Will the Final Farewell of JK Rowling and Harry Potter Signal an End to Fantasy Writing?

With the past release of "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows" on July 21st, it has signaled an end to this ever-popular writing franchise as well as its renowned author, JK Rowling. Now that we no longer have the ability to see what happens to Harry later in life or the other denizens of Hogwart's School of Magic and Wizardry, what will happen now?

Already, fantasy writers are scrambling to get movie deals for their work as well as publishing new works as fast as they can, but can they stack up to Rowling's moving story of magic, family, loss, and growing up? Rowling has defined the fantasy genre with her series of seven books, creating a rich story that is full of imagination, wit, and honesty that has endeared millions across the globe. Not since George Lucas had put pen to paper back in the seventies when he created the 'Star Wars' trilogy or JRR Tolkien when he wrote "The Lord Of The Rings" series of books has there been such a phenomenon as there is today with the British boy with black horn-rimmed glasses that found out he was a wizard at the age of twelve. While there have been many fantasy authors that have tried to make their mark and still have a following, such as Anne McCaffrey or Terry Brooks, there is still nothing that quite makes the mark. The popular 'Eragon' series of books and feature film starring Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich have met with some success, but not quite as much as (*once again) the 'Harry Potter' series.

The main problem with fantasy writing is that it is such a limited genre within the writing world, and its fans are those that are like any other fan. They like the book or the genre itself and they read it. They like reading about magic, dragons, wizards, sorcerors, mages, elves, and anything else that has a mythical premise. They like reading about enchanted artifacts that contain great power. They like reading of wars and battles in mythical lands where humans battle against orcs, trolls, and other unimaginable things that go bump in the night. Then, of course, we cannot forget the oddities that are within the fantasy genre, such as author Brian Jacques, the creator of the popular 'Redwall' series of novels, where humans are replaced by animals in a world where badgers become knights on a holy crusade, mice become monks, squirrels become expert archers, and otters become masters of the rivers and seas. For any taste that a person has for fantasy, there are many authors who will write to acquire those tastes, as an author's job is not only to write, but to gain a fanbase so that they can keep writing the stories that their fans are coming to know and love.

But, now we must come back to a question that has been meaning to be asked, (*especially by myself), as to why Harry was so endearing to us? In my opinion, I think that Ms. Rowling was trying to appeal to the part of us that wants to believe is something that is beyond our comprehension. Though the books may contain magic spells and mystical creatures, there is also another side to the books that most people may not realize as they are too wrapped up in the action. Harry Potter, like any normal boy, has to deal with real issues that we all have to face here in the real world. His parents were murdered by Voldemort when he was but a baby. He has to endure prejudice and hatred from the likes of Draco Malfoy, who is a pure-blood wizard who has absolutely no love for those that are half-blood or less. He has to maintain friendships while at the same time making hard life choices, such as leaving the one thing he loves behind in order to keep them safe from an enemy whose sole purpose in life is to destroy him. He also has to constantly battle himself, between hatred and love as he attempts to cope with the anger that he feels towards Voldemort for the deaths of his friends and family. In part, Harry Potter almost has a Shakespearean feel, where what we see before us in written form is not only what is one of the most popular novels sets in the world, but also has the earmarks of a greatly written tragedy, as Harry is always looking behind him, dealing with the ghosts from his past and the dangers of his present and future.

JK Rowling will be greatly missed, and I hope that she has not left us forever. In closing, I would like to say that Harry will be a part of popular culture for many years to come, and I think in order to redefine fantasy in order to keep it alive we need new and fresh concepts that are going to need to be brought forth, and soon. The first book in the 'His Dark Materials' set will soon be hitting theaters sometime this year, with Nicole Kidman in one of the starring roles. I think that it will definitely be a new twist on the fantasy genre, but will it have the same following as our beloved Harry? Only time will tell.