As the final installments of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series come to a close it is...more

As the final installments of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series come to a close it is curious to look back and see just how far these remarkable tales have come. Following young Harry Potter, the boy who lived, from his humble beginnings in his uncle’s house to fining out his destiny and what greatness lies ahead. Fans have been taken on an intense rollercoaster. One that has thrown readers into suspense and shock along with sadness and occasional joy. This six of a seven part series is no acceptation and one could argue the best of Rowling’s works yet. Coming from what seemed like Rowling’s low point, book five, this novel did not have the highest expectations. However, “The Half Blooded Prince” proved to be a perfect mix of the sparkle and delight that filled the first four books yet has stepped up the magic and the mystery to whole new levels. Not only have the characters matured but so has Rowling and her world of Witchcraft. The magic is darker, the secrets are deeper and they all unravel beautifully to keep the pages turning. To me, it becomes easy to see the best qualities of this book by examining the worst qualities of it’s predecessor. Book 5, “Order of the Phoenix” was long awaited for three years yet was quickly forgotten. The 870 page novel seemed to have a lot of pages just to fill pages and was not an enjoyable read. True, it had some amazing qualities and was core to the overall development of Potter and his journey but once again, not enjoyable. No one wants to read a book were nothing goes right for the protagonist ever! Potter’s situation goes from horrible to worse. The ending is even depressing and the likable characters seem to be loosing with no hope in sight. Now, in contrast, the little things Rowling changed from the past novel were enough to bring it from worst to best. First off, as most people noticed, this book is MUCH smaller that the last two (maybe she’s not going for the world record after all). Although most fans are disappointed at first with a mere 652, it turns out to be a brilliant alteration. The story goes quickly and there is enough material to keep one interested throughout the pages. Next, for once, things seems to be going well for our little hero. Harry’s got the grades, the friends, and even the girlfriend and what would seem to be Harry’s worst nightmare, Snape’s new position, could have been much, much worse. With all this being noted, we have not reached the truly remarkable aspect of the novel. That which brings it to a clear contestant for being Rowling’s magnificence: the plot. Now in the sixth year at Hogwarts, there is little magic that the students cannot perform and even less of the Dark Arts that Harry and his friends have not encountered. The magic is deep and compelling and the range of the mystery grows to satisfying new levels. Beginning the story with a look back on Harry’s O.W.L.S the reader is reminded of just how skilled Harry truly is in the Dark arts and foreshadows a relatively good year in school. Quick to draw interest Rowling begins with Harry’s adventures with Dumbledore, the two greatest wizards of all time, signifying what will stretch over the entire novel and ultimately be it’s core. Even chapter two brings in an unexpected twist when a friend becomes a foe and the questions along with the suspicions grow from there. Now, not to give away too much it is without a doubt the ending that will leave the readers clenched until the final installment. Although the shocking ending of book five was commendable, it pales in comparison to what we see and learn now…. As it was said, the magic is deeper and the plot thicker. Now the once harmless yet incredibly annoying Draco Malfoy has followed In his father’s footsteps and all that Harry once knew and trusted would crumble at his feet. All in all one may walk away pail when finished with the book but Rowling ties in a satisfaction of the necessity of her shocking events. She foreshadows what is to come in book seven and ties together the maturity and growth her protagonist has endured all in preparation of his final and sure to be greatest adventure yet…   hide

Man, this book is definitely polarizing. Well, so was the fifth. I've had friends tell me they...more

Man, this book is definitely polarizing. Well, so was the fifth. I've had friends tell me they loved this one, or they could've done without it. Personally, I _liked_ it. I feel that without this book, we wouldn't have known several pieces of important information about Voldemort that is going to aid Harry in his quest to finally bring him down. (Which he is, by the way. Down With Voldie.) I thought the raging jealousy surrounding Ron and Hermione was kind of amusing for the most part, to address that. (And I mean, geez, I'm a sucker for love stories. So maybe I'm not a HarryxGinny fan, but that whole situation was awful cute.) Honestly, the best parts were the flashbacks in the Pensieve. Finding out why Voldemort is who he is was so vital to the plot, and I was very moved by these scenes. And the discovery of Horcruxes was a great "Oh, CRAP" moment, you gotta admit. Finding out that one of them was Tom Riddle's diary makes Chamber of Secrets that much more fun to think about now. ANother thing that bothered a friend of mine is that the first two chapters are not from Harry's point of view. Admittedly, I do enjoy opening the books to the first chapter and seeing exactly what Harry's seeing and feeling from the start. However, this change of pace was an interesting turn, and I liked seeing what the opposing sides were doing at the beginning this time. And lastly, I think a big reason why books 5 and 6 polarized the HP community so was because not everyone wants to read teenage angst. Some people want their little Harry back, or just don't want to revisit certain years of their lives. At any rate, I read those two books as a teenager (well, I'm only 19, but you get the picture), and I could relate to lashing out at people when I felt misunderstood, etc etc. Sure, I don't have a freakishly frightening group of psycho lemmings itching to scalp me at every turn, but I didn't look at Capslock!Harry as an annoying teenager who needs to check his attitude at the door. I felt like I understood him a bit, you dig? Anyway, there ya go. *raises glass of water* Here's to a fantastic final book! I have faith in you, JKR!   hide

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is great refresher reading before Harry Potter and the...more

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is great refresher reading before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7). The Harry Potter saga is replete with a growing cast of characters, spells, and magical items and creatures. Most aren't germane to the plot of the following book, but some are, and it's good to get caught up before launching into the final volume. Harry is a full-fledged adolescent in this book. He has moved beyond his crush on Cho Chang that went awry to deeper hormonal surges. Having his classmates "snogging" all around him doesn't help. Harry continues to suffer from speaking before thinking, and this gets him into deeper trouble than in the past. Like a typical confused teenager, he pushes away the people who care the most for him and ends up being miserable. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince continues the theme of loss that permeates the series. The first people close to Harry to die were of course his parents, prior to the beginning of the series. As the series progressed, Hogwarts students die, then Harry's newfound godfather Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5). The question the reader has coming into the book is: "Who is the Half Blood Prince"? Leaving the book, and mentally preparing for the sequel, and last volume in the series, I wondered, "Does Harry have extraordinary magic powers, or does he have average magic powers coupled with persistence, leadership, and teamwork and passion?"    hide

When I first read this book, I have to say, I was thoroughly disappointed. This was some of the...more

When I first read this book, I have to say, I was thoroughly disappointed. This was some of the best, most emotional writing of the entire series, yet the plot was lacking something. It seemed like kind of a filler novel (though I suppose that can only be expected somewhere in a series of seven), meant to help us cross over from the cute, adventurous children's literature we've been reading into something darker, and more mature, which is how I think the final book will be. While this book was already darker and more mature than what we're used to (not to mention more tragic), that seemed to escalate from the beginning; it wasn't just dropped on us all of a sudden on the first page. Plus, it was probably also the funniest. There was comic relief everywhere it was needed, but it wasn't overdone, making it seem insensitive or anything. I really didn't like most of the things that happened in this book (I was basically bawling through the last six chapters), and it almost seems to me like the story I loved so much had a stupid, disappointing ending, like it just got all messed up when it was going so good. (For instance, I found it a bit annoying that Harry Potter, a story that had always been so different from anything else out there, suddenly fell into that fantasy cliche of the hero having to search for and collect the certain magic items to destroy the villian.) But then I remember that there's still one more installment, which I still have hope for, though I now find it entirely possible that it will end with the death of the main character(I never believed it before), and I might even be willing to accept it if it does. I just can't lose hope, though. Half-Blood Prince was basically depressing, yes . And it seemed to set up a disappointing end to the series, but you know, in the past, J.K. Rowling has always come up with some fascinating plot twists that make it all worthwhile, so I still have faith that the last book will be amazing.   hide