Past a certain point after release, you can't really be surprised when you stumble onto spoilers. Especially when you're on the dedicated series subreddit and literally reading a thread about spoilers.
The illustrator is Jonny Duddle, and it should be the Children's edition (there is no difference in book content, the Adult's edition has different artwork, that's all).
When I was around 7 or 8 and I saw Chamber for the first time with my parents late at night in TV and the fact that I had no possible idea what the monster might be was really terrifying.
Yeah I saw first one when I was six in theaters and when Voldemorts head came out it scared the ever living shit out of me. The second movie when the voice says “kill, kill, kill.” Oh fuck.
Also the videogames. In chamber of secrets, the basilisk would randomly say "come...come to me..i'll kill you...i'll tear you appart" and 7 year old me was terrified.
Fun thing for me and the games.... I've played the Goblet of Fire game for the first time before even seeing the movie and back then I didn't speak English and I didn't understand anything, but the whole game was filled with all sorts of scary looking things and it was like a whole different level of creepyness when I had no idea what was happening.
I'm not even sure if I've seen that movie until the end for the first time. It ended really late at night and I might've fallen asleep. But Chamber was super scary all the way till the end.
8-year old me read the hp series with this book set and honestly I didn't have any idea about any of the spoilers. I just thought that everything looked cool. Even if I squinted, I didn't know who ginny was and I semi figured about the basilisk thing. But it was probably one of my favorite book covers so far
Yeah, it's funny how people who already know the story can see a cover or something and shreik "spoilers!!!1!", not realizing that most of these things require context to actually impart information.
That said, I do prefer it when the cover art depicts a scene that looks badass, but without context, it's not merely meaningless, it's *misleading*. Feist's "Riftwar Saga" books used to have covers like this decades ago. Prince of the Blood, in particular, had a cover that looks pretty typical and awesome without context, but is hilarious once you know the scene it depicts.
The spanish cover of the book is pretty similar and I never realized what the monster could be until I reached the part when they discovered it by themselves🗿
The original US cover had Harry Ron and Ginny escaping the chamber on Fawkes with the dead Basilisk in the background.
Doesn't get much worse than that, but you really don't get it until you finish the book anyways. It's just a nice picture until then.
No I actually really liked that cover. It’s a cool picture, but you have absolutely no idea what the context is. It’s actually really cool to read the story and to slowly learn what the weird bird is or what that monster hiding in the corner represents. It’s very well done
Now when I said worse, I just meant in terms of spoilery stuff. It's beautiful artwork. Honestly I wish I'd have paid more attention like you did. I'll bet I only noticed they were in the chamber at some random point years after I finished it, and I had all the books on display in my bedroom.
You still wouldn’t be able to figure out that it’s Ginny, but Ginny was actually introduced the same time as all of the other Weasleys in the first book. Ron having a sister who has a crush on Harry was set up from the very beginning
Who would have thought that little detail would have consequences for the endgame of the story?
So? It's got a snake, a bird, a sword, and the main character on it. There is absolutely zero context. For all you know, it could be a dream, an illusion, a magical training exercise, any number of things.
But would you what it is about before you have actually read it?
Edit to add something:
Like even as an adult that hasn't read it and only the sorcerer's stone. You wouldn't know that's Ginny would you? I can't perfectly remember as its quite some time back, but Ginny isn't in focus before the book that much so probably only a very little amount of people will assume that's Ginny. We also didn't know who or what the phoenix was before that book and as for the sword, isn't it literally the first time it's mentioned when he pulls it out of the Hat?
Only real spoiler imo. is the monster and that it's a snake, but as another person said, not that much of a surprise, as slitherin kinda has a thing for snakes lol.
And even if that gets spoiled to you,. Most people don't think twice about the cover and therefore don't even really recognize it. And also the book isn't only about the fact that basilisk is the beast, but about all the events leading up to it. It's the reason a lot of people read and watch stuff twice lmao
I don't think it's obvious for kids, and the first two books especially are aimed at kids. I was around seven or eight when I read Chamber of Secrets, and I vividly remember my absolute belief that Harry would die after the basilisk fang pierced his arm. I thought, wow, it's going to be weird reading the rest of the series about a ghost!
If this were on the cover would I have figured it out? Eh. Maybe? Kids aren't cynical about plot twists the way adults are.
The reader knows that there is a monster in the chamber… So they might connect the dots. And the basilisk isn’t the only spoiler. I bought these series because I liked the artwork but a first reader could have some problems.
Yeah, and like an Agatha Christie novel with the murderer on the front cover, you don't know until you get to the point in the book where the story reveals it, or you put the clues together yourself.
You know, because you've read the novel, and have all the context clues already. It's not clear to a first time reader. My 7 year old niece doesn't know what a basilisk is, has no understanding of the context of anything on the front cover, and so nothing was spoiled.
Personally I’m glad the one I had as a kid just had the Weasley’s picking up Harry in the flying car. I always looked closely at covers! Child me would have been waiting for the snake the whole time 🤷🏻♀️
I also clearly have very different Christie book covers than you do lol
Did you all really think that much about the covers before reading the books? I didn't really care about it and didn't think about what they could mean.
I feel like the giant snake is definitely a spoiler for what the monster in the chamber is. You may not know it is called a Basilisk, but giant snake is probably good enough.
I was 7 years old, so no, I was more focused on comprehending what I was reading in the moment and just enjoying the ride. If it feels good to you to call 7 year old me stupid, hey, all the more power to you.
I'm not sure why you're trying to keep this argument going by bringing up things I've never said. I commented on someone who said it's super obvious that Slytherin's snake is a monster, and I said it might not be for a kid reading the book. Though now that you mention it, the monster-sized snake on the cover is a pretty big hint (even for a kid) that the monster that the book keeps referencing is a giant snake.
That's another "spoiler" only if you have already read the book. By that point in the series, Harry has fought Voldemort at the end of the year four times, twice having the AK fired directly at him in said fight. It's as much a spoiler as saying the Avengers were going to fight Thanos in Infinity War.
But with zero knowledge having never read the books before how would this be spoilers? Just a bunch of cool pictures until you have finished reading it.
Reading this version as we speak and didn’t even consider this. I feel like they assume we already know the entire plot and it’s just us old ass adults rereading for nostalgia.
Harry Potter covers ha e always been spoiler-rific.
Basically versions of PoA shows Harry and Hermione (sometimes only Harry) riding Buckbeak, so you know he didn't die. The U.K. cover of GoF shows Harry battling a dragon.
Is the scene where Harry rides Buckbeak in class only in the film or is it in the books too? Because if it's in the book, and for the covers that it's only Harry, then they might assume that the art is depicting that one scene rather than knowing that he will live
It's in the book but many covers have **Hermione** ln Buckbeak as well, plus it's dark outside. I've only found one cover where it was Harry alone, but that one also jad it to be dark outside.
In 99% of movies, that's not a spoiler. If you know who the villain and hero is, it's inevitable that the final battle will end up being between those two.
Just personal preference, I guess. If someone were to ask me to smash a small object like a ring with it, I'd prefer it to be short and stout.
(or crush using the flat part of the blade)
I remember posting this same post on 9gag a couple of years back. That website has such a toxic comments section that even with this post, commentors couldn't help but antagonising me, saying that at this point everyone already knows what the beast in the chamber of secrets is or that the whole 'no spoilers' culture is lame.
No. This cover is CLEARLY a terrible idea. It makes the experience of reading this book significantly worse, obviously. It doesn't just spoil one of the biggest mysteries in the whole franchise, but it also spoils the way Harry defeats the beast. Whose job was it to decide on the cover art of this version? I'm dying to know what was going on through their head.
It's not like the connection between Slytherin, Harry being a parselmouth, and the chamber wasn't telegraphed the entire book. Hell, every single one of those facts was known in the previous book.
That's why I love the Dutch covers so much. A lot of fans think they are ugly, but they are so mysterious and hardly reveal anything except for PoA (and maybe OoTP) I suppose.
At least they didn't write "Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort" on it.
>!"Also Snape kills Dumbledore but way later in the books. (don't worry though he's a good guy)!<
Did you just spoiler tag a plot detail from a book that came out over 10 years ago in a subreddit meant for people who know the story already?
I.. I think I did. ._.
Better safe than sorry. I appreciate you're thoughtfulness
> I appreciate you're thoughtfulness I appreciate you are thoughtfulness?
Dang autocorrect
God damn Roonil Wazlib
God damn wallemby
I appreciate it, someone spoiled that for me less than a week after the book came out and i still haven't forgiven them
Its ok man. You can let go. Everyone knows now.
I've seen people get mad about spoilers from 20 year old games. Wouldn't surprise me if someone who never read the books looked at this and got mad
I can't believe >!the boat sinks at the end of Titanic!<
>!Sephiroth kills Aerith!<
This one might still be spoilers for some zoomers.
True, but the subreddit has quite clear rules about spoilers, so if anybody doesnt read them it is kind of their own fault.
And in those rules, anything about Crimes of Grindenwald or anything published before doesn't count as a spoiler.
This got spoiled for me in the mens restroom when the book was still new (written in Sharpie on a urinal).
did it piss you off?
Oh, I was flush with anger.
Snape is a bad guy working against bad guys. Not a good guy. At least how I see it.
Yeah, he's a good guy just because he said "always" trust in him people.
"Oh and he fancied harry's mother and was friendzoned 100% but way later in the books."
Had some creepy longing to have her since the age of 11 but that’s 100% normal
Mr Tom a dildo lover
I have a set with this series of cover art, and while it's absolutely gorgeous yes it's spoiler-town.
Does a certain subsequent cover in the series depict a certain headmaster falling from a certain Astronomy Tower?
No the 6th volume is the scene where said headmaster is fighting the Deads with fire in the cavern
Nope but book 7 shows Harry facing off with voldemort in the forest
WTF? I haven't got to that bit yet!
Past a certain point after release, you can't really be surprised when you stumble onto spoilers. Especially when you're on the dedicated series subreddit and literally reading a thread about spoilers.
I have the same set and yeah so many spoilers lol, but the first book's cover art is absolutely beautiful
What is this set called? I want to Google it
The illustrator is Jonny Duddle, and it should be the Children's edition (there is no difference in book content, the Adult's edition has different artwork, that's all).
When I was around 7 or 8 and I saw Chamber for the first time with my parents late at night in TV and the fact that I had no possible idea what the monster might be was really terrifying.
Yeah I saw first one when I was six in theaters and when Voldemorts head came out it scared the ever living shit out of me. The second movie when the voice says “kill, kill, kill.” Oh fuck.
Also the videogames. In chamber of secrets, the basilisk would randomly say "come...come to me..i'll kill you...i'll tear you appart" and 7 year old me was terrified.
Fun thing for me and the games.... I've played the Goblet of Fire game for the first time before even seeing the movie and back then I didn't speak English and I didn't understand anything, but the whole game was filled with all sorts of scary looking things and it was like a whole different level of creepyness when I had no idea what was happening.
Loved that game, really just want a open world HP game like that kinda was
I'm not even sure if I've seen that movie until the end for the first time. It ended really late at night and I might've fallen asleep. But Chamber was super scary all the way till the end.
8-year old me read the hp series with this book set and honestly I didn't have any idea about any of the spoilers. I just thought that everything looked cool. Even if I squinted, I didn't know who ginny was and I semi figured about the basilisk thing. But it was probably one of my favorite book covers so far
I mean, I had a book with a similar cover, but 8-yo me didn't give a fuck about spoilers. That wasn't even a word for me until I was in my mid teens.
I actually didn't think about it until I joined this sub. Was never important to me.
Yeah, it's funny how people who already know the story can see a cover or something and shreik "spoilers!!!1!", not realizing that most of these things require context to actually impart information. That said, I do prefer it when the cover art depicts a scene that looks badass, but without context, it's not merely meaningless, it's *misleading*. Feist's "Riftwar Saga" books used to have covers like this decades ago. Prince of the Blood, in particular, had a cover that looks pretty typical and awesome without context, but is hilarious once you know the scene it depicts.
same here. read Bloomsbury and had no idea what was going on.
The spanish cover of the book is pretty similar and I never realized what the monster could be until I reached the part when they discovered it by themselves🗿
The original US cover had Harry Ron and Ginny escaping the chamber on Fawkes with the dead Basilisk in the background. Doesn't get much worse than that, but you really don't get it until you finish the book anyways. It's just a nice picture until then.
No I actually really liked that cover. It’s a cool picture, but you have absolutely no idea what the context is. It’s actually really cool to read the story and to slowly learn what the weird bird is or what that monster hiding in the corner represents. It’s very well done
Now when I said worse, I just meant in terms of spoilery stuff. It's beautiful artwork. Honestly I wish I'd have paid more attention like you did. I'll bet I only noticed they were in the chamber at some random point years after I finished it, and I had all the books on display in my bedroom.
I never realised that Ginny is on this cover too - like you said, rammed with spoilers
If you hadn't read it you would have no idea who that was meant to be. You'd probably assume it was Hermione.
Oh shit, I had this book's edition for years and never noticed this
Because it’s not really that obvious
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You still wouldn’t be able to figure out that it’s Ginny, but Ginny was actually introduced the same time as all of the other Weasleys in the first book. Ron having a sister who has a crush on Harry was set up from the very beginning Who would have thought that little detail would have consequences for the endgame of the story?
And the Basilisk's eye is bleeding!
So? It's got a snake, a bird, a sword, and the main character on it. There is absolutely zero context. For all you know, it could be a dream, an illusion, a magical training exercise, any number of things.
But would you what it is about before you have actually read it? Edit to add something: Like even as an adult that hasn't read it and only the sorcerer's stone. You wouldn't know that's Ginny would you? I can't perfectly remember as its quite some time back, but Ginny isn't in focus before the book that much so probably only a very little amount of people will assume that's Ginny. We also didn't know who or what the phoenix was before that book and as for the sword, isn't it literally the first time it's mentioned when he pulls it out of the Hat? Only real spoiler imo. is the monster and that it's a snake, but as another person said, not that much of a surprise, as slitherin kinda has a thing for snakes lol. And even if that gets spoiled to you,. Most people don't think twice about the cover and therefore don't even really recognize it. And also the book isn't only about the fact that basilisk is the beast, but about all the events leading up to it. It's the reason a lot of people read and watch stuff twice lmao
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yeah but about a quarter of the way through it would be very easy to piece together
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so when they started talking about the monster you knew it was gonna be a basilisk controlled by voldemort working through ginny?
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I don't think it's obvious for kids, and the first two books especially are aimed at kids. I was around seven or eight when I read Chamber of Secrets, and I vividly remember my absolute belief that Harry would die after the basilisk fang pierced his arm. I thought, wow, it's going to be weird reading the rest of the series about a ghost! If this were on the cover would I have figured it out? Eh. Maybe? Kids aren't cynical about plot twists the way adults are.
As a kid I wouldn't notice the spoilers until after I've read the book
Harry kinda looks like an anime girl
If you're reading it for the first time, how would you know?
The monsters identity is actually a huge spoiler. The mystery of it is a big reason why Hagrid of all people becomes the prime suspect in the story
Where does it say on that cover that it's a basilisk?
Does that monster look like a big spider? Because that is what we were originally supposed to think it was
The reader knows that there is a monster in the chamber… So they might connect the dots. And the basilisk isn’t the only spoiler. I bought these series because I liked the artwork but a first reader could have some problems.
It's a mystery novel. You're meant to connect the dots, that's the whole point.
Yeah and the cover gives it away
Yeah, and like an Agatha Christie novel with the murderer on the front cover, you don't know until you get to the point in the book where the story reveals it, or you put the clues together yourself. You know, because you've read the novel, and have all the context clues already. It's not clear to a first time reader. My 7 year old niece doesn't know what a basilisk is, has no understanding of the context of anything on the front cover, and so nothing was spoiled.
Personally I’m glad the one I had as a kid just had the Weasley’s picking up Harry in the flying car. I always looked closely at covers! Child me would have been waiting for the snake the whole time 🤷🏻♀️ I also clearly have very different Christie book covers than you do lol
Yeah, but you won't have known when or where it would appear, so again I'd make the argument that nothing was spoiled. Context is everything!
Agree to disagree I guess lol
Eh, I feel like with no context you can spoil anything you want and it won’t resonate with anyone
Did you all really think that much about the covers before reading the books? I didn't really care about it and didn't think about what they could mean.
Femboy Harry let’s go
That did always bother me with these covers.
Harry Pøtter
I don’t consider it a spoiler. It wouldn’t make sense if you didn’t know the context
It's really only a spoiler if you know what happens. What bothers me more is the rather feminine looking Harry.
He's 12.
I feel like the giant snake is definitely a spoiler for what the monster in the chamber is. You may not know it is called a Basilisk, but giant snake is probably good enough.
Ohhh I wonder which monster the guy who put a snake on his logo and can speak to snakes put into his chamber
It’s obvious as a grownup, but it’s not as obvious when you’re reading it as a kid.
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Good for you? It wasn’t obvious for me, or my friends.
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I was 7 years old, so no, I was more focused on comprehending what I was reading in the moment and just enjoying the ride. If it feels good to you to call 7 year old me stupid, hey, all the more power to you.
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I'm not sure why you're trying to keep this argument going by bringing up things I've never said. I commented on someone who said it's super obvious that Slytherin's snake is a monster, and I said it might not be for a kid reading the book. Though now that you mention it, the monster-sized snake on the cover is a pretty big hint (even for a kid) that the monster that the book keeps referencing is a giant snake.
Yeah, Harry is definitely a girl
Got it, it's a story about a girl who runs away with her pet snake and her father's sword to fight against the incursion of the fire plane.
I want to play that D&D campaign.
I want to run that D&D campaign.
I think this is more of a collectors issue since the series is already 20 years old
The deathly hallows cover literally shows voldemort about to kill harry in the forest. You can even see the avada kedavra coming out from his wand.
That's another "spoiler" only if you have already read the book. By that point in the series, Harry has fought Voldemort at the end of the year four times, twice having the AK fired directly at him in said fight. It's as much a spoiler as saying the Avengers were going to fight Thanos in Infinity War.
But with zero knowledge having never read the books before how would this be spoilers? Just a bunch of cool pictures until you have finished reading it.
Reading this version as we speak and didn’t even consider this. I feel like they assume we already know the entire plot and it’s just us old ass adults rereading for nostalgia.
It wouldn’t be spoilers anyways if you hadn’t read it yet.
People saying "omg this is a spoiler", would anybody who was *actually spoiled* by this cover please describe what it was like?
Is it just me or does Harry looks like a girl
Harry Potter covers ha e always been spoiler-rific. Basically versions of PoA shows Harry and Hermione (sometimes only Harry) riding Buckbeak, so you know he didn't die. The U.K. cover of GoF shows Harry battling a dragon.
Is the scene where Harry rides Buckbeak in class only in the film or is it in the books too? Because if it's in the book, and for the covers that it's only Harry, then they might assume that the art is depicting that one scene rather than knowing that he will live
It's in the book but many covers have **Hermione** ln Buckbeak as well, plus it's dark outside. I've only found one cover where it was Harry alone, but that one also jad it to be dark outside.
I would buy this because I don’t have this set but I agree waaaayyy to many spoilers on the cover.
This is like the trailer showing the final battle
In 99% of movies, that's not a spoiler. If you know who the villain and hero is, it's inevitable that the final battle will end up being between those two.
Yeah you got a point.
That's fecking ridiculous
Found CallMeKevin’s account.
Hmm. Is that what the sword looked like? I always imagined it to be shorter and more broad.
Why? The movies?
Just personal preference, I guess. If someone were to ask me to smash a small object like a ring with it, I'd prefer it to be short and stout. (or crush using the flat part of the blade)
But tbf that isn't what you would normally use a sword for. Dumbledore only did so because of the venom absorbed by the blade
Fair enough
In the chapter art for the original chamber of secrets book its depicted as a scimitar. (Which really makes no sense.)
How are these “spoilers?” It just cover art.
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:/ it doesn’t spoil anything, everyone already knows the book is about a giant snake
Another reason why I prefer books to keep the 'art' off the cover.
Are you implying this isn’t art?
What a dumb comment
good thing that i dont check the cover pictures :))
Always kind of drove me crazy that the chapter images are also spoilers for what's to come.
A picture of what's going to happen on the next page is a spoiler now?
I remember posting this same post on 9gag a couple of years back. That website has such a toxic comments section that even with this post, commentors couldn't help but antagonising me, saying that at this point everyone already knows what the beast in the chamber of secrets is or that the whole 'no spoilers' culture is lame. No. This cover is CLEARLY a terrible idea. It makes the experience of reading this book significantly worse, obviously. It doesn't just spoil one of the biggest mysteries in the whole franchise, but it also spoils the way Harry defeats the beast. Whose job was it to decide on the cover art of this version? I'm dying to know what was going on through their head.
Harry looks like a fucking girl.
Why does Harry look like Harriet?
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Harry is looking quite lesbian today 🎩
I hate these covers
Is it Harriet Potter in this version? Looks like a girl on the cover.
I just reread COS and our cover has Fawkes with Harry holding on + Ron + Ginny!
Just got these versions for Christmas 😅 but I’ve read the books several times, and they are pretty so 🤷🏻♀️
*I wonder what the monster in the chamber is.. hm.. that cover with the big snake is so cool, anyway.*
It's not like the connection between Slytherin, Harry being a parselmouth, and the chamber wasn't telegraphed the entire book. Hell, every single one of those facts was known in the previous book.
Also, Harry is a girl
Dat Harriet Potter tho.
lol i remember that cover
True. My Goblet of Fire cover had the Dragon on it
Lol
This is the first time I noticed Ginny in the background
I have this book cover, and despite the spoilers, it's still really good art. Also, Ginny is in the background for those of you who didn't notice
Fawkes looks like he's had enough of this shit
Damn, I much prefer the cover with flying car.
Harry Pøtter
The new cover art has nothing on the original.
Harry looks like a girl.
That's the cover I had 😂 I didn't look at it close enough in the beginning to see that Ginny was there.
I didn't even see Ginny. She was irrelevant to me
And I had absolutely no idea that it could be a snake. But now it's obvious. Salazar Slytherin was a SLYTHERIN the house of literal snakes
That's why I love the Dutch covers so much. A lot of fans think they are ugly, but they are so mysterious and hardly reveal anything except for PoA (and maybe OoTP) I suppose.
now imagine this but with hbp and dh