Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
*Spoiler warning*
Yesterday was the release of the 6th Potter book. I pre-ordered mine through Amazon months ago and it arrived on my doorstep at around 11 am, quite surprising really since all the other books I ordered through Amazon arrived much later than that, usually in the evening. Hmm...wonder why they could not be that efficient then?
Well, my take on the book? It has certainly gotten darker and raging hormones are running loose in the book. However, after I had finished it, I felt a bit deflated. Was it from having too much expectation? Probably. Don't get me wrong. The book is an enjoyable read but compared to her previous books (by that I meant the first three, probably the 4th too) this one lacked something somewhat. Same goes for the 5th book. Still, I enjoyed them.
The predictables are there in the book: someone dies, raging hormones, more people dying.....From the last book, we all know that the Dark Lord had risen again in full form and the wizarding world is in serious trouble. Harry is becoming more of a celebrity now, like a pin-up version in the wizarding world. War has erupted.
Despite the importance of the title, the Half-blood prince turned out to be a disappointment. He is Snape, who had a muggle father and his mother's name is Prince. Hmmmm. Anyway, why was the name important to the book? Because Harry had borrowed an old copy of a Potions book which had Snape's scribbled potions concoctions and several spells which Harry found tremendously helpful during classes. But of course, there is that link between Snape being a half-blood and Voldie being a half-blood and prob Harry too. "Prince".....Snape probably fancied himself being Voldemort's (who from now on shall be called "V") successor or second in command. And that Snape was the one who overheard the prophecy (Harry vs V) and told V about it which then led to Harry's parents death. Also he was the one that killed at the end. I expected the "half blood prince" to be another prophecy or the "name" itself to be of more significance instead of the person. Get me?
To cut to the chase, Dumbledore is the one who died at the end. Not surprising there because he had to die in order to set the stage for the final fight between Harry and V. Actually I had no feeling at all when I found out it was him that died because, quite frankly, I thought that the whole scene could have been avoided. The murderer however did surprised me. I did not expect him to be Snape, who is one of my favourite characters in the book. Making him the murderer seemed a little bit lame after all the woo haa about him being a double agent working for the side of good and the whole bit about Dumbledore trusting him. So I do hope that Rowling has something else up her sleeve for writing this particularly, how should I put it, annoying bit of plot in the book. Because I refused to believe that Snape is that shallow. I am HOPING he would not turned out to be that person. It is a bit murky, the details surrounding Snape leading to the death of Dumble at his hand so that is why that little piece of hope is still shinning.
Now, you would expect that after 5 books, people would start to believe Harry when he says something. But they just never learn do they? Imagine the all the troubles and deaths that could have been avoided! This is the reason that I did not like this book as much as the rest because she cannot convince me with her storyline. After all Harry had been through and everytime he had been proven right, his suspicions should have been taken seriously. So, to make the other characters not believe him or take him seriously, I just cannot buy it. I know it was to lead the plot towards the death of Dumbledore at Snape's hand and to make the book thicker I suppose, but the way she writes it was not convincing enough.
Then, of course there were the raging hormones and who ends up with whom. They are 16 after all turning to 17. Harry realised that he has a soft spot for Ginny, Ron's sister and they do end up together though they broke up at the end of the book (Harry wanting to protect those he loves, so sacrificing his love for her......). Ron and Hermione brickered throughout the entire book and you are left with the question, are they or are they not when the book finished. Again. Though in this book, Ron, or as his gf called him "won-won", was the one in a relationship. People were doing a lot of snogging in this book.
Draco had a more important role this time and in the end, you sort of feel pity for him. However, the rest of the characters didn't have much "paper time". At the end, we find out that V had these things called the Horcruxes which contain pieces of his soul. This will set the storyline for the last book as Harry has to destroy the few that remain in order to weaken V. Also, we found out more about V's past and why he is the way he is. We were also introduced to a new character (or could probably be an old one) which we only know by his or her initials: R.A.B.
On the whole, the book didn't really have a plot, it seemed to be a mixture of things. Like Rowling said, it will provide answers but in the course of doing so, left the book without much of a plot. Everything is set for the 7th book and we will see then if Harry will survive or not.
Btw, I disagree with New York Times' review of the book which compared it to LOTR. Come on. LOTR is in a world of its own. Harry Potter books are addictive but they are just not that great.
Yesterday was the release of the 6th Potter book. I pre-ordered mine through Amazon months ago and it arrived on my doorstep at around 11 am, quite surprising really since all the other books I ordered through Amazon arrived much later than that, usually in the evening. Hmm...wonder why they could not be that efficient then?
Well, my take on the book? It has certainly gotten darker and raging hormones are running loose in the book. However, after I had finished it, I felt a bit deflated. Was it from having too much expectation? Probably. Don't get me wrong. The book is an enjoyable read but compared to her previous books (by that I meant the first three, probably the 4th too) this one lacked something somewhat. Same goes for the 5th book. Still, I enjoyed them.
The predictables are there in the book: someone dies, raging hormones, more people dying.....From the last book, we all know that the Dark Lord had risen again in full form and the wizarding world is in serious trouble. Harry is becoming more of a celebrity now, like a pin-up version in the wizarding world. War has erupted.
Despite the importance of the title, the Half-blood prince turned out to be a disappointment. He is Snape, who had a muggle father and his mother's name is Prince. Hmmmm. Anyway, why was the name important to the book? Because Harry had borrowed an old copy of a Potions book which had Snape's scribbled potions concoctions and several spells which Harry found tremendously helpful during classes. But of course, there is that link between Snape being a half-blood and Voldie being a half-blood and prob Harry too. "Prince".....Snape probably fancied himself being Voldemort's (who from now on shall be called "V") successor or second in command. And that Snape was the one who overheard the prophecy (Harry vs V) and told V about it which then led to Harry's parents death. Also he was the one that killed at the end. I expected the "half blood prince" to be another prophecy or the "name" itself to be of more significance instead of the person. Get me?
To cut to the chase, Dumbledore is the one who died at the end. Not surprising there because he had to die in order to set the stage for the final fight between Harry and V. Actually I had no feeling at all when I found out it was him that died because, quite frankly, I thought that the whole scene could have been avoided. The murderer however did surprised me. I did not expect him to be Snape, who is one of my favourite characters in the book. Making him the murderer seemed a little bit lame after all the woo haa about him being a double agent working for the side of good and the whole bit about Dumbledore trusting him. So I do hope that Rowling has something else up her sleeve for writing this particularly, how should I put it, annoying bit of plot in the book. Because I refused to believe that Snape is that shallow. I am HOPING he would not turned out to be that person. It is a bit murky, the details surrounding Snape leading to the death of Dumble at his hand so that is why that little piece of hope is still shinning.
Now, you would expect that after 5 books, people would start to believe Harry when he says something. But they just never learn do they? Imagine the all the troubles and deaths that could have been avoided! This is the reason that I did not like this book as much as the rest because she cannot convince me with her storyline. After all Harry had been through and everytime he had been proven right, his suspicions should have been taken seriously. So, to make the other characters not believe him or take him seriously, I just cannot buy it. I know it was to lead the plot towards the death of Dumbledore at Snape's hand and to make the book thicker I suppose, but the way she writes it was not convincing enough.
Then, of course there were the raging hormones and who ends up with whom. They are 16 after all turning to 17. Harry realised that he has a soft spot for Ginny, Ron's sister and they do end up together though they broke up at the end of the book (Harry wanting to protect those he loves, so sacrificing his love for her......). Ron and Hermione brickered throughout the entire book and you are left with the question, are they or are they not when the book finished. Again. Though in this book, Ron, or as his gf called him "won-won", was the one in a relationship. People were doing a lot of snogging in this book.
Draco had a more important role this time and in the end, you sort of feel pity for him. However, the rest of the characters didn't have much "paper time". At the end, we find out that V had these things called the Horcruxes which contain pieces of his soul. This will set the storyline for the last book as Harry has to destroy the few that remain in order to weaken V. Also, we found out more about V's past and why he is the way he is. We were also introduced to a new character (or could probably be an old one) which we only know by his or her initials: R.A.B.
On the whole, the book didn't really have a plot, it seemed to be a mixture of things. Like Rowling said, it will provide answers but in the course of doing so, left the book without much of a plot. Everything is set for the 7th book and we will see then if Harry will survive or not.
Btw, I disagree with New York Times' review of the book which compared it to LOTR. Come on. LOTR is in a world of its own. Harry Potter books are addictive but they are just not that great.
posted by AL LEE at 2:14 AM
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