POTTERMORE PRESENTS

The wizarding world explored

released OUT NOW! 63 pages/79 pages/68 pages | ebook Editor JK rowling Publisher Pottermore

Only available in ebook form,

these three slim volumes (Short Stories From Hogwarts Of Power, Politics And Pesky Poltergeists; Hogwarts: An Incomplete And Unreliable Guide; and Short Stories From Hogwarts Of Heroism, Hardship And Dangerous Hobbies)

are a collection of stories, ideas and background information taken from JK Rowling’s Pottermore website. Which means that if you’re a member there, you’ve probably read most of these already. Sure, there’s some new stuff – although we can’t imagine many fans have been itching to find out Horace Slughorn’s backstory – but, by and large, these books have, in the worlds of the Pottermore website editor, been “sewn together” from existing material... not all of it penned by Rowling herself.

Are they worth it? Well, they’re only a couple of quid each and they’re presented nicely enough. And frankly, if you’re a Potter nut, it’ll save you scouring the internet every time you want to check up on what kind of wand Remus Lupin uses. Plus there’s no denying that if you haven’t spent time on the site, the information here is intriguing – the aforementioned Lupin’s tragic backstory answers a few questions about why he came to Hogwarts, for example, and the history of the Hogwarts Express is amusing (it was stolen from Muggles!). Without a doubt, the most unmissable inclusion is the chapter about Minerva McGonagall; you’ll never look at Maggie Smith’s movie version in the same way again.

There are a few disappointments, such as the fact that the piece on Time-Turners doesn’t mention Harry Potter And

The Cursed Child – given that these books were released after the premiere of the play (which uses Time-Turners as a central plot point), that seems a quite serious oversight. More illustrations might have been nice, too, to liven up a serious amount of white space. Still, the end result is fun, friendly... and largely essential.