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Half-Blood Prince, and I really need to go online more..otherwise I'll overload in the fall
I guess I can start off by saying that I was severely disappointed with this book. Book 5 is definitely my favorite, followed by 3. I don't know, maybe I'll like it more when I read it again. I expected there to be lots of battles, betrayals, and intrigue. And what do we get? About 3/4 of a book of fanfiction. At least, that's what it seemed like to me. I mean, I could see Harry/Ginny and Hermione/Ron coming, but I really didn't think that that much time needed to be spent on stupid-relationships-to-make-my-love-jealous. Harry and Ginny's first kiss was really sweet, but his wait-am-I-Spiderman? thing was really cliche....superheroes seem to always have to tell their girlfriends, "OMG the enemy might use you against me, so we can't date!" Pft. I know the book are character-driven, but it seemed a little ridiculous. And Lupin/Tonks?? I didn't see that coming at all....I was mildly disgusted with the Sirius/Tonks thread, as they're cousins, but it didn't make any sense to me at all. There was no foreshadowing, no inklings, just all of a sudden, "Oh, and Tonks and Lupin like each other!"
While I could definitely see Dumbledore's death coming, I didn't foresee a betrayal by Snape. It still doesn't seem to fit quite right with me....Like, he's such a three-dimensional character after Book 5, when Rowling put in that chapter to show us how to empathize with him. After he made the Unbreakable Vow in this book, I assumed that he was going to do something pretty terrible to make the Death Eaters trust him, and then he'd be able to get close enough to get the information they needed to defeat Voldemort. But I don't think killing Dumbledore qualifies - that's too terrible. And as for him being the Half-Blood Prince...that just seemed really lame to me.
Speaking of the Half-Blood Prince, I spent most of the book being absolutely sure that it was Lily. The two remarks by the Potions Master that Harry was just like his mother, and Hermione saying how do you know it's not a woman? So, yeah, I was sure it was Lily until Hermione found that stupid newspaper clipping. It'd have been cooler if it was Lily, IMO. Having it be Snape was lame.
I did enjoy the tortured OMG-I-have-a-soul!Malfoy. I hope he gets to do something really cool, and I was severely upset that nobody would believe/help Harry figure out wtf was going on. I mean, seriously, there in the middle of a huge war in which they have a pretty sizeable list of who they can't trust....I just can't believe that nobody would try and help Harry figure out what was going on. It just seemed so stupid.
Being able to see memories of Tom Riddle as a boy is really, really cool. I'm glad Rowling at least makes her characters fleshed out....I still can't figure out Snape, though. I was expecting this huge....THING (like, in my last post when I said that maybe he's the one who alerted the Order of the Phoenix that Voldemort was going to kill the Potters), but instead we get, "Oh, he said he was sorry!" Are you frickin' kidding me? What the hell.
Overall, I was disappointed that things didn't develop much, aside from figuring out how to kill Voldemort (and yes, soul mutilation is pretty damn awesome). It felt like none of the characters grew up at all. I was really upset that nobody else died - I mean, come on, with that fight with all the Death Eaters at Hogwarts, it seemed utterly ridiculous that only Voldemort would die. Sirius's death made such an impact because it seemed real - it was like, this is a war, people die, and it doesn't make sense, but it happens. But this time it was, ooh, we had Lucky Potion so we're all just fine except for Bill who has to have an idiot with scene with Fleur, who nobody gives a damn about. Fleur is retarded, I'd rather hear more about Tonks and Lupin ('though...not together....*shudders*).
Oh! And my friend Gretchen (and others on the Internet, I'm sure) have figured out that R.A.B. is Sirius's brother, Regulus A. Black. Go them! I'm going to have to go back and reread bits of 5 again...wasn't there a locket in Sirius's house that nobody could open? That would be relatively easy, seeing as Harry owns it now....Everything seems pretty well-laid out for Book 7....so I really hope that there are some double-crosses and characterizations that come out of nowhere to keep things awesome. I was disappointed that the giants/house-elves didn't do anything. I was kind of expecting them to join and have there be this big secret rebellion...like Voldemort would think that they got the giants/werewolves/house-elves/centaurs/etc., but then they would rebel all over the world.
I did think it was interesting that Dumbledore said it didn't necessarily have to be Harry who killed Voldemort (I read that correctly, right??). There's still the matter left from Book 3 in that Wormtail owes Harry his life....what will come of that? I don't know, but Book 7 had damn well better kick ass. I just keep itching for there to be an all-out huge battle (probably the result of reading too much fantasy). But really, I'd like to see McGonagall and the Weasleys and Hermione kick some ass.
Oh! And I'm also upset that Harry & Co. never talk to Neville or Luna except to advance the plot or to randomly remind the readers that they exist. They're fascinating characters, and I wish more would be done with them - that Harry/Ron/Hermione could extend their close bond beyond three people. But whatever. Luna and Neville are cool, but if they hook up romantically, that would just be ridiculous.
Mostly, I was disappointed. But, I love reading what other people have to say on the topic - conversations like this are what I miss most about WOFS -having people who read the book as closely as you did and want to discuss everything.
Anyway, I've read way too much the last few days (the whole series in a week, :O) and I'm going to have days-from-hell on Monday and Wednesday this week. So, I think I'm going to tidy up my room and veg out with Full Metal Alchemist or Final Fantasy Tactics. I'm eager to hear everyone's reviews, so get reading/writing!
While I could definitely see Dumbledore's death coming, I didn't foresee a betrayal by Snape. It still doesn't seem to fit quite right with me....Like, he's such a three-dimensional character after Book 5, when Rowling put in that chapter to show us how to empathize with him. After he made the Unbreakable Vow in this book, I assumed that he was going to do something pretty terrible to make the Death Eaters trust him, and then he'd be able to get close enough to get the information they needed to defeat Voldemort. But I don't think killing Dumbledore qualifies - that's too terrible. And as for him being the Half-Blood Prince...that just seemed really lame to me.
Speaking of the Half-Blood Prince, I spent most of the book being absolutely sure that it was Lily. The two remarks by the Potions Master that Harry was just like his mother, and Hermione saying how do you know it's not a woman? So, yeah, I was sure it was Lily until Hermione found that stupid newspaper clipping. It'd have been cooler if it was Lily, IMO. Having it be Snape was lame.
I did enjoy the tortured OMG-I-have-a-soul!Malfoy. I hope he gets to do something really cool, and I was severely upset that nobody would believe/help Harry figure out wtf was going on. I mean, seriously, there in the middle of a huge war in which they have a pretty sizeable list of who they can't trust....I just can't believe that nobody would try and help Harry figure out what was going on. It just seemed so stupid.
Being able to see memories of Tom Riddle as a boy is really, really cool. I'm glad Rowling at least makes her characters fleshed out....I still can't figure out Snape, though. I was expecting this huge....THING (like, in my last post when I said that maybe he's the one who alerted the Order of the Phoenix that Voldemort was going to kill the Potters), but instead we get, "Oh, he said he was sorry!" Are you frickin' kidding me? What the hell.
Overall, I was disappointed that things didn't develop much, aside from figuring out how to kill Voldemort (and yes, soul mutilation is pretty damn awesome). It felt like none of the characters grew up at all. I was really upset that nobody else died - I mean, come on, with that fight with all the Death Eaters at Hogwarts, it seemed utterly ridiculous that only Voldemort would die. Sirius's death made such an impact because it seemed real - it was like, this is a war, people die, and it doesn't make sense, but it happens. But this time it was, ooh, we had Lucky Potion so we're all just fine except for Bill who has to have an idiot with scene with Fleur, who nobody gives a damn about. Fleur is retarded, I'd rather hear more about Tonks and Lupin ('though...not together....*shudders*).
Oh! And my friend Gretchen (and others on the Internet, I'm sure) have figured out that R.A.B. is Sirius's brother, Regulus A. Black. Go them! I'm going to have to go back and reread bits of 5 again...wasn't there a locket in Sirius's house that nobody could open? That would be relatively easy, seeing as Harry owns it now....Everything seems pretty well-laid out for Book 7....so I really hope that there are some double-crosses and characterizations that come out of nowhere to keep things awesome. I was disappointed that the giants/house-elves didn't do anything. I was kind of expecting them to join and have there be this big secret rebellion...like Voldemort would think that they got the giants/werewolves/house-elves/centaurs/etc., but then they would rebel all over the world.
I did think it was interesting that Dumbledore said it didn't necessarily have to be Harry who killed Voldemort (I read that correctly, right??). There's still the matter left from Book 3 in that Wormtail owes Harry his life....what will come of that? I don't know, but Book 7 had damn well better kick ass. I just keep itching for there to be an all-out huge battle (probably the result of reading too much fantasy). But really, I'd like to see McGonagall and the Weasleys and Hermione kick some ass.
Oh! And I'm also upset that Harry & Co. never talk to Neville or Luna except to advance the plot or to randomly remind the readers that they exist. They're fascinating characters, and I wish more would be done with them - that Harry/Ron/Hermione could extend their close bond beyond three people. But whatever. Luna and Neville are cool, but if they hook up romantically, that would just be ridiculous.
Mostly, I was disappointed. But, I love reading what other people have to say on the topic - conversations like this are what I miss most about WOFS -having people who read the book as closely as you did and want to discuss everything.
Anyway, I've read way too much the last few days (the whole series in a week, :O) and I'm going to have days-from-hell on Monday and Wednesday this week. So, I think I'm going to tidy up my room and veg out with Full Metal Alchemist or Final Fantasy Tactics. I'm eager to hear everyone's reviews, so get reading/writing!