Fans Wait for Midnight and Potter Book

Desperate fans around the world waiting to read the latest adventures of schoolboy wizard Harry Potter will get a chance at the stroke of midnight, when "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," will finally go on sale.

Young fans were sharing their thoughts online through a panel created by Amazon.com. Sixteen-year-old Ben Johnson of Lancaster, Pa., said he feels a special kinship with the books because he's always been about the same age as Harry.

Eleven-year-old Kendall Westbrook of Dallas said her mother tried to read the first book to her when she was in kindergarten but it was too scary. A few years later she and a friend read them together, and she's been hooked ever since.

The penultimate installment of J.K. Rowling's Potter chronicles, has sparked a massive price war as retailers across the United Kingdom - and to a lesser extent in the U.S. and elsewhere - try to gain crucial early market share.

While bookstores are largely relying on huge late-night launch parties - complete with sorting hat competitions offering iPods and signed books as prizes - ahead of the midnight release, supermarkets and online retailers are trying to cast their own spell.

Asda, the British supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and its rival Tesco PLC, the country's No. 1 supermarket chain, are both offering the book for 8.96 pounds ($15.78) - a 47 percent reduction on the recommended retail price of 16.99 pounds ($29.92). Amazon.co.uk, which has set up a secure, 200,000 square foot warehouse to pack the books, is offering a similar price of 8.99 pounds ($15.83).

Retailers in the United States reported competitive prices, but no serious undercutting. Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com were both selling it for $17.99, 40 percent off the list price of $29.99, and Barnes & Noble was offering it at $16.19 for people in its membership program.

Wal-Mart is offering the book for $16.66 and discount warehouse club Costco put a $15.99 price tag on the book.