Potter fans queue for latest release
A stack of golden tomes drew Harry Potter fans to bookshops around New Zealand, as an eighth title in the beloved franchise went on sale.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child –a two-part script of a play that premiered on London’s West End – is credited to playwright Jack Thorne, play director John Tiffany, and Harry Potter creator JK Rowling.
A rousing countdown to 11.01am (NZT) – the book’s global release time – could be heard at Unity Books in Wellington, after a small but enthusiastic band of fans had streamed through the shop doors minutes earlier.
A young woman, who did not wished to be named or photographed because she was ‘‘way too old to be waiting in line for a book’’, had been outside Unity’s shuttered doors since 9.45am, shivering in the bitter wind.
At 10.50am, about 16 people had formed a line along Willis St‘s footpath, grinning in anticipation when a staff member tacked a sign to the window stating pre-orders could be collected from the front desk.
The Cursed Child begins with the scene that ended the final book – Harry and wife Ginny bidding their children farewell at Kings Cross station at the start of the Hogwarts school year.
A 26-year-old man, sporting a handknitted Gryffindor scarf and socks emblazoned with the Deathly Hallows symbol, said he’d been looking forward to the book’s release, based on early reviews of the play.
The story centres on Harry and his son, Albus, who is uncomfortable with the family legacy.
There is also a storyline involving Hermione and Ron, now parents to a daughter, Rose.
Presales through Amazon are at the highest level since 2007, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released.
An American woman in the line at Unity Books gleefully remarked she got a few hours’ head-start on the book, compared to friends back home.