Martin's statement appeared in the Literary Review's column page, with an unassuming layout.
The title, printed in neat, bold black font, reads "Some Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and is attributed to Martin Amis.
The magazine went on sale early Thursday morning. As soon as the newsstands on the streets of London put bundles of weekly magazines on their wooden shelves, the readers waiting nearby crowded around them, some even turning to the page before getting their change.
Martin made the admission quite frankly at the beginning of the article.
"I read the book from beginning to end, word for word," he wrote.
"I must admit, the second half is a significant improvement over the first half. The plot threads that seemed scattered and drawn out in the first half are indeed brought together quite beautifully in the second half."
" Peter Pettigrew's plot twists are quite ingenious, and the use of Time-Turner demonstrates the author's meticulous attention to structure."
"If we're only discussing whether it's interesting to read, then I must say that this book is interesting. I don't intend to deny that, nor is there any need to."
Up to this point, his tone remained calm. But from the next paragraph onward, the tone shifted dramatically.
"However, a novel's entire mission is not simply to be 'interesting to read'."
"I read from the first to the third book, and I always kept an eye on a central theme that runs throughout the entire series: the existence of the You-Know-Who."
"In the first book, the person whose name cannot even be mentioned possesses Professor Quirrell, attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone to regain his powers. That's the underlying theme of the entire book, and the fundamental reason why Harry Potter is Harry Potter."
In the second book, a young Tom Riddle causes trouble at Hogwarts through his diary, the Basilisk is released, and Ginny Weasley nearly loses her life.
"This clue delves deeper, allowing readers to glimpse the You-Know-Who's past and one of the fragments of his split soul."
"Regardless of their specific plot details, both works share a clear main storyline that forms the framework of the entire narrative."
"But what about the third installment? Where is the You-Know-Who?"
"I went through the entire book, from beginning to end, but I couldn't find any substantial content that advanced this core storyline."
" Black's story is very moving, Lupin's backstory is very detailed, and the Time-Turner and Patronus Charm are very imaginative, but what do these have to do with the You-Know-Who?"
"It doesn't matter. They can be placed in any novel set in a magic school, and it would work just as well."
This raises a very serious question.
"If an author lays out a main storyline that runs throughout the entire series in the first and second books, but suddenly abandons it in the third book, then there are only two possibilities."
"The first possibility is that he forgot. The second possibility is that he didn't know how to begin writing."
"I don't think an author capable of writing designs like Time-Turner and Marauder's Map would make the mistake of 'forgetting'."
So only the second answer remains: he simply doesn't know how to continue the story of the You-Know-Who.
Martin's tone becomes more resolute after this passage, even carrying some of his usual confidence and composure.
"This is not just my judgment."
Anyone who has written a novel understands that if a story has a main plot, then each subsequent installment should advance that main plot forward.
Even if it's just a small step, even if it's just planting a new seed, at least let the reader feel that the direction is still there.
"But what about the third one? The You-Know-Who's name only appeared once or twice in the newspapers, and there wasn't even a decent direct confrontation."
The villain in the entire book is a fugitive who was wrongly convicted for twelve years, but in the end, he is proven to be a good person.
In other words, this book doesn't have a single real enemy related to the main plot from beginning to end.
"This kind of writing style, to put it nicely, is called 'side story writing'; to put it bluntly, it's the author avoiding the core issue."
"He didn't know what to do with the You-Know-Who, so he simply avoided mentioning him and wrote a relatively independent short story to fill the space."
"This short story is indeed well-written, but its place in the overall series is uncertain."
"Removing the entire third volume will have almost no impact on the main storyline of the first and second volumes."
"I'm not saying that every novel has to revolve around the same villain."
"Many series have relatively independent volume structures, with each volume having its own enemy, its own mystery, and its own climax, which is normal."
"But the premise is that these independent volumes must serve the main storyline of the entire series in a deeper sense."
Did the third installment achieve that? I didn't see it.
" Black's story is touching, but it has no causal relationship, no logical connection, and not even a substantial chronological order with the You-Know-Who."
"It's a standalone story that was forced into a series."
In the last few paragraphs, Martin's tone softens somewhat, but that softening is even more unsettling than the preceding paragraphs.
I don't deny that this book is interesting.
"In fact, if viewed as a standalone adventure novel, it is quite well-developed, with well-developed characters, a tight plot, and rich emotions."
"The Godfather character named Black was particularly well-written; I would even say he's the most vivid character I've seen in these three works."
"But it's not a standalone novel; it's the third book in the series."
"As the third installment in the series, it failed to accomplish its intended task: to advance the core conflict of the entire series."
"It's like a musician playing a sonata. The first and second movements are brilliant, but in the third movement, they suddenly stop and tell a story unrelated to the whole piece. No matter how well the story is told, it's off-topic."
So my conclusion is this: Allen Wayne has written a good story, but he hasn't written a good series yet.
"He has a talent for storytelling, but he currently lacks the ability to grasp the overall structure of a long series."
"If he still can't find a way to advance the main storyline of the You-Know-Who in the fourth book, then the series may end up as a collection of interesting but unconnected segments rather than a complete novel."
"A story is just a story. Even if it's well-written, it's still just a story. To become a complete novel, a story alone is not enough."
The statement came on Thursday morning like a pebble dropped into still water, sending ripples spreading outwards.
In several cafes on Fleet Street in London, readers who were waiting to see what Martin would say this time reacted in various ways after reading the book. Some slammed their fists on the table, some nodded, and some grimaced. The atmosphere was as lively as a boiling pot.