Sooooo...New Title

[meddow]

I’m suspicious.

This probably sounds incredibly stupid and most likely is. But…

It doesn’t feel right, not when compared to the titles of previous books. There's never been an adjective before. It wasn’t Harry Potter and the Terribly Secret Chamber.

Have we got confirmation from the publishers? Or JKR? All the reports I've come across are only going by the website.

ETA: Okay, so it's use has been pretty widespread and there's been usuage by the publishers.

Still it just doesn’t seem to match the pattern. Maybe I just want to find fault because I don't particularly like it.

Not that I can speak. Some of my fics have truly awful titles.

EATA: Adverb? Adjective? All I know it is ain't a noun, that I suck and that my various English teachers should be fired.

Comments

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

Words that end in -ly are adverbs.

The title was on JKR's website in the locked room so I would think that's all the proof any of us would need. In any case both Scholastic and Bloomsbury have both updated their websites with the title as have all the major online book stores so I think this means it's carved in stone.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Sweet. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

It was very weird seeing them showing JKR's website and how to get the title from it on CNN just now, believe me. LOL

I still think it sounds like a lame Goth band.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Yes! Lame Goth band would be about right.

Saying it out loud is painful. It has a terrible ring to it.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

Hee. Or maybe a Death Metal Band.

I'm reserving judgement until I've actually read the book since we don't know who/what the Deathly Hallows are yet but it's not exactly the OMG WOW! title I'd hoped for Book 7.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it’s a bit of a let down. I wanted to be so excited by the title and I’m not. Still, I’m sure the book will be awesome.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it'll be enjoyable. As well as emotionally exhausting. I'm going to try so hard not to be spoiled this year. Last time, I wound up not being able to sleep the night before (for other reasons) and found spoilers on LJ so by the time I actually had the book in my hand, I knew it all and it was a real let down.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

Not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. In this case, "deathly" describes the hallows. "Lovely" and "friendly" are like this.

And to the OP: Yeah, I'm not too into this title. It reminds me of "HP and the Doomspell Tournament".

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

True. In this case, "deathly" is an adjective rather than an adverb. :)

[snorkackcatcher]

Oh dear. I seem to be in the minority who actually quite like it ... it conveys a suitably doom-laden theme (after the ending of HBP it wasn't really going to be "HP and the Fluffy Slippers"), and probably simply refers to the Horcruxes or their locations? (And again, as I've said elsewhere, she may have gone for a phrase that wasn't used elsewhere, hence the slightly odd sound. "Deathly Hallows" was a no-result on Google yesterday when I tried it. Juts tried again in fact and it still is, although I bet that doesn't last long!)

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Power is with the minority on this one though. You've got JKR in your corner.

While I do think there should be a feeling to doom, I think it may be a bit too heavy handed with the doom. It’s the whole “death” part. On the scale of doom, you really can’t go much further than death (other than Harry Potter and the Apolcalyptic Hallows). Maybe if it was tones back a bit I wouldn’t have such a reaction against it (Harry Potter and the Risky Hallows, the Slightly Dodgy Hallows, the Remote Possibility of a Minor Injury Hallows)

Though I’ve had a day to think about it now and realised that I was never going to get what I wanted from the title. I wanted something that would both stir up excitement and mystery and nicely round off the whole series, which may be asking for a bit much of a few words. I was always going to be disappointed.

Still, it doesn’t roll of the tongue very easily, which I think it will always have acting against it. All my above made up titles are silly, but they are easier to say out loud.

[snorkackcatcher]

Harry Potter and the Risky Hallows, the Slightly Dodgy Hallows, the Remote Possibility of a Minor Injury Hallows

*snicker*