Dusk Before the Dawn

An excellent letter from Dr. Andrew D. Maynard, Chief Science Advisor, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies to Mr. Arthur Weasley of Harry Potter fame:

Nanotechnology is not magic, but it sometimes looks like magic. For instance, we can make stuff change color, just by altering the size of the particles it is made of. We can weave threads that are so strong a single strand could pull the Hogwarts Express. We can even alter the way that light moves through substances—and might possibly be able to mimic your friend Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak one day!

Nanotechnology plays an important role in my novel, Dusk Before the Dawn, and at times the people in the story view it’s effects and those of other often “unexplainable” happenings (such as those involving the martial arts) as magic. Dr. Maynard voices some caution in his letter that foreshadow the efforts of many novels, including my own:

I am sure that most uses of nanotechnology will be perfectly safe. But it would seem sensible—and good business sense —to make sure of this, rather than ignoring the warning signs and hoping for the best. We do know that the unusual behavior of nano-particles might make them harmful if they get in the wrong place. For example, our scientists have shown that some nano-particles can get to places in our bodies that larger particles cannot, although we do not yet to know whether this is a cause for alarm. And we do not know what happens in the long-run when we release nano-materials into the environment.

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Ulitmate Kudos: An exciting ending to a classic series

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an excellent end to an extraordinary series. Picking up with the search for the Horcruxes that Voldemort locked split pieces of himself in, the book ties together most of the remaining loose ends in satisfying fashion. Harry, Ron and Hermione do not return for their last year at Hogwarts, choosing instead to take on the task that Dumbledore assigned to Harry. Along the way, much of the backstory is revealed about Harry’s relatives, Dumbledore’s relationships, Voldemort and more. The giants, house elves, goblins and other magical creatures all play a part, as do Luna, Neville, the Weasley and Mallfoy families.

A character does die in the first chapter (in the flow of the story) and others in the end (some needlessly; though a cost for the final battle must be shown, some dying off screen as it were aren’t in the flow of the story)

As an author, I admire how Ms. Rowling combined several different themes in this book and throughout the series: (more…)

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The Internet is teeming this week with stories of Harry Potter spoilers, Harry Potter predictions, even claims that Harry Potter has not influenced literacy (a claim eloquently refuted by my friend Paul Levinson).

While I do not possess a mound of statistics (and as a mathematician that does make me sad!), I am certain there are many tales of how Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling have influenced families. As the timing of the seventh (and final?) book draws near, here is our short vignette.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published in June 0f 1997. My son was six, my daughter was thirteen. My daughter was “too old to be read to, Dad”, but Harry temporarily took the place of the Berenstain Bears as I read this first one to my son, chapter by chapter, making abrupt and unwanted stops for bedtime before both he and I wanted so that he could sleep and grow (and he is still growing).

The next three books (Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire) came out one year apart each summer. Our family would go to the bookstores late at night and await a copy (for the Goblet of Fire, we abandoned an overly crowded bookstore and went at my wife’s prescient suggestion to a grocery store at midnight and were fifth in line for a copy!). Each of these three books we read together, me reading the left page, my son reading the right page….somtimes we would switch. Eventually we got anxious to get on to the next part of the plot and started alternating chapters instead of pages. Sometimes we would get so deep into the words that one of us would keep reading and the other would forget to remind…or just knowingly lie back and enjoy the sound of the story.

There were THREE LONG YEARS between the Goblet of Fire and the Order of the Phoenix. Reading with Dad was no longer cool, but competition with Dad was! Competing in racing, in Karate, even in reading. One book between the two of us, stealing the book back and forth, front book flap marking my place, back flap his. Of course he finished first, but he didn’t tell me how it ended.

Two summers later and The Half-Blood Prince arrived. This time I finished first, because Harry couldn’t compete with high school, girls and marching band. Sometimes reality gets in the way of fantasy. And, fortunately or unfortunately, my son still has not finished Book 6. We’ve seen all the movies as a family (except for this last one….sometimes girls get in the way of family!), and both of my kids read vociferously (nice word that!). They read a lot before Harry, they’ve both read a lot after Harry, no matter what the statistics say.

So here I sit, waiting for Book 7 to come, not wanting to let go of either my son or Harry. But reality always gets in the way.

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