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Tuesday, October 05, 1999 By Karen MacPherson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Any self-respecting child already has devoured the third book in the wildly successful "Harry Potter" series.
In fact, most school-agers probably have read "The Prisoner of Azkaban" (Scholastic, $19.95) several times, since that seems to be a common pattern for young "Harry Potter" fans. They race through the books the first time to find out what happens, then slowly read them again, and again (and again!), to savor the characters, the story and the humorous eccentricities woven into each book by author J.K. Rowling.
Even reluctant readers seem to love these books, which continue their lengthy residence on the best-seller charts.
But the question is: Does the third "Harry Potter" book measure up to the first two volumes? The answer is yes. In fact, "The Prisoner of Azkaban" may be the best "Harry Potter" book yet.
All the same elements that readers have come to love and expect are present in "Prisoner": the sly humor; the fascinating fantasy world of Hogwarts; the stark contrast between the wizard world and the world of "Muggles" or non-wizard humans; and, of course, Harry himself.
"The Prisoner of Azkaban," however, is a darker book than the first two volumes, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." There's a brooding quality to it, and the scenes involving the inevitable clash between evil and good are frightening -- even terrifying.
In the first two books, there also was a battle between good and evil. But in "Prisoner," the battle lasts longer, and it is even more intimately intertwined with Harry's life and fate.
It seems there is no escaping the evil that surrounds Harry in "Prisoner," just as Hogwarts students can't escape past the menacing guards called "dementors" who surround the school in hopes of catching the infamous criminal Sirius Black, who has done the impossible and escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison. Black supposedly betrayed Harry's parents to the wicked wizard Voldemort, and now the officials of the wizard world expect that he wants to finish the job by murdering Harry.
While it all comes out right in the end, it's not clear that will happen forever in the world of Harry Potter. Rowling's decision to add a dark emotional tint to "Prisoner" could be an indication that things will get even darker as she works her way through the next four books planned in the series.
It's a gamble, but Rowling obviously has a magic touch when it comes to writing fiction for children. The darkness adds more emotional heft to this book than the two previous books, and actually may make it more memorable for readers.
Of course, it's Harry who carries the series. Harry is a marvelous creation, a character who embodies every child's desire to be somebody really important.
Harry's story certainly is a classic childhood dream come true. He was miserable for the first 10 years of his life, an orphan who was cruelly mistreated by his wizard-hating aunt and uncle.
As he turned 11, however, Harry was suddenly whisked off to Hogwarts, the school for wizards. There he discovers that his dead parents are heroes in the wizard world, and that he is a legend. For, when his parents were killed by Voldemort, the infant Harry received only a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
Harry's nascent magical powers also rebounded on Voldemort, leaving him near death and determined to find a way to someday kill Harry.
"The Prisoner of Azkaban" shows that Rowling is ready to take chances and make her characters grow. Let's hope she continues her gamble in the books to come in this extraordinary series.
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