It’s been a while since I checked up on House of Secrets, an upcoming trilogy of fantasy adventure books for children being penned by Chris Columbus (yes, the same guy who directed the first two Harry Potter films) and author Ned Vizzini. I had heard about it sometime last year when it was getting some early “ZOMG could this be the next Harry Potter??” style buzz, as seems to be the case with every new children’s fantasy book released in the post-Potter era. There’s already a movie deal, too, so you know a lot of hopes are being pinned here.
House of Secrets is about the three kids in the Walker family — Cordelia, Brendan, and Eleanor — who have to find a new home after their father loses his job under mysterious circumstances. They move into a beautiful old place in San Francisco that used to be owned by an extremely creepy writer named Denver Kristoff. (Think H.P. Lovecraft mixed with Robert E. Howard.) Shortly after they move in, they realize that one of their neighbors has sinister plans for them. But before they know what’s happening, they are banished into the world of Kristoff’s books — and they have to find their way home through pirates, sharks, and all manner of fantastical adventures.
[Source: EW]
Here’s the cover of the first book:
While I don’t think anything can ever quite fill the boy wizard’s shoes, I’m all for other people trying, especially when one of them has had a direct hand in making the Harry Potter franchise so successful. Columbus’ films (Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets) may have been the weakest of the eight, but they were the first, and laid the foundation for everything that followed.
Also, J.K. Rowling had this to say:
House of Secrets, the first book in the trilogy, is due out April 23, 2013.
