J. K. Rowling, the writing wizard behind the acclaimed and hugely successful Harry Potter series, is hoping for a little magic of her own.
Her new book, "The Casual Vacancy," comes out on Thursday, and expectations are mixed. Publisher Little, Brown and Company printed two million copies, banking on Rowling's fame and counting on loyal fans to snap up the book, her first in five years and the only one not set in the fantasy world she created for Harry Potter and his heroic schoolmates.
The content of the new book has been under wraps until very recently. While Harry Potter was written for children, "The Casual Vacancy" touches on adult themes in the rural English town of Pagford, set in the real-life modern world.
A minor official dies, and the power vacuum unleashes conflicts that have been waiting beneath the surface of the seemingly idyllic community.
Some in the publishing industry wonder if readers will be turned off by the novel's direct portrayals of sex, drugs and sexuality, as well as its darker tone.
Of course, fans of the Harry Potter series know that world wasn't all goodness and light. Dumbledore lies, Snape kills and Harry tortures, though all perhaps with good reason.
Rowling delved into political fiction when describing the inefficiency and corruption at the Ministry of Magic, so the bureaucratic machinations of the town council of Pagford may not seem too unfamiliar to her fans.
Still, Rowling says it was time for a change of pace, as well as a change of audience. "I had a lot of real-world material in me, believe you me," Rowling told The New Yorker. "The thing about fantasy-there are certain things you just don't do in fantasy. You don't have sex near unicorns. It's an ironclad rule. It's tacky."
But Rowling seems braced for any reaction. "The worst that can happen is that everyone says, 'Well, that was dreadful, she should have stuck to writing for kids' and I can take that," she told The Guardian. "So, yeah, I'll put it out there, and if everyone says, 'Well, that's shockingly bad - back to wizards with you', then obviously I won't be throwing a party. But I will live. I will live.'"
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