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Children the world over are waiting with bated breath to discover the fate of their favourite boy wizard at the hands of his arch-enemy Voldemort.
But until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final instalment of JK Rowling's hugely successful series, goes on sale on July 21, they can whet their appetites on a glut of spin-off books that predict the ending.
Publishers are capitalising on Pottermania, with titles that anticipate what will happen in the final volume or provide behind-the-scenes analysis.
They include The End of Harry Potter? An Unauthorized Guide To The Mysteries That Remain by David Langford, The Unauthorized Harry Potter by Adam-Troy Castro, The Making of the Potterverse: A Month-by-Month Look at Harry's First 10 Years by Edward Gross and Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide by George Beahm.
Nicolette Jones, the author and children's literary critic, said predictive books, guessing how the series might end, reflect a "game every child enthusiast wants to play' while they are waiting for the real thing.
"We all like to play games that speculate on endings, so I think it's a forgivable way of cashing in on the Harry Potter success story. My own daughter and her friend wrote their own predictions and sealed them in an envelope, and some have come true. It's the thrill of the guessing game. But these predictive books will obviously have a short shelf life because what everyone really wants to read is JK Rowling's book,' she said.
The spin-off phenomenon is by no means unique to Harry Potter - and can be educational as well as entertaining. Jones said: "Success breeds imitation in literature. And if there are books about the mythology of Harry Potter that look at, for example, the heritage behind some of the creatures in the series, such as basilisks or centaurs, then I think it takes the interest further for children and encourages them to look closely at what they are reading.' Although there is a tight deadline before the final instalment resolves the many mysteries surrounding the good and the bad at Hogwarts, industry experts say the spin-off scene will not end there, and the last publication will create a buzz that will last way beyond July.
Jones said she had already spoken to a number of academics who are working on studies on the series.
"What we may get is a series of academic studies of the phenomenon. I have already met people who are writing their theses on Harry Potter, and there are probably a lot of people on children's literature courses analysing the whole marketing phenomenon,' she said.
JK Rowling has written two spin-offs in aid of Comic Relief: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She is now reported to be planning an encyclopaedia of magic.
There are already more than 100 books relating to the series, including simple guides to the characters and terminology, and academic papers on the success of the brand.
- THE INDEPENDENT
