Recently I decided to get back into the Harry Potter series. I watched the films as they came out growing up, however trying to watch them now i cringe at the child acting, which for me takes away the magic. This lead to me then wanting to read the complete series of books to re-indulge into this world.I was raised in a very strict Christian household so reading the books was a challenge growing up, so only really managed to get as far into the series as book 4. Now well into my adult life I thought it was time to read through the entire series which I was pleased to find out, I could still find enjoyment in. All though the quality of the writing isn't great I was still really impressed and taken in by the amazing imaginative world in which the stories are set.
After completing and for the most part enjoying the complete series, I noticed that Harry Potter & The Cursed Child was a play script which continued directly from the ending of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows. Feeling as though the world had more to offer and an excuse to revisit Hogwarts I thought I would give this a try.
The book starts with the closing scene of Deathly Hallows where Harry, Ginny, Ron & Hermione are seeing off their children from the platform of Kings Cross, Most of the dialogue here is the exact same as it is in the film. From here the book soon flies through the children's first few years of Hogwarts which we can only presume was quite uneventful. We have the obligatory sorting hat scene but even this feels rushed. Both Albus Severus Potter & Scorpius Malfoy are sorted into Slytherin and become close friends.
The main premise of the plot reveals itself when Amos Diggory & Delphini come to the Potter household to ask Harry to use his access to a time turner to undo the necessary death of Cedric Diggory. Harry refuses to help and this is where Albus, chooses he should undertake this task after a bit of manipulation by Delphini.
At first i didn't realise this was going to be such a big chunk of the story and to be honest I was disappointed about it. Without ruining too much, most of the story is Amos and Albus travelling back through time to change Cedrics outcome. The main problem is a lot of this just reads and feels like fan service and just an excuse to revisit characters which died in the original series whilst trying to piggyback on the nostalgia of some of those original scenes.
The ending of the book is ok with a nice reveal but at the same time quite predictable. As is the relationship between Harry and his son. It's very much your typical Son not being able to live up to his fathers legacy and them failing to understand each other until the end. Some characters also feel different to how we know them, A lot of time has passed for them though and just like in real life I guess people change with age.
Overall I would say only read this book if you are desperate to return to the world of Harry Potter, even then I would say you are better off re-reading the original series of books. The predictability and the fan service gets tiresome, none of which is really worth the payoff at the end. If you want to still know about characters developments you might aswell save your time and just give the wiki a read. You won't be missing out on much.
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