Like many readers, I had a difficult time falling in love with the play that continued the story of the both the original and next generation of wizards from the Harry Potter universe. Since I hadn’t read anything in script form in over a decade, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out whether my problem was with the unfamiliar storytelling style. Unfortunately, I finally had to admit that while there was much to enjoy about this tale, the rest of it came up lacking.
Though Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite of the original novels in the Harry Potter series, which I know is true of many other readers, what I loved about it wasn’t the time travel aspect. While it was interesting to see different versions of a future with a grown Harry Potter and companions, it detracted from a story that should have been about the relationships between parents and children.
On the other hand, I loved reading about a Potter sorted into Slytherin House and a Malfoy who wasn’t at the top of the totem pole. These were the sort of different futures I wanted to read about, not awkward encounters made even more gimmicky through the use of Polyjuice Potion.
Though the character was intriguing, I saw the major reveal regarding the main villain miles away. In the end, while I loved the new characters, I’m disappointed that this was the adventure that we saw them in. So as I happily add Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to my personal Harry Potter canon, I’m afraid that this play will linger on the outskirts, keeping company with other exceptionally good Harry Potter fanfic that is fun to read once and never really remember.
Rating: 3 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.
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