James Potter and the Vault of Destinies

Two stars is probably one star more than this fanfic deserves. It succeeds in simultaneously featuring a plot that is almost non-existing, yet at the same time confusing. Some evildoer from another dimension steals a thread of reality from our own. It is not exactly certain why they do that or what the consequences are,or what that even means, but there you go.

To top it all off, we're again witnessing an overuse of time travelling to solve a problem. Yet, when an important character suffers, it does not occur to anyone to go back in time and prevent it. Oh sure we can go back in time to steal an artifact to alter the course of history, but not to save someone.

The character of Petra Morganstern, or is it Morgan Morganstern now, has show more totally jumped the shark, probably in the previous book already, but here she's even more ridiculous with her unmatched power and connection to James Potter and so forth.

Even the Merlin-centric thread that was the staple of the previous two books is apparently gone now. So in the end, the only thing that maybe makes this worth one and a half star is the author's decent worldbuilding centered on the American magic academy Alma Aleron (you see, James and some of his friends and family now return the favor and go study abroad for a year). Although there is too much of such exposition and not enough of the plot. It feels like half the book is a treatise on an American Quidditch-like game called Clutchcudgel, which apparently features even more ridiculous rules and is, despite the fact that so much time is devoted to it, never properly explained.

Looks like a good time for me to stop reading fan fiction for a while. show less

The author's warning in the beginning is correct. This book is quite a break from the normal of the previous two books in the same manner "The Deathly Hallows" was a break from the previous Harry Potter books/movies.

That being said I very much enjoyed learning and seeing more about the American Magical society and the wizarding school of Alma Aleron. Their similar but different house systems, games, etc. were very fun and enjoyable as were the host of new characters introduced.

The last few chapters have more twists and turns than a roller coaster and I was really unsure of what to expect. I was reading so fast I found myself sometimes accidentally skipping a few lines in excitement.

Sadly I have to knock a star off and only give this show more book 4 out of 5 stars because ultimately the ending was unsatisfactory and I would say even a bit inconclusive. Knowing that there's another book in the works I didn't expect everything wrapped up in a neat little box, but... It really feels like nothing truly got wrapped up.

I will of course still read the next book when it is complete. show less

The third book in the James Potter Series did not disappoint. We make a journey across the Atlantic to the Americans for a year at Alma Aleron. It was very interesting to get a view of wizarding education on the American side. Joining James and his family on this trip are his Uncle Percy and his family, Ralph and his dad and for the beginning of the trip Professor Longbottom and Merlin himself. The different houses were interesting, although I think that I prefer the Hogwarts houses (but that's just me...Slytherin pride). We find James and Ralph in the same house with Lucy (Percy's daughter) and Albus in different houses. Petra and James have strengthened their bond more (although unexpectedly). The W.U.L.F. is keeping Harry Potter show more busy, so it's up to James to figure out the mystery of the Vault of Destinies. This was a great continuation of the story of James Potter and I look forward to reading more. *****SPOILER ALERT*****I am hoping very much, that this is not the last that we have seen of Merlinus. show less

This third instalment of the James Potter felt long and tedious most of the time. A magical America is certainly interesting and the new setting was refreshing. The story itself was a bit complicated, so I had to pay attention to the tedious bits too for fear of missing anything... The story ended on a melancholy note, so reading the next is a must, I guess.
This would have been way better had it been trimmed by half...

A solid third instalment from G. Norman Lippert. The history of Petra (touched briefly on here, but told in detail in 'The Girl on the Dock: A Dark Fairy Tale') makes this story a touch darker than the previous two.

Personally, I missed Hogwarts, however, setting this story in America allows the reader to experience a whole new side of the wizarding world; games, classes, houses, and overall, this brought a unique level to the well known Potter world.

The climactic ending introduces a couple of powerful characters, and the secrecy built to shield the wizarding world from the muggle world gets hit squarely in the face by them. I expect the next story to be a doozy!

I'm looking forward to 'James Potter and The Morrigan Web'.

I really liked James Potter #1. I liked James Potter #2. I found James Potter #3 to be a little less enjoyable. Much of it takes place in the United States at the U.S. equivalent of Hogwarts. It just didn't seem to be a nice place and many of the characters were just not nice. I will probably continue with the series, but with less enthusiasm.