games and I thought they were written really well, I could totally see the games happening.
There were some reasons why I didn't give this book five stars. First, I missed Hogwarts, Rose and Scorpius (although they were in the book a tiny bit) but it just wasn't the same. Secondly, I just couldn't get into the character of Petra. Maybe I just needed more of her. We don't see her as much once the kids arrive at school because she doesn't go to Alma Aleron. Maybe I just wanted to see more of her power and the personality to match that power.
This book is really good and I thank the author for providing the readers with such a fantastic series. I can't wait for the next book. Are we going back to Hogwarts? The author needs to e-mail me a message and give me some information (hint, hint) which I of course will tell no one!! Lippert also has a another book coming out, titled "The Riverhouse" which is supposed to be for adults and a little bit scarier.
Enjoy "James Potter and the Vault of Destinies"!!
There were some reasons why I didn't give this book five stars. First, I missed Hogwarts, Rose and Scorpius (although they were in the book a tiny bit) but it just wasn't the same. Secondly, I just couldn't get into the character of Petra. Maybe I just needed more of her. We don't see her as much once the kids arrive at school because she doesn't go to Alma Aleron. Maybe I just wanted to see more of her power and the personality to match that power.
This book is really good and I thank the author for providing the readers with such a fantastic series. I can't wait for the next book. Are we going back to Hogwarts? The author needs to e-mail me a message and give me some information (hint, hint) which I of course will tell no one!! Lippert also has a another book coming out, titled "The Riverhouse" which is supposed to be for adults and a little bit scarier.
Enjoy "James Potter and the Vault of Destinies"!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2013
The most difficult thing about infusing theological concepts into literature, is either that one gets too heavy-handed and preaches, or one loses the Truth in the 'truth' inherent in the world of the novel. With this third (final?) telling of the Potter universe, the author succeeds in grasping the truth of the novel, but in doing so, gives validity to the Lie that (as Wm. Gilbert said) "Virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances." The main evil character should have been Lilith, rather than the other name that has biblical overtones, because it would have had far more resonance to those who know matters talmudic- though the patronym of Morganstern (Morning Star- even misspelled from the German/Yiddish?) does, in fact, relate to the Biblical Devil [ Is. 14:12] as the imposter of all good. There are many very good touches, some strongly emotional moments, and a very exciting finale to the Clutchcudgel tournament, that had me fist pumping at the end. Yet the discrepancies of the mature characters' seeming inability to 'act' and the almost omniscience of the younger characters belies (again!) the reality that with age comes wisdom, and it is often (always?) the young that 'muck things up.' One of the amazing things is the ability of this author to take (steal?) insights from CS Lewis' work over and over and over (including the blatant, and more macabre variant) such as the "Wood between the Worlds" in Lewis' Narnia tales, without infringing on intellectual copyright issues - but then, are free books at no cost, immune from such litigious actions? But what bothers me most is the "Pottermageddon" element in this last book- killing a character, simply because SOMEONE has to die, is a cheap, shoddy device in any story- but here, especially. Thus, my rating. As I noted in the beginning, the moral universe one sets up in any literature (for, 'there is no neutrality- you either worship the true God, or you worship the god you serve') can either mirror the true Universe [Deut 6:4, John 1:1] or you look through the 'mirror crack'd' as Agatha Christie noted of another character from Arthurian legend- the Lady of Shalott. In this case, the mirror was definitely cracked, and not in a good way.
February 12, 2013
I was disappointed that much of the story was tied in to a spinnoff book that was called "optional reading" by the author. If you don't read that book, there are still mysteries as this story concludes.
This one took me a bit longer to get through than books one and two did. It also ended in a much darker place than I think stories in the Rowling universe should get, at least this early in the series.
I really enjoyed the glimpse of the American wizarding world offered in this book. I found the amount of suspended disbelief required for this episode a bit tedious. It feels like in the original Potter series that magic was magic, and that was all there was to it. In this episode magic has a science behind it that is partially explained, leaving me wanting to know a little more.
Also, time travel tends to ruin stories it's introduced to unless it's handled correctly. (For bad examples, see also: Heroes, Lost. For good examples, see also: HP& the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dr Who/Torchwood)
This one took me a bit longer to get through than books one and two did. It also ended in a much darker place than I think stories in the Rowling universe should get, at least this early in the series.
I really enjoyed the glimpse of the American wizarding world offered in this book. I found the amount of suspended disbelief required for this episode a bit tedious. It feels like in the original Potter series that magic was magic, and that was all there was to it. In this episode magic has a science behind it that is partially explained, leaving me wanting to know a little more.
Also, time travel tends to ruin stories it's introduced to unless it's handled correctly. (For bad examples, see also: Heroes, Lost. For good examples, see also: HP& the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dr Who/Torchwood)
September 10, 2011
Of the three James Potter books, this one took me the longest time to read. I liked the book but I wasn't absorbed by it. Of all the characters, Petra was one of my least favorites and I wasn't thrilled that this book would focus on her. However, I'm not a fan of Merlin, either, so it was an even trade.
This book made me realize what Lippert sacrificed to write these books. By associating with the Harry Potter series, I don't believe he can profit from any use of the characters or ideas...but this book, with someone else as the main character, could have been the start of a stand-alone series. He could have contrived an American magical world, swapped out the obvious references and built an entire series of his own. While the characters were born in Harry Potter, they could have been any other children and a new wizard world would be born. I wish that he had because the details that I don't like wouldn't be in place - for instance, the changes to the way houses at Hogwarts inter-relate in the future - and there would be new magical terms to learn.
I stopped reading the first time after the silver thread bit. I mean, here's this 13 year old kid and this unstable adult and he loves her enough to die for her? Creepy and weird. I picked it back up but quit reading again when the crimson thread was stolen and he covered up the eyewitness account of Petra's presence just because he "knew" she was innocent. I started reading again for the 3rd time and got caught up in clutchcudgel and enjoyed hearing more from Albus...and then the end stunned me. I am really, really shocked by the character loss and the torch event (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers) and now I'm ready to start the next book...but it's not out there yet!
I want to read number four and I'll keep checking back and hoping it gets written. And if the author sees this, I vote for more Albus and Scorpius - they are two of my favorite characters!
This book made me realize what Lippert sacrificed to write these books. By associating with the Harry Potter series, I don't believe he can profit from any use of the characters or ideas...but this book, with someone else as the main character, could have been the start of a stand-alone series. He could have contrived an American magical world, swapped out the obvious references and built an entire series of his own. While the characters were born in Harry Potter, they could have been any other children and a new wizard world would be born. I wish that he had because the details that I don't like wouldn't be in place - for instance, the changes to the way houses at Hogwarts inter-relate in the future - and there would be new magical terms to learn.
I stopped reading the first time after the silver thread bit. I mean, here's this 13 year old kid and this unstable adult and he loves her enough to die for her? Creepy and weird. I picked it back up but quit reading again when the crimson thread was stolen and he covered up the eyewitness account of Petra's presence just because he "knew" she was innocent. I started reading again for the 3rd time and got caught up in clutchcudgel and enjoyed hearing more from Albus...and then the end stunned me. I am really, really shocked by the character loss and the torch event (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers) and now I'm ready to start the next book...but it's not out there yet!
I want to read number four and I'll keep checking back and hoping it gets written. And if the author sees this, I vote for more Albus and Scorpius - they are two of my favorite characters!
November 20, 2012
This book series is like a train wreck you watch from a distance. You see the engine tumbling off the tracks (book one) and it is bad, but also new and unique. Then all the cars are derailed and it's just horrible (book two) but you can't help watching with a certain perverse morbidity (book three). Of course, with train wrecks you might be caused into action, into helping, doing what you can, but here there's no incentive for doing that, for the burning wreckage is justly deserved. Still, you really wish you'd just looked and walked away.
I can't give a good reason why I even started this book - except that it was free and I had time, but no other books readily available on my phone. Why I continued reading it after the first couple of chapters is completely beyond me. The fascinating thing here is that the auther seems intent on providing and justifying every American stereotype there is. None of the characters or their behaviour seem drawn from real life. The stereotypes might be bearable if they had some basis in reality - and the author, who is American after all, seems to believe they do - but in my years living there I've never encountered them.
Everything else is just a silly plot, a lot of grandstanding, and more characters that are mere caricatures. Thankfully, this is the last book in the series (for now), so no matter what, I won't be tempted into reading any more of this shit.
I can't give a good reason why I even started this book - except that it was free and I had time, but no other books readily available on my phone. Why I continued reading it after the first couple of chapters is completely beyond me. The fascinating thing here is that the auther seems intent on providing and justifying every American stereotype there is. None of the characters or their behaviour seem drawn from real life. The stereotypes might be bearable if they had some basis in reality - and the author, who is American after all, seems to believe they do - but in my years living there I've never encountered them.
Everything else is just a silly plot, a lot of grandstanding, and more characters that are mere caricatures. Thankfully, this is the last book in the series (for now), so no matter what, I won't be tempted into reading any more of this shit.
December 20, 2010
Overall, I'm glad I read these books. They were well-written and satisfying, even if they aren't J.K. Rowling's. For the most part I found this series to be a fairly accurate story in the Potter world and very entertaining. I'm now looking forward to reading more of Lippert's writing, only this time maybe not fanfiction.
October 27, 2012
Honestly, this book took a while to really get into it. Right from the beginning you learn that James, Albus, Ralph, and Lucy will not be attending Hogwarts, but will be attending Alma Aleron. For some reason I just was not as fascinated with this school as I had been when I first read about Hogwarts. It was interesting, yes, but just not fascinating. The story was building for a long time, so much so that it was hard to stay entirely interested in where it was going because it just seemed to take so long. Then when you thought "Oh, this is going to be good" it seemed to fall short. Until the last few chapters. FINALLY it all came together and the exciting stuff really started to happen. Based on how it ended I'm in a sort of love/hate relationship with it. It was exciting, unexpected, and definitely climactic, but I suppose depending on how the next books handle this will determine how I feel about it. Vague, I know, but that's what I've got. Even though it took a while to really get into the book, I still feel it was a worthwhile read and that I would recommend it to others. So far all three books have been building upon each other very well and I'm excited to see how the story progresses.
September 28, 2012
James Potter and the Vault of Destinies is the continuation of the famous Harry Potter books (Third in it's our series). Harry's oldest son James is starting his first year at Hogwarts and starts to worry. He doesn't know if he can live up to the man that is his father. His father the hero, the boy who lived twice, the man who defeated the dark lord. James is expected by the whole of the wizarding world to either surpass or be equal to his father, and that is what worries James.
This story was increadable. Like J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books, Norman Lippert takes you on a journy with the famous children. You feel for the children and watch as they grow. This story was increadable and brought back the charaters from the past and interweaved them with new and exciting charaters.
If you loved the Harry Potter books you will be over joyed with the continuation of the family and the power of the family love.
Lippert, G. N. (2010). James Potter and the Vault of Destinies . Online: Goodreads.
This story was increadable. Like J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books, Norman Lippert takes you on a journy with the famous children. You feel for the children and watch as they grow. This story was increadable and brought back the charaters from the past and interweaved them with new and exciting charaters.
If you loved the Harry Potter books you will be over joyed with the continuation of the family and the power of the family love.
Lippert, G. N. (2010). James Potter and the Vault of Destinies . Online: Goodreads.
May 22, 2011
At last, i finished this book! It took forever to actually come to the end. The third book of James Potter's adventure shows how every character grow especially James, Albus, Petra & Lucy. It become darker, complicated & confusing at certain point (at least to me).
This book contain the world that majority come from the author imagination including the world under water, New Amsterdam, Alma Aleron & the overall American world of magic community. This is a good turn which make the story different from Harry Potter series.
I enjoyed reading this 3rd book but only up till when the kids went 'dimension hopping', as Albus describe it. The pace of the earlier into the book kinda slow & very descriptive, i cant keep with the pace. I skipped a few pages to finished it.
Some people said it was kinda a cliffhanger ending but to me, it was perfect for me to actually look forward for the 4th book, if the author plan to write one.
This book contain the world that majority come from the author imagination including the world under water, New Amsterdam, Alma Aleron & the overall American world of magic community. This is a good turn which make the story different from Harry Potter series.
I enjoyed reading this 3rd book but only up till when the kids went 'dimension hopping', as Albus describe it. The pace of the earlier into the book kinda slow & very descriptive, i cant keep with the pace. I skipped a few pages to finished it.
Some people said it was kinda a cliffhanger ending but to me, it was perfect for me to actually look forward for the 4th book, if the author plan to write one.
December 5, 2013
Of the first three James Potter books, I found this one to be my least favorite and that mostly came from the intensification of the problems I had with the first and second book. Any sense of the difference in ages of characters was still further from the mind of Mr. Lippert but this was more forgivable in this book because there were far less improbable eleven year old characters. This novel also featured the first change in location from England to America that I at first welcomed. When I had been more obsessed with the Potter world I once did a bit of research into the type of magical world that would've developed in America, and thus did research on all the differing practices that would've come together from several immigrant groups coming together. So I was a little bit disappointed to find that the magical world of America for Mr. Lippet was a bit more urban than I had imagined it myself. He found creative ways to implement this, which did strike me a very fantastical, but seemed much more of a fantasy/science fiction blend than something I would think native to the Potter world.
Unlike the other James Potter books, this one broke with the traditional formula of long drawn out introduction to the events of the story and instead threw us right into the beginning of the action with a change in scenery almost immediately, acting as our inciting moment--which then was followed by a rising action which had to fit in the introduction of all the juggling plot balls as it went, making everything seem frantically introduced. It was fairly off-putting but I thought it to be something new to try out both on Mr. Lippert's end and for myself as a reader of a Potter book, and thus something of an experiment and a change of pace to begin with and something of a fresh start. The problem with this change in style is that a long introduction typical of the Potter books required for there to be a long denouement to settle all the juggling plot balls thrown up in the air. This book however cut that long introduction and long denouement so that come the end of the story all the juggling plot balls aren't as brought to a close as gracefully as in the other books in this series, in fact he drops a few of the plot points or waves his hand at them in a dismissive manner, leaving a few issues unresolved in a messy manner (like the outcome of that muggle senator's life is hand waved away with a brief mention, despite him being the prologue chapter of the book, and thus deserving of more than a bad rush job to resolve his plot point). So likewise we're treated to a falling action which has to resolve plot issues as quickly as it can as if it's on a timer, and because of that it feels rather sloppy. What it made me appreciate was the long denouement of the first two books and the original Potter series had allowed some of the time to digest the events of the climax out, which I realized I missed by its absence.
I didn't really care for this version of an American magical school--it struck me much more as a replay of 1980s and 1990s college movies than it did as anything fresh or anything approaching an American Boarding school. Likewise, the sports subplot--something I noticed Mr. Lippert seemed to avoid as long as possible in this series--played out like a 1990s children's sports movie would with the predictable plucky unbelievable turn around for the ragtag group of underdogs--a trend started refreshingly by the 1976 film Bad News Bears and then done to death over the following two decades thereafter. In fact the American magical world seemed overall to be much more reflective of the American social environment presented by the media of 1980s and the 1990s than anything of the present or past, which struck me as odd--and I say this as a person who holds much nostalgia for the 1980s and the 1990s. For example the American broom sport of "Clutchcudgel" or "surfing on brooms" as I think of it, seemed like exactly the kind of thing that a bad mid-1990s "X-treme" Nickelodeon-type rip-off of Harry Potter might have done to "pull kids in". It felt very gimmicky and not at all natural to the Potter world. Similarly the types of American characters conformed to the stereotypes of those types of characters from those kinds of films (90s kids films and 80s college movies)--the jocks, the cheerleaders, the artistic whackos, the nerds, the pranksters, and the Island of Misfit Toys uh, I mean social outcasts--that are so cliche to the point of being mind-numbing. There was little sense of the history or legacy to the American magical world, and when it was forced by the plot to be explored it was done in a manner that felt like it was bored to look at the past of the school, or to mention there being a difference between Native American and European magic and that it wasn't really interested in how both might effect relations or have consequences for the present story.
In terms of setting, being a commuter to Philadelphia, I found the characterization of the city to be off, as if it were written by someone who'd only visited there once or twice. Philadelphia might be an old city, but I'd hardly say that the "muggle-side" of it hasn't changed since 1859 as Mr. Lippert outright has James Potter take note of. Also, this is a minor critique, but which river is James Potter walking along or towards? I got the sense that he meant the school to be North-west of Center City--thus implying along with its location near 30th Street station that it was along the Schuylkill River--but then later on the Delaware River wharfs aren't that far of a walk--when I know that's hardly the truth at all. To me at least, a little more research into the setting might have helped certain parts of the book, though I admit it's a rather minor point to get stuck up on. I could tell though by his description of Magical New York aka New Amsterdam that Mr. Lippert was far more interested in there than his magical school located in Philadelphia--which is a shame. It's almost like Mr. Lippert was locked into the location from his introduction of American wizards in the first book, and regretted it in this book.
Also Zane's constant quoting of muggle pop culture, though a character quirk expression of his "inappropriateness", grew to irritating proportions in this novel. Petra and James' developing non-romantic relationship struck me as dangerously approaching the "specialness" category that the three first years of the previous book did. It was still done rather believably and it held some significant consequences that I thought were well done, but there were times that I felt Mr. Lippert did a little too much talking about how special their connection was instead of actually showing that connection in action. We're told that James could feel and see into Petra's mind and vice versa through this connection, but this subject was only shown independent of us being told about it once. I think this plot point would've benefited more from us seeing James affected by Petra's dark dreams. Another thing not as done well would have to be the forced sense of having to care about the muggle world in this book. When I read a Potter world story I read it to escape such "muggle environs" not to be forced to have to deal with them in the fantasy world--and thus the climax of the story held little weight for me and caused me to skim through it, which is the worse possible thing for a story. Reading about the magical and muggle worlds being forced to "combine" was not really the reason I'm interested in this world. Yes, I'll admit I was one who thought that the muggle world of the original stories often got the shaft--that though I recognize was due to my fascination with the Dahl-esque Dursleys--but the James Potter series seems to make the mistake in the other direction, thinking too greatly of the muggle world (and its technology most of all), and demanding why can't magic and technology be married together. In the end I found that I had liked the Merlin "force of nature" idea more than I had liked this new book's "techno-mechanical magic" and "Sorceress powered by the City" ideas--they just seemed a bit too far removed from the Potter world. There was also the additional raising of the stakes so that the "fate of the multi-verse" was at stake, instead of just the universe like the second book. It makes me wonder how Mr. Lippert is going to try and top that with maybe the fate of the "giga-verse" being at stake in the next book--I think for the large part he's overstretched his limits on raising the stakes. I will say that the concept of the "World between Worlds" was a nice little inversion of the C.S. Lewis version I had expected Mr. Lippet to have employed.
I found this to be the weakest book plot wise--trying to juggle too many plots and subplots that didn't congeal well. To name a few: merging the typical 1990s children's sports movie subplot with the "rush a fraternity" 1980s college movie subplot, the life and death of the multi-verse sci-fi plot, and a weird touch of religion by invoking an intriguing though seemingly out of place retelling of the Garden of Eden story that felt the most ham-fisted in of all.
What did I like about the book? I found rather small details were my refuge that got me through the story. The small little legend of the past multi-universe traveler and his original unicorn marked me as probably the most Rowling-esque touch of the book and very well done. Petra's younger and slightly retarded sister was a diverse and well appreciated character. I actually felt that Albus Potter was more fully developed as arrogance and vanity became his character's faults as he was more and fully realized in this book. We had a chapter or two solely from his perspective which was a nice change of pace. I actually found my favorite character in this series in this book, with the development of Lucy Weasley from her more minor appearance in the second book to her more developed entry in this one. I found her to be rather endearing and actually a nice return of flawed characters. I'd read the book again simply for her character. I enjoyed the rather creative and intriguing glimpse into the magical city of Aquapolis--the last surviving underwater city of magical Atlantis. I think I would've rather the story have taken place there than have gone to America as it captured my imagination much more than the American setting did.
On the whole I'd say that the sum of the parts of this story make for a very big hole of a whole, but the small bits that worked managed to keep me going. Sheer curiosity leads me to start the fourth book now, though I go back and forth on whether or not I really like this series or not. It got to a good start in the first book, but the second and third haven't really been improvements on the whole, but I'm still willing to see if the third book is just a fluke. I personally wouldn't advise reading this book though, but that's just my opinion.
Unlike the other James Potter books, this one broke with the traditional formula of long drawn out introduction to the events of the story and instead threw us right into the beginning of the action with a change in scenery almost immediately, acting as our inciting moment--which then was followed by a rising action which had to fit in the introduction of all the juggling plot balls as it went, making everything seem frantically introduced. It was fairly off-putting but I thought it to be something new to try out both on Mr. Lippert's end and for myself as a reader of a Potter book, and thus something of an experiment and a change of pace to begin with and something of a fresh start. The problem with this change in style is that a long introduction typical of the Potter books required for there to be a long denouement to settle all the juggling plot balls thrown up in the air. This book however cut that long introduction and long denouement so that come the end of the story all the juggling plot balls aren't as brought to a close as gracefully as in the other books in this series, in fact he drops a few of the plot points or waves his hand at them in a dismissive manner, leaving a few issues unresolved in a messy manner (like the outcome of that muggle senator's life is hand waved away with a brief mention, despite him being the prologue chapter of the book, and thus deserving of more than a bad rush job to resolve his plot point). So likewise we're treated to a falling action which has to resolve plot issues as quickly as it can as if it's on a timer, and because of that it feels rather sloppy. What it made me appreciate was the long denouement of the first two books and the original Potter series had allowed some of the time to digest the events of the climax out, which I realized I missed by its absence.
I didn't really care for this version of an American magical school--it struck me much more as a replay of 1980s and 1990s college movies than it did as anything fresh or anything approaching an American Boarding school. Likewise, the sports subplot--something I noticed Mr. Lippert seemed to avoid as long as possible in this series--played out like a 1990s children's sports movie would with the predictable plucky unbelievable turn around for the ragtag group of underdogs--a trend started refreshingly by the 1976 film Bad News Bears and then done to death over the following two decades thereafter. In fact the American magical world seemed overall to be much more reflective of the American social environment presented by the media of 1980s and the 1990s than anything of the present or past, which struck me as odd--and I say this as a person who holds much nostalgia for the 1980s and the 1990s. For example the American broom sport of "Clutchcudgel" or "surfing on brooms" as I think of it, seemed like exactly the kind of thing that a bad mid-1990s "X-treme" Nickelodeon-type rip-off of Harry Potter might have done to "pull kids in". It felt very gimmicky and not at all natural to the Potter world. Similarly the types of American characters conformed to the stereotypes of those types of characters from those kinds of films (90s kids films and 80s college movies)--the jocks, the cheerleaders, the artistic whackos, the nerds, the pranksters, and the Island of Misfit Toys uh, I mean social outcasts--that are so cliche to the point of being mind-numbing. There was little sense of the history or legacy to the American magical world, and when it was forced by the plot to be explored it was done in a manner that felt like it was bored to look at the past of the school, or to mention there being a difference between Native American and European magic and that it wasn't really interested in how both might effect relations or have consequences for the present story.
In terms of setting, being a commuter to Philadelphia, I found the characterization of the city to be off, as if it were written by someone who'd only visited there once or twice. Philadelphia might be an old city, but I'd hardly say that the "muggle-side" of it hasn't changed since 1859 as Mr. Lippert outright has James Potter take note of. Also, this is a minor critique, but which river is James Potter walking along or towards? I got the sense that he meant the school to be North-west of Center City--thus implying along with its location near 30th Street station that it was along the Schuylkill River--but then later on the Delaware River wharfs aren't that far of a walk--when I know that's hardly the truth at all. To me at least, a little more research into the setting might have helped certain parts of the book, though I admit it's a rather minor point to get stuck up on. I could tell though by his description of Magical New York aka New Amsterdam that Mr. Lippert was far more interested in there than his magical school located in Philadelphia--which is a shame. It's almost like Mr. Lippert was locked into the location from his introduction of American wizards in the first book, and regretted it in this book.
Also Zane's constant quoting of muggle pop culture, though a character quirk expression of his "inappropriateness", grew to irritating proportions in this novel. Petra and James' developing non-romantic relationship struck me as dangerously approaching the "specialness" category that the three first years of the previous book did. It was still done rather believably and it held some significant consequences that I thought were well done, but there were times that I felt Mr. Lippert did a little too much talking about how special their connection was instead of actually showing that connection in action. We're told that James could feel and see into Petra's mind and vice versa through this connection, but this subject was only shown independent of us being told about it once. I think this plot point would've benefited more from us seeing James affected by Petra's dark dreams. Another thing not as done well would have to be the forced sense of having to care about the muggle world in this book. When I read a Potter world story I read it to escape such "muggle environs" not to be forced to have to deal with them in the fantasy world--and thus the climax of the story held little weight for me and caused me to skim through it, which is the worse possible thing for a story. Reading about the magical and muggle worlds being forced to "combine" was not really the reason I'm interested in this world. Yes, I'll admit I was one who thought that the muggle world of the original stories often got the shaft--that though I recognize was due to my fascination with the Dahl-esque Dursleys--but the James Potter series seems to make the mistake in the other direction, thinking too greatly of the muggle world (and its technology most of all), and demanding why can't magic and technology be married together. In the end I found that I had liked the Merlin "force of nature" idea more than I had liked this new book's "techno-mechanical magic" and "Sorceress powered by the City" ideas--they just seemed a bit too far removed from the Potter world. There was also the additional raising of the stakes so that the "fate of the multi-verse" was at stake, instead of just the universe like the second book. It makes me wonder how Mr. Lippert is going to try and top that with maybe the fate of the "giga-verse" being at stake in the next book--I think for the large part he's overstretched his limits on raising the stakes. I will say that the concept of the "World between Worlds" was a nice little inversion of the C.S. Lewis version I had expected Mr. Lippet to have employed.
I found this to be the weakest book plot wise--trying to juggle too many plots and subplots that didn't congeal well. To name a few: merging the typical 1990s children's sports movie subplot with the "rush a fraternity" 1980s college movie subplot, the life and death of the multi-verse sci-fi plot, and a weird touch of religion by invoking an intriguing though seemingly out of place retelling of the Garden of Eden story that felt the most ham-fisted in of all.
What did I like about the book? I found rather small details were my refuge that got me through the story. The small little legend of the past multi-universe traveler and his original unicorn marked me as probably the most Rowling-esque touch of the book and very well done. Petra's younger and slightly retarded sister was a diverse and well appreciated character. I actually felt that Albus Potter was more fully developed as arrogance and vanity became his character's faults as he was more and fully realized in this book. We had a chapter or two solely from his perspective which was a nice change of pace. I actually found my favorite character in this series in this book, with the development of Lucy Weasley from her more minor appearance in the second book to her more developed entry in this one. I found her to be rather endearing and actually a nice return of flawed characters. I'd read the book again simply for her character. I enjoyed the rather creative and intriguing glimpse into the magical city of Aquapolis--the last surviving underwater city of magical Atlantis. I think I would've rather the story have taken place there than have gone to America as it captured my imagination much more than the American setting did.
On the whole I'd say that the sum of the parts of this story make for a very big hole of a whole, but the small bits that worked managed to keep me going. Sheer curiosity leads me to start the fourth book now, though I go back and forth on whether or not I really like this series or not. It got to a good start in the first book, but the second and third haven't really been improvements on the whole, but I'm still willing to see if the third book is just a fluke. I personally wouldn't advise reading this book though, but that's just my opinion.
February 4, 2021
I made it to the third book! And now I see the fourth is due any day now!
In this book, James and his family travel to America and spends the school year at Alma Aleron - A nice way to include Zane (who didn't really have that big of a role in the second book).
I guess I just have to say that there's lots of dark action and mystery happening in this book, with all of our beloved characters.
I have to admit that this is the James Potter book I liked the least (of course I still really enjoyed it), because I felt there was just way too much happening, things that were a little hard to grasp / understand, in addition to that it's not set at Hogwarts.
And since this book focuses SO much on Petra Morganstern, I expect something more to happen between her and James! Especially with the ending of this. Of course they're connected for life, but I still think there is more to it, and I hope I'm right!
I don't really have anything more to say about this! I guess that if you've already read the first two books in the series, you'll surely read this (and probably the next one!) as well, no persuasion needed.
In this book, James and his family travel to America and spends the school year at Alma Aleron - A nice way to include Zane (who didn't really have that big of a role in the second book).
I guess I just have to say that there's lots of dark action and mystery happening in this book, with all of our beloved characters.
I have to admit that this is the James Potter book I liked the least (of course I still really enjoyed it), because I felt there was just way too much happening, things that were a little hard to grasp / understand, in addition to that it's not set at Hogwarts.
And since this book focuses SO much on Petra Morganstern, I expect something more to happen between her and James! Especially with the ending of this. Of course they're connected for life, but I still think there is more to it, and I hope I'm right!
I don't really have anything more to say about this! I guess that if you've already read the first two books in the series, you'll surely read this (and probably the next one!) as well, no persuasion needed.
January 10, 2012
The third book in the James Potter Series did not disappoint. We make a journey across the Atlantic to the Americans for a year at Alma Aleron. It was very interesting to get a view of wizarding education on the American side. Joining James and his family on this trip are his Uncle Percy and his family, Ralph and his dad and for the beginning of the trip Professor Longbottom and Merlin himself. The different houses were interesting, although I think that I prefer the Hogwarts houses (but that's just me...Slytherin pride). We find James and Ralph in the same house with Lucy (Percy's daughter) and Albus in different houses. Petra and James have strengthened their bond more (although unexpectedly). The W.U.L.F. is keeping Harry Potter busy, so it's up to James to figure out the mystery of the Vault of Destinies. This was a great continuation of the story of James Potter and I look forward to reading more. *****SPOILER ALERT*****I am hoping very much, that this is not the last that we have seen of Merlinus.
December 25, 2015
Oh my, it's been a long, long time. It took me a year and a half to finish the book, and the only reason I did it is because I don't like to leave books unfinished if at all possible. So far, I found only one book that was absolutely impossible to finish, so I know that they can be much worse than this one.
The author is American, and though it shows in the first two books, it shines here. The action moved from Hogwarts to the New World. Which kinda kills the atmosphere. The author also persists in his grave-digging tendencies. It seems he dug up everyone he could, starting from Merlin and completing the task with Atlantis and dead American presidents. He also just couldn't resist bringing the Bible into the mess.
The book is full of atmosphere-ruining details, such as an overweight Veela, and words-parasites, repeated over and over. The author demonstrates an utter and complete ignorance just about everything. It seems he never ever looked into the sky. How else can he imagine a "faint blue glow of the new moon" or a "moon, thin as a sickle" at sunset? He slept through all history classes (a researcher focusing on firing of neurons in individual human brains in 1859?) and is easily lost in translation (refers to Alma Aleron as the Mother Eagle). Educational gaps in astronomy, history, and linguistics are supplemented with a total lack of any experience in biology. Doesn't he know what will happen, if several spiders are put into one jar? How exactly he imagines his hero "catching his breath and hugging the floor" under a bat colony? He goes on describing a place with nothing, absolutely nothing alive that could rot a boat. Only its sail was "poked through in a thousand places with tufts of grass". Like. Next time before writing a book. Do your homework.
The plot is limping too. I certainly would not recomend it for kids. There is no closure and no explanation in the book. The real life can be ugly enough, why would we need ugly books to go with it?
The author is American, and though it shows in the first two books, it shines here. The action moved from Hogwarts to the New World. Which kinda kills the atmosphere. The author also persists in his grave-digging tendencies. It seems he dug up everyone he could, starting from Merlin and completing the task with Atlantis and dead American presidents. He also just couldn't resist bringing the Bible into the mess.
The book is full of atmosphere-ruining details, such as an overweight Veela, and words-parasites, repeated over and over. The author demonstrates an utter and complete ignorance just about everything. It seems he never ever looked into the sky. How else can he imagine a "faint blue glow of the new moon" or a "moon, thin as a sickle" at sunset? He slept through all history classes (a researcher focusing on firing of neurons in individual human brains in 1859?) and is easily lost in translation (refers to Alma Aleron as the Mother Eagle). Educational gaps in astronomy, history, and linguistics are supplemented with a total lack of any experience in biology. Doesn't he know what will happen, if several spiders are put into one jar? How exactly he imagines his hero "catching his breath and hugging the floor" under a bat colony? He goes on describing a place with nothing, absolutely nothing alive that could rot a boat. Only its sail was "poked through in a thousand places with tufts of grass". Like. Next time before writing a book. Do your homework.
The plot is limping too. I certainly would not recomend it for kids. There is no closure and no explanation in the book. The real life can be ugly enough, why would we need ugly books to go with it?
November 17, 2011
Longer than the other two but much more detailed, i feel. I hated it for one reason - it made me cry! Multiple times. For every other reason i love it. It is officially my favourite of the three.
Unfortunately, it also made me relive the tragic moments of many HP books, hence the crying, as well as the shocking end. I really held out hope until the last line.
I only have one problem. I didn't write a review of book 2, because i was waiting to see if book 3 would answer my question...it didn't! What were the three words that James wrote down on book 2, after his dream about Albus? That is really annoying me as it's the only unanswered question i have from all three books. I have guesses but i really want to know what they were, to know if i was right or not.
Otherwise, i loved it, loved it, loved it. So much more like HP than the other two and yet, the other two were very much like HP. I'm not sure how it's done but it's genius. I enjoy the reappearance of HP characters long missed and never really given a real ending in HP, and where they fit in JP, seems absolutely perfect because we already know who they are and that it's a great place for them to be.
What i'd like to know, is will there be another book? There is a space for it. The tragic ending doesn't need to stay that way...if * was the thread, then it's very possible for things to be resolved after another, hard year, of putting everything right and taking down W.U.L.F. and their new leader???
Unfortunately, it also made me relive the tragic moments of many HP books, hence the crying, as well as the shocking end. I really held out hope until the last line.
I only have one problem. I didn't write a review of book 2, because i was waiting to see if book 3 would answer my question...it didn't! What were the three words that James wrote down on book 2, after his dream about Albus? That is really annoying me as it's the only unanswered question i have from all three books. I have guesses but i really want to know what they were, to know if i was right or not.
Otherwise, i loved it, loved it, loved it. So much more like HP than the other two and yet, the other two were very much like HP. I'm not sure how it's done but it's genius. I enjoy the reappearance of HP characters long missed and never really given a real ending in HP, and where they fit in JP, seems absolutely perfect because we already know who they are and that it's a great place for them to be.
What i'd like to know, is will there be another book? There is a space for it. The tragic ending doesn't need to stay that way...if * was the thread, then it's very possible for things to be resolved after another, hard year, of putting everything right and taking down W.U.L.F. and their new leader???
December 4, 2013
James Potter and the Vault of Destinies, book 3 by G. Norman Lippert - fantasy, 4th grade and up – Well, I count this book in the sports category because of James’s experience playing the game of clutch cudgel which sounds like magical rugby. I did enjoy reading another James Potter book but it did drag on for me here and there. Overall, I found the creative world and situation to draw me in and picture some fascinating settings. Here’s a favorite quote “Holy hinkypunks! We won!” When James was in the school’s library, I loved this portion: “James had a strange suspicion that part of the reason that the books spent so much time circling the chandelier was because they were (being magical books) very slightly alive and liked the hustle and bustle of what the librarian referred to as ‘the sorting cloud’…” — (I just loved that the books flew around for a little while and then shelved themselves, fun to imagine…) The newest book is being released chapter by chapter presently but I’ve decided to wait for a while, many other books to enjoy!
January 5, 2024
Tercera entrega de la saga FanFiction de Lippert
James Potter se enfrenta a retos mucho más grandes en una nueva escuela mágica llamada Alma Aleron, ubicada en Estados Unidos. Allí, yace un artilugio muy poderoso conocido como La Bóveda de los Destinos, cuya protección es esencial para evitar la destrucción de la humanidad si cae en malas manos.
En Alma Aleron, James empieza a descubrir el enigma que esconde su amiga Petra Morganstern. Las acciones más simples que ella realiza podrían conllevar enormes consecuencias.
La trama se adentra en un gran dilema: ¿será necesario y "bueno" desvelar el mundo mágico a los muggles? ¿O, por el contrario, implicaría subyugar a los que no tienen magia por el simple hecho de tener el "poder"?
A medida que avanza la serie, la historia va adquiriendo tintes oscuros. El protagonista deberá asumir su destino con responsabilidad si no quiere ver sufrir a sus seres queridos.
James Potter se enfrenta a retos mucho más grandes en una nueva escuela mágica llamada Alma Aleron, ubicada en Estados Unidos. Allí, yace un artilugio muy poderoso conocido como La Bóveda de los Destinos, cuya protección es esencial para evitar la destrucción de la humanidad si cae en malas manos.
En Alma Aleron, James empieza a descubrir el enigma que esconde su amiga Petra Morganstern. Las acciones más simples que ella realiza podrían conllevar enormes consecuencias.
La trama se adentra en un gran dilema: ¿será necesario y "bueno" desvelar el mundo mágico a los muggles? ¿O, por el contrario, implicaría subyugar a los que no tienen magia por el simple hecho de tener el "poder"?
A medida que avanza la serie, la historia va adquiriendo tintes oscuros. El protagonista deberá asumir su destino con responsabilidad si no quiere ver sufrir a sus seres queridos.
March 10, 2019
Of course, this review will have some spoilers. Beware!
Except not just on this book, but the ENITRE series itself! I’ll copy and paste this review to the rest of them as well. Maybe.
I don’t expect the author to read this. I don’t expect a reply. I’m a writer myself and I wanted to get this off my chest or I won’t be able to type again.
Therefore...
After reading The Cursed Child (the sequel to JK Rowling’s series), I started reading The Hall of Elder Crossing. With conviction, I can definitely say that George Norman Lippert’s James Potter series is the superior one in storytelling. The Cursed Child has way too many moments that made me shake my head and asked, “Ms. Rowling, why in the world would you do this?”. There were just so much questionable moments in terms of characters’ choices, plot-line, development, and lore. This is mostly judged from what I had learned from the original Harry Potter series.
Which brings me to Mr. Lippert’s work.
What really made me admire his story is just how SMART he uses the lore of Ms. Rowling’s world to continue the series. The way he set up the inclusion of Merlin into the main plot of the entire series; the way he developed James Potter’s identity; the way he included the American wizarding school (at least a small taste of it in the first book); the foreshadowing - oh gosh, so MANY foreshadowing, it’s bloody brilliant at how everything connected the deeper you go! And the way the whole puzzle fits together at the end - greatly enjoyable! And last but not least, how he portrayed Harry Potter as a father. Unlike The Cursed Child, James Potter’s version made a lot more sense. #thatsmyharry
I would even theorize that the reason The Cursed Child was a bad taste for me is because Mr. Lippert used up so many good materials to the point Ms. Rowling was left with little to go for. Hell, the Child of Voldermoth plot almost resembles Mr. Lippert’s version, which is unfair on my part to jab at since it’s likely countless fans have always thought of a Voldy offspring that even JK Rowling knew it would be a mistake to past away such opportunity of storytelling. So sorry in advance.
Anyway, the way the entire main plot that Mr. Lippert had always intended to go for the whole series was beautifully stacked together with minimal error to my best observation. When the final passage of The Crimson Thread came to an end, I can easily trace it back to the very first book - to be able to see the clear straight line from beginning to the end. Everything that happens now and onward was due to the journey taken from the previous four books. Nothing was left behind, and everything was acknowledged in the last book. No more loose ends. When I closed the last page, I felt my whole senses turned off momentarily, and then back to normal, knowing with a heavy, but positive, heart that the entire story was finally over with satisfaction. I wait on my chair, wondering, “Now what?”, and that is when I know I have read a great story. To be so immersive to the point it’s hard to return to your own life.
Additionally, his way of telling story and wrapping it up is also great. The Vault of Destiny has a brilliant shocking climax that one would imagine could work so well on the big screen, as well as imagining a great sound score playing as the moments happen. The Morrigan Web has a great way of tying it all up in its continuation of the previous book with the climax pushing my at the edge of my seat! His idea of skipping two years after the fourth book was a bold, but refreshing move. After all, since book one, we are lead to believe that James is not like his father (not exactly - to the T - at least), so having skipped two years in time to his last year of Hogwarts cements the concept really well.
Now this is where I want to mainly talked about the final book, The Crimson Thread, since how it ends really ties up all the previous books and would determine if the entire journey was worth it or not. A lot of people would called the resolution a cop-out for making it look somewhat like a it’s-all-a-dream cliché. For me, I see it as something similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past. In it, Logan change the past, saved the future, and remembered both realities once he woke up. This is what James went through. A dream is the realm of the imagination conjured within our unconscious thought when falling asleep, but in James and Logan’s case, those events were real, and that’s the important fact to remember.
All. Events. Happened.
When James woke up, it wasn’t from a dream where the reality with Petra alive didn’t happened. It did happened, but they were now in what is considered to be a different reality because what James and Petra merely did was shifting it to a new course and repaired it by having Petra died fatefully on that voyage.
From there, history played out as it is, but with few changes that works out for everyone. Lucy lives, the vow of secrecy was left unbroken, Nastasia sanity survived, Judith was easily defeated, etc. It was great at how Mr. Lippert did his best to make sense of it all, and it was enough to convince me.
Except for one plot point that didn’t.
In Moreigan Web, if the Night of the Unveiling didn’t happened, what transpired the Summit event? The reason why it happened was because the world leaders came together to be convinced by the magical world that they were not a threat by showing a friendly sport game. The world leaders didn’t need to be convinced if the Night of the Unveiling didn’t happened, which was the case in the new repaired reality James and Petra brought everyone to. So how did Avior convinced them come together. Also, since Judith could see the past and future of herself, because she is one of the Fates, why did see recreate the Morrigan Web event, as well as allying with Avior if she knew she couldn’t win. Think about it: In the first reality, Petra and Izzy were Judith’s host/s, and was at the prime of her power, yet she lost, so what makes her think that she could win this time in the new reality where she did not have a host at all, especially when Izzy was now a Guardian with a mind set that is incorruptible? My deduction skill tells me that Judith had likely thought she could have Avior or Nastasia as her host, and powering herself more that way, but this information isn’t enough to explain it.
And another thing I would like to pick on.
It’s been heavily implied from The Curse of the Gatekeeper that Merlin and James now truly trust each other by the end of it, and Merlin himself was willing to return to the world from the dead because although he hates the modern era, James and his friends and family were worth coming back to. He has tried to help Petra by stopping her through words or force, but not killing her as James wanted. James knew by then that Merlin has the best interest for the world’s safety.
Yet after everything, James still couldn’t bring himself to trust Merlin with what he knew! It’s hard for me to describe it all here, but all I can say is that there were just too many obvious signs pointing that some people shouldn’t be trusted and some should. As Rose once said, James had a track record of trusting the wrong people and not trusting the right one. It was a character flaw I had hoped for him overcome, but hardly improved at all by the end of it. Granted, one detail near the end of the story stated that as a Gryffindor, he was a loyal to a fault. I could back that as a fair reason. After all, James’ namesake grandfather died for trusting the wrong friend. Not only that, his career path also changed completely from an inspired Auror to a actual Headmaster of Hogwarts. Albus was the one that followed James’ old dream, and I admit, being an Auror (a chief deputy at that!) really fits Albus character.
Part of me realized that maybe his career path changed because of how he identified himself back in the first book. He inspires other to help - give them courage when they need it or deserve it. That doesn’t sound like a Auror to me, despite his amazing deduction and intuition skill (except when he aims it at the wrong people). Therefore, I could also rally behind that.
It’s just that, overall, when I see James in the epilogue 19 years later as a grown man, part of me still see him as the 11-17 year old. Barely changed. Changed, still, but just barely. The second part of the epilogue gave me a good insight of his growth, but there wasn’t enough exploration.
And in a spiteful wish, I honestly wanted James to tell his friends about the entire event after he had repaired and change their reality, just to see their reaction. I think they deserved the truth after everything they’ve been through together, as well as his father, even thought they technically did not experienced the event anymore due to the alteration.
Moving on, I finally want to talk about my most favorite part of this series: the second part of the epilogue in The Crimson Thread!
When a series comes to an end, there’s usually this overall lesson that sums up the entire series all together. Each installment has a memorable lesson of their own, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! I just loved what Mr. Lippert is trying to tell us readers. I can’t just explain it all here (too long!), I would rather have people finding it out for themselves, because the hard work they put into this whole journey is what’s going to make the lesson counts! It is the reason why it warms my heart so much in the end and enable me to trace it all the way back to the first book. It truly wraps everything up in a perfect knot while giving hope to the future by our own imagination instead of relying too much on Mr. Lipper’s writing. The lesson is something worth living by as you move on with your life and face the unknowable future. To all of those who had read it, I hope it does the same for you and wish you fortune. To those who had suffered and read the lesson, hold on to it and never let go! All is not lost! Your happy ending is yet to be written, but only if you choose yourself to be part of the bigger story!
So...here we are. End of the review. All I have left to say is that this was a very committed story that truly feels like it could be canon to the Harry Potter series. George Norman Lippert did a spectacular job as a storyteller, and that if my children would ever be invested in the Harry Potter series, I would recommend them his story as a great sequel to the original. Thank you for this amazing adventure!
Except not just on this book, but the ENITRE series itself! I’ll copy and paste this review to the rest of them as well. Maybe.
I don’t expect the author to read this. I don’t expect a reply. I’m a writer myself and I wanted to get this off my chest or I won’t be able to type again.
Therefore...
After reading The Cursed Child (the sequel to JK Rowling’s series), I started reading The Hall of Elder Crossing. With conviction, I can definitely say that George Norman Lippert’s James Potter series is the superior one in storytelling. The Cursed Child has way too many moments that made me shake my head and asked, “Ms. Rowling, why in the world would you do this?”. There were just so much questionable moments in terms of characters’ choices, plot-line, development, and lore. This is mostly judged from what I had learned from the original Harry Potter series.
Which brings me to Mr. Lippert’s work.
What really made me admire his story is just how SMART he uses the lore of Ms. Rowling’s world to continue the series. The way he set up the inclusion of Merlin into the main plot of the entire series; the way he developed James Potter’s identity; the way he included the American wizarding school (at least a small taste of it in the first book); the foreshadowing - oh gosh, so MANY foreshadowing, it’s bloody brilliant at how everything connected the deeper you go! And the way the whole puzzle fits together at the end - greatly enjoyable! And last but not least, how he portrayed Harry Potter as a father. Unlike The Cursed Child, James Potter’s version made a lot more sense. #thatsmyharry
I would even theorize that the reason The Cursed Child was a bad taste for me is because Mr. Lippert used up so many good materials to the point Ms. Rowling was left with little to go for. Hell, the Child of Voldermoth plot almost resembles Mr. Lippert’s version, which is unfair on my part to jab at since it’s likely countless fans have always thought of a Voldy offspring that even JK Rowling knew it would be a mistake to past away such opportunity of storytelling. So sorry in advance.
Anyway, the way the entire main plot that Mr. Lippert had always intended to go for the whole series was beautifully stacked together with minimal error to my best observation. When the final passage of The Crimson Thread came to an end, I can easily trace it back to the very first book - to be able to see the clear straight line from beginning to the end. Everything that happens now and onward was due to the journey taken from the previous four books. Nothing was left behind, and everything was acknowledged in the last book. No more loose ends. When I closed the last page, I felt my whole senses turned off momentarily, and then back to normal, knowing with a heavy, but positive, heart that the entire story was finally over with satisfaction. I wait on my chair, wondering, “Now what?”, and that is when I know I have read a great story. To be so immersive to the point it’s hard to return to your own life.
Additionally, his way of telling story and wrapping it up is also great. The Vault of Destiny has a brilliant shocking climax that one would imagine could work so well on the big screen, as well as imagining a great sound score playing as the moments happen. The Morrigan Web has a great way of tying it all up in its continuation of the previous book with the climax pushing my at the edge of my seat! His idea of skipping two years after the fourth book was a bold, but refreshing move. After all, since book one, we are lead to believe that James is not like his father (not exactly - to the T - at least), so having skipped two years in time to his last year of Hogwarts cements the concept really well.
Now this is where I want to mainly talked about the final book, The Crimson Thread, since how it ends really ties up all the previous books and would determine if the entire journey was worth it or not. A lot of people would called the resolution a cop-out for making it look somewhat like a it’s-all-a-dream cliché. For me, I see it as something similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past. In it, Logan change the past, saved the future, and remembered both realities once he woke up. This is what James went through. A dream is the realm of the imagination conjured within our unconscious thought when falling asleep, but in James and Logan’s case, those events were real, and that’s the important fact to remember.
All. Events. Happened.
When James woke up, it wasn’t from a dream where the reality with Petra alive didn’t happened. It did happened, but they were now in what is considered to be a different reality because what James and Petra merely did was shifting it to a new course and repaired it by having Petra died fatefully on that voyage.
From there, history played out as it is, but with few changes that works out for everyone. Lucy lives, the vow of secrecy was left unbroken, Nastasia sanity survived, Judith was easily defeated, etc. It was great at how Mr. Lippert did his best to make sense of it all, and it was enough to convince me.
Except for one plot point that didn’t.
In Moreigan Web, if the Night of the Unveiling didn’t happened, what transpired the Summit event? The reason why it happened was because the world leaders came together to be convinced by the magical world that they were not a threat by showing a friendly sport game. The world leaders didn’t need to be convinced if the Night of the Unveiling didn’t happened, which was the case in the new repaired reality James and Petra brought everyone to. So how did Avior convinced them come together. Also, since Judith could see the past and future of herself, because she is one of the Fates, why did see recreate the Morrigan Web event, as well as allying with Avior if she knew she couldn’t win. Think about it: In the first reality, Petra and Izzy were Judith’s host/s, and was at the prime of her power, yet she lost, so what makes her think that she could win this time in the new reality where she did not have a host at all, especially when Izzy was now a Guardian with a mind set that is incorruptible? My deduction skill tells me that Judith had likely thought she could have Avior or Nastasia as her host, and powering herself more that way, but this information isn’t enough to explain it.
And another thing I would like to pick on.
It’s been heavily implied from The Curse of the Gatekeeper that Merlin and James now truly trust each other by the end of it, and Merlin himself was willing to return to the world from the dead because although he hates the modern era, James and his friends and family were worth coming back to. He has tried to help Petra by stopping her through words or force, but not killing her as James wanted. James knew by then that Merlin has the best interest for the world’s safety.
Yet after everything, James still couldn’t bring himself to trust Merlin with what he knew! It’s hard for me to describe it all here, but all I can say is that there were just too many obvious signs pointing that some people shouldn’t be trusted and some should. As Rose once said, James had a track record of trusting the wrong people and not trusting the right one. It was a character flaw I had hoped for him overcome, but hardly improved at all by the end of it. Granted, one detail near the end of the story stated that as a Gryffindor, he was a loyal to a fault. I could back that as a fair reason. After all, James’ namesake grandfather died for trusting the wrong friend. Not only that, his career path also changed completely from an inspired Auror to a actual Headmaster of Hogwarts. Albus was the one that followed James’ old dream, and I admit, being an Auror (a chief deputy at that!) really fits Albus character.
Part of me realized that maybe his career path changed because of how he identified himself back in the first book. He inspires other to help - give them courage when they need it or deserve it. That doesn’t sound like a Auror to me, despite his amazing deduction and intuition skill (except when he aims it at the wrong people). Therefore, I could also rally behind that.
It’s just that, overall, when I see James in the epilogue 19 years later as a grown man, part of me still see him as the 11-17 year old. Barely changed. Changed, still, but just barely. The second part of the epilogue gave me a good insight of his growth, but there wasn’t enough exploration.
And in a spiteful wish, I honestly wanted James to tell his friends about the entire event after he had repaired and change their reality, just to see their reaction. I think they deserved the truth after everything they’ve been through together, as well as his father, even thought they technically did not experienced the event anymore due to the alteration.
Moving on, I finally want to talk about my most favorite part of this series: the second part of the epilogue in The Crimson Thread!
When a series comes to an end, there’s usually this overall lesson that sums up the entire series all together. Each installment has a memorable lesson of their own, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! I just loved what Mr. Lippert is trying to tell us readers. I can’t just explain it all here (too long!), I would rather have people finding it out for themselves, because the hard work they put into this whole journey is what’s going to make the lesson counts! It is the reason why it warms my heart so much in the end and enable me to trace it all the way back to the first book. It truly wraps everything up in a perfect knot while giving hope to the future by our own imagination instead of relying too much on Mr. Lipper’s writing. The lesson is something worth living by as you move on with your life and face the unknowable future. To all of those who had read it, I hope it does the same for you and wish you fortune. To those who had suffered and read the lesson, hold on to it and never let go! All is not lost! Your happy ending is yet to be written, but only if you choose yourself to be part of the bigger story!
So...here we are. End of the review. All I have left to say is that this was a very committed story that truly feels like it could be canon to the Harry Potter series. George Norman Lippert did a spectacular job as a storyteller, and that if my children would ever be invested in the Harry Potter series, I would recommend them his story as a great sequel to the original. Thank you for this amazing adventure!
Read
December 23, 2018I found myself reading and searching for books online, and I came across more of these James Potter series, which I learnt to love. I would totally recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy elements like those in Harry Potter!
July 6, 2025
First things first, the moment you step foot in the artefacts vault I half expected Artie to open his arms and say “welcome to warehouse 13”. I could picture the vault with its vast shelving filled with items from all over the world and time.
Travelling to a new magical school when we’ve only ever heard the names made for a nice change. Visiting the American school of witchcraft and wizardry has a nice ring to it. Being introduced to the American version of quidditch, cludcluch, that’s something I’d watch.
James is starting to move out from under his dads shadow and creating a new reason for people to say “potter”
Travelling to a new magical school when we’ve only ever heard the names made for a nice change. Visiting the American school of witchcraft and wizardry has a nice ring to it. Being introduced to the American version of quidditch, cludcluch, that’s something I’d watch.
James is starting to move out from under his dads shadow and creating a new reason for people to say “potter”
November 3, 2016
While this story is very long, G. Norman Lippert pulls together the threads from his two (and a half) previous installments, weaving the whole series into a much richer tapestry than I initially expected. Some of the plot is obvious and some parts tedious (enough that I set the story aside for a couple months out of boredom when it dragged), but it becomes complex enough to be worth it. Lippert's writing style is not my favorite, but his tactics and twists remind me very much of the original series, winking with sparkle, fantasy and imagination.
Notables that come to mind (SPOILERS):
The journey from Hogwarts to Alma Aleron takes far too long. The whole time I wondered why they didn't travel to America via faster means. Yes, yes, the ocean setting was important and James needs to save Petra amongst other plot bits, and we need to see the tumultuous political environment they are heading toward, but it could have been wrapped up quicker. Planes take less than a day to cross the Atlantic, and yet our heroes take several... was it a week or a month? That was a point where I grew tired with the story and set it aside repeatedly. The sunken city brought a little life into it, as well as the pirate battle, but I read it all against a backdrop of wondering why they were taking so long.
Rushing into fraternity/sorority-like houses was a neat twist for the American school as a foil against the automatic sorting of houses, but it seemed forced. I was annoyed with most of this aspect of the American school b/c it seemed less welcoming, clouded by an every-man-for-himself shadow. The practice was less friendly and cast a negative light on the school/system in contrast with the warmer houses of Hogwarts. It seemed to touch on a sort of American stereotype... rather like how the werewolf house members were all described as more abrupt and less subtle than their Slytherin counterparts... but in a cold, unfeeling light. Perhaps I'm getting ruffled as an American, but, while it was interesting to read about Lippert's imagined American counterpart world, it was a little uncomfortable, like a popularity contest where very few win.
The cat was a nice touch.
I particularly enjoyed Lucy's character and hope that the foreshadowing about replacing the thread comes to pass. In other words, how likely is it that their fates may revert (snapping back into place to where they should be) when the thread is replaced? Will some events be reversed? Likable characters' deaths often seem to come out of nowhere, but hers seemed strange and uncalled for. Since the characters discussed the possible resolution of a repaired loom just prior to her murder, in light with the rest of the time-warping design of the book, it seems highly probable that she'll come back. If not, ugh.
Likewise, Merlin's disappearance is odd. I find it hard to believe that a character like his will never come back after performing the spell he performed. It didn't seem like a "final" sort of spell. Freezing the city for a short time? That can't be his swan song.
The riddles and the journey of the protagonists' Clutchcudgel tournament were enjoyable to follow along. Particularly the descriptions of the magical tactics and the growth of their use of skills learned in previous books. The story of the Rider and his unicorn companion also provided an interesting backdrop, as well as professor Magnussen's experience, and the warping willow/time bubble.
Notables that come to mind (SPOILERS):
The journey from Hogwarts to Alma Aleron takes far too long. The whole time I wondered why they didn't travel to America via faster means. Yes, yes, the ocean setting was important and James needs to save Petra amongst other plot bits, and we need to see the tumultuous political environment they are heading toward, but it could have been wrapped up quicker. Planes take less than a day to cross the Atlantic, and yet our heroes take several... was it a week or a month? That was a point where I grew tired with the story and set it aside repeatedly. The sunken city brought a little life into it, as well as the pirate battle, but I read it all against a backdrop of wondering why they were taking so long.
Rushing into fraternity/sorority-like houses was a neat twist for the American school as a foil against the automatic sorting of houses, but it seemed forced. I was annoyed with most of this aspect of the American school b/c it seemed less welcoming, clouded by an every-man-for-himself shadow. The practice was less friendly and cast a negative light on the school/system in contrast with the warmer houses of Hogwarts. It seemed to touch on a sort of American stereotype... rather like how the werewolf house members were all described as more abrupt and less subtle than their Slytherin counterparts... but in a cold, unfeeling light. Perhaps I'm getting ruffled as an American, but, while it was interesting to read about Lippert's imagined American counterpart world, it was a little uncomfortable, like a popularity contest where very few win.
The cat was a nice touch.
I particularly enjoyed Lucy's character and hope that the foreshadowing about replacing the thread comes to pass. In other words, how likely is it that their fates may revert (snapping back into place to where they should be) when the thread is replaced? Will some events be reversed? Likable characters' deaths often seem to come out of nowhere, but hers seemed strange and uncalled for. Since the characters discussed the possible resolution of a repaired loom just prior to her murder, in light with the rest of the time-warping design of the book, it seems highly probable that she'll come back. If not, ugh.
Likewise, Merlin's disappearance is odd. I find it hard to believe that a character like his will never come back after performing the spell he performed. It didn't seem like a "final" sort of spell. Freezing the city for a short time? That can't be his swan song.
The riddles and the journey of the protagonists' Clutchcudgel tournament were enjoyable to follow along. Particularly the descriptions of the magical tactics and the growth of their use of skills learned in previous books. The story of the Rider and his unicorn companion also provided an interesting backdrop, as well as professor Magnussen's experience, and the warping willow/time bubble.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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