![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cyphomandraThe obligatory pre-release re-reads. I particularly wanted to re-read Half-Blood Prince, as I read it in the early hours of the release morning in a hotel bathroom in Manchester, which were probably not ideal circumstances, and this time I hope to be somewhere with more comfortable chairs and better lighting.
The beginning chapter still doesn’t grip me – it feels strangely old-fashioned, and the “Putter-Outer” far too contrived. Fortunately, things pick up quickly. I do like the plotting in these earlier books, and Rowling is great at introducing details that are going to be important later (such as Nicholas Flamel, in this one), in a way that you notice them without recognising their significance. I am, however, still irked that you can’t work out the potions riddle without seeing the actual bottles.
A better beginning, although I could have done (could still do, actually) without Dobby. The basilisk reveal is, again, nicely done, and the petrification of various pupils effectively creepy, along with the possession of Ginny. Riddle’s diary also works well as a means of expanding Harry’s pov, and also providing a villain that can be confronted within the context of this story alone.
I like this one a lot – it’s tight and vivid, has the first decent Defence Against the Dark Arts tutor (along with other interesting characters), and there’s time travel. My only tiny niggle is that in this book (and subsequent) plot often gets advanced by Harry overhearing things, which is convenient but irritating.
In Prisoner of Azkaban Harry, defending Lupin, says, “Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year… I’ve been alone with him loads of times,” and, if you substitute Moody for Lupin that sums up my main problem with this book, where there’s absolutely no need for the fake Moody to a) teach Harry and his friends how to resist Imperius and so forth and b) not kidnap Potter earlier. Also, getting the order of death of your main character’s parents wrong indicates a certain laxity. I do like the challenges, tho’, although once again I find myself wondering what the nonQuidditch playing nonTriWizard champions actually do to earn house points and get any exercise.
Liked this more this time round, actually, despite Harry and his capslock of Angst. I remember reading the Ministry sequences – which are nastily creepy – in a state of nervous tension, knowing someone was going to die but not knowing who, and was actually quite relieved when it turned out not to be Ron or Hermione. Dumbridge is appalling, but this is also the book where the good guys seem to be losing their moral qualms as well – Harry tries to cast Crucio on Bellatrix, and Hermione’s methods of disposing of Umbridge are startlingly callous.
This one’s odd – it feels like the transition book that 4 should have been, in some ways, with the whole Horcrux thing, but the ramping up of the stakes – first outside Hogwarts, with everyone’s relatives, and then within them, with the Death Eaters attacking and Dumbledore’s death, does feel like this is coming to a climax. Having Harry fixate on Snape and Malfoy actually seems quite reasonable at this stage, and I do wish Dumbledore would learn to talk to people, although obviously it’s too late now. The Felix Felicis and reveal of Slughorn’s memory feels like something that could have been done better. The lurking beast inside Harry that appears to be the personification of his feelings for Ginny is just bizarre. Once again tension-filled scenes of Hermione poring through various library books (this time in the hope of a mention of a Horcrux) suggests that what the wizarding world really needs is a decent indexing system.
The beginning chapter still doesn’t grip me – it feels strangely old-fashioned, and the “Putter-Outer” far too contrived. Fortunately, things pick up quickly. I do like the plotting in these earlier books, and Rowling is great at introducing details that are going to be important later (such as Nicholas Flamel, in this one), in a way that you notice them without recognising their significance. I am, however, still irked that you can’t work out the potions riddle without seeing the actual bottles.
A better beginning, although I could have done (could still do, actually) without Dobby. The basilisk reveal is, again, nicely done, and the petrification of various pupils effectively creepy, along with the possession of Ginny. Riddle’s diary also works well as a means of expanding Harry’s pov, and also providing a villain that can be confronted within the context of this story alone.
I like this one a lot – it’s tight and vivid, has the first decent Defence Against the Dark Arts tutor (along with other interesting characters), and there’s time travel. My only tiny niggle is that in this book (and subsequent) plot often gets advanced by Harry overhearing things, which is convenient but irritating.
In Prisoner of Azkaban Harry, defending Lupin, says, “Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year… I’ve been alone with him loads of times,” and, if you substitute Moody for Lupin that sums up my main problem with this book, where there’s absolutely no need for the fake Moody to a) teach Harry and his friends how to resist Imperius and so forth and b) not kidnap Potter earlier. Also, getting the order of death of your main character’s parents wrong indicates a certain laxity. I do like the challenges, tho’, although once again I find myself wondering what the nonQuidditch playing nonTriWizard champions actually do to earn house points and get any exercise.
Liked this more this time round, actually, despite Harry and his capslock of Angst. I remember reading the Ministry sequences – which are nastily creepy – in a state of nervous tension, knowing someone was going to die but not knowing who, and was actually quite relieved when it turned out not to be Ron or Hermione. Dumbridge is appalling, but this is also the book where the good guys seem to be losing their moral qualms as well – Harry tries to cast Crucio on Bellatrix, and Hermione’s methods of disposing of Umbridge are startlingly callous.
This one’s odd – it feels like the transition book that 4 should have been, in some ways, with the whole Horcrux thing, but the ramping up of the stakes – first outside Hogwarts, with everyone’s relatives, and then within them, with the Death Eaters attacking and Dumbledore’s death, does feel like this is coming to a climax. Having Harry fixate on Snape and Malfoy actually seems quite reasonable at this stage, and I do wish Dumbledore would learn to talk to people, although obviously it’s too late now. The Felix Felicis and reveal of Slughorn’s memory feels like something that could have been done better. The lurking beast inside Harry that appears to be the personification of his feelings for Ginny is just bizarre. Once again tension-filled scenes of Hermione poring through various library books (this time in the hope of a mention of a Horcrux) suggests that what the wizarding world really needs is a decent indexing system.
