Harry Potter publishers' plea to file sharers: Shhhhhh

J.K. Rowling is probably not going to end up in a bread line as a result. Nonetheless, pirated copies of the author's latest book are cropping up online four days before the scheduled release.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final installment of the iconic Harry Potter series is due to go on sale Saturday morning.

A check of some of the BitTorrent search engines shows that the book is typically broken up into multiple parts. The copies appear to originate from photographs taken of leaked copies of the novel. One version found with the torrent-tracking site, The Pirate Bay, had pages 496 to the end of the nearly 800-page fantasy about a boy wizard.

This, of course, means that the mystery of how Rowling concludes her series is now in the clutches of file sharers.

According to a Tuesday report in Canadian newspaper The Globe And Mail, Raincoast Books, the Canadian publisher of the Harry Potter series, is pleading with the public to keep the ending a secret.

Fat chance.

This, from one of those who made the book available online: "These are from an advance copy," wrote a person calling him or herself Yamathan. "Wholly leaked, same quality, same legitimacy. This is the real (stuff), boys and girls. Seize the day!"

[Gabh]

Mm, but who wants to read 800+ pages on a computer screen?

Or handle 800+ A4 pages? Or listen to computerised voice read it?

I bought a couple of novels as ebooks... couldn't read on the bus,
and it made my head hurt.

[qwerty75]

I agree

Anything more then 1 page on a computer screen is getting to be too much.

I buy books even though I can get free, legal online copies sometimes.

[geetarista]

Correction:

It goes on sale Saturday morning... :)

[shycelticwitch]

More to worry about than the ending of the book

In case you Potter fans (and I am one too) have been too busy to
pay attention to the rest of what is going on in this world to
notice that there has been a great deal of chatter about another
Al Quaeda attack in the U.S.

Since these terrorists are not really human, they have no
scruples, morals or care of whom they kill. An infidel is an
infidel no matter what race or age they are.

I will not be taking my child to the "Potter Party" at our local
bookstore, because the terrorists have done their job. They
have terrorized me.

I am probably being paranoid, but what better way to hurt the
Americans than by killing our innocent children as they line up
outside bookstores across the US? The ease with which the
terrorists placed those car bombs in the UK tells me that they
could just as easily do it here.

No, we will stay home, and pick up our Potter book when the
circus goes away. I pray to God that everyone else who DOES
attend the book release returns home with their children safely.

[qwerty75]

Don't listen to Chertoffs gut

This is just more fear mongering from Bush &Co. Every time he gets into trouble he pulls out the fear card.

Happily most people see through him and he is history.

You are what Bush wants everyone to be. Too scared to live life. Why not keep your kids home from school, do you know how easy it is to attack the schools? Keep them away from public pools, that chlorine might be poison gas. That would be easy to pull off. But terrorists can just as easily attack homes, including yours. Maybe we should cower in fear in the basement while praying that the boogyman will get us?

Grow a backbone and a brain. I shudder to think how cowardly and unthoughtful you are making your children. Your attitude is more harmful to your kids.

Did you not notice that those people in England were incompetent?

[ronjay]

Go watch V for Vendetta

It's ironic (or maybe it's not) how parallel the ideas of this movie
seem with the state of affairs in the United States.

Anyway, your child is more likely to get run over by a car (God
forbid) than blown up by a terrorist's bomb.

[Professor Cornbread]

Yes, you are paranoid

Watch much Fox News? Seriously, if you stop living you life because there *might* be a terrorist attack, then the terrorists have pretty much won. Congradulations Al Quaeda, you have suceeded in making American families cower in their homes, too afraid to go to a local bookstore. And also props to Bush and Co. for showing us that their technique of warning of terrorist threats really does fool the American people and distract them from real news. Better not go to the grocery store either, they might blow that up. Forget the post office and Wal-Mart too. Also, don't drink the water as they might poison that, and buy a bunch of generators.

Give me a break, get a life and some perspective.

[drewbyh]

Nut case....

That is all.

[cherrygoth]

every being in human form is human

i completly disagree with your over dramatization of terrorists. yes they are evil people who are bent upon destroying the peace of our world. but they are still humans. they have emotions and a mind that is being used for bad, but overall they are people. many terrorists are just angry over things that have been happening to them and their families. they lash out their anger in an unacceptable way against those who are innocent. now, if something was every to happen to harm your family you would feel hurt and want to do something to make sure it never happens again. you would almost give your life to protect what is still left of what is familiar to you. so this is pretty similar to the suicide bombers who really do give their lives to protect what is familiar to them, we are living in comfort. having food, water and a bed to sleep in every night. simple things that most would not even think of as comforts. we are so comfortable that it seems ok to put down and detest those who are not capable of these luxiories. terrorists have always been a huge threat and always will be, just do not mis judge them more than the horrible people they already are.
sincerly,
someone who wants to better the world one at a time.

[qwerty75]

What mystery?

Voldemort will be defeated. It was a forgone conclusion from the very beginning.

Maybe if he won, it would save the series.

Well, as long as Harry also dies, I will be happy.

[ronjay]

"Well, as long as Harry also dies, I will be happy."

Hear, hear!

Time to move on to a new fantasy hero! Maybe even a heroine!

[System Tyrant]

Harry Lives

Almost every movie made has the same conclusion. Good guys win and the bad guys loose. It's never the ending that makes a movie, book, or story good, but the journey to it.

I hope Harry lives. That would be a crappy way to end to book (although not far fetched).

[d_m77]

Wow - so negative

Wow qwerty dude - you're like, so negative man. Putting out all those bad vibes into the universe. It will like - whoa dude - bite you in the a$$ someday.

Seems like you have a lot of time on your hands to be commenting on all these pointless CNET talkbacks.

[coryschulz]

Who's Harry Potter?

What's an iPhone?

[belboz]

Photos of book - exif info

Whoever took pictures forgot to remove the exif info from them - like EOS Digital Rebel body serial # 560151117

Used software PhotoMe to browse the file.

[System Tyrant]

No desire to steal the book.

The Harry Potter books have been just awesome and I personally have no desire to steal the book. I find they are worth every penny I've paid for them.

[ubnyan]

'Till all are one!

Autobots are watching over you...
Petrificus totalus!