Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling.
Yes, yes, I will use a LJ cut tag!!! >:0
Okay.
On the one hand, I liked this and there were elements that did impress me but on the other hand there were elements that did not surprise me at all nor did they shock me. Sirius' death was a bit ho-hum. Him being related to Narcissa was of much more interest to me. Draco was relatively underused, IMO. He was still a nasty little shit but he's becoming a parody of himself. *shrug*
Harry has finally grown a pair and is getting angry and chucking tanties and demanding answers rather than dociley going along and allowing himself to be manipulated. I was really pleased at Harry's characterisation in this novel as he has suddenly become very three dimensional. He isn't just the 'good guy scapegoat' now, he's an angry teenager who's dealing with a lot of different issues and not sure what to do or where he fits.
I have even less liking of James and co. and Lilly now, thanks to Snape's pensieve. I am totally unimpressed with the Marauder crew, although I do still rather like Lupin. I find Sirius a pompous wanker and James isn't much better. I can appreciate that seeing how his father tormented Snape for no reason other than 'because he could' would have been a tremendous shock for Harry, and I felt that the explanation that Sirius and Lupin gave him for this was rather, er, LAME.
Did not like Umbridge. I took umbridge with Prof Umbridge, haha, so witty. *snerk* I thought her punishment with the quill and the blood was quite appalling. Actually, all of her was quite appalling, but it was bloody good to see MacGonagall deal with her.
Voldie vs. Dumbledude was a bit...anticlimactic. Sirius' death was lost in a haze of other things, taking away from what would have been an intensely dramatic moment. Lucius - cool and totally underused - as usual, le sigh. The other death eaters are all somewhat out there. Man, those dudes have no idea how to chill out.
Dumbledore's explanation to Harry at the end of the book regarding why he kept him in the dark and what information he needed to know has caused quite a bit of uproar in fandom, but I personally agree with what and how Dumbledore did it. If I were in the same situation, caring would lead me to behave in exactly the same way. Doesn't make it right, doesn't make it good, but whats done is done.
I realise I've probably been overly harsh and critical, but I'm pretty jaded by the entire Potter franchise. The book was a good read, I was rivetted and read it in about 7 hours, but I wasn't knocked off my feet by any of the revelations or what not. *shrug*
Ship wise: HxD not dead. Just full of teenage rage. I don't see that ship being dead at all, IMO. I think it's changed dynamic certainly, but I don't think it's deader than a dead thing. LxS is still very fucking cool.
New characters: Luna - very interesting, actually. I rather liked her. The Centaurs pissed me off. Hagrid's brother pissed me off. I really, really liked the horses that only people who had seen death could see (can't remember the name), but they raised a continuity error in my head - if only people who have seen death can see these creatures, Harry should have been able to see them from the get go as he witnessed the death of his mother at Voldie's hands as an infant. So, ha!
Fan fic wise: Yes, I will write more, b.c I have had bunnies. I have a rather amusing dark comedy HxD floating around my head and a very, very dark piece about 7th year Pansy now. I will write these directly...once the fucking paper is finished.
Okay, rant and ramble over with.
Okay.
On the one hand, I liked this and there were elements that did impress me but on the other hand there were elements that did not surprise me at all nor did they shock me. Sirius' death was a bit ho-hum. Him being related to Narcissa was of much more interest to me. Draco was relatively underused, IMO. He was still a nasty little shit but he's becoming a parody of himself. *shrug*
Harry has finally grown a pair and is getting angry and chucking tanties and demanding answers rather than dociley going along and allowing himself to be manipulated. I was really pleased at Harry's characterisation in this novel as he has suddenly become very three dimensional. He isn't just the 'good guy scapegoat' now, he's an angry teenager who's dealing with a lot of different issues and not sure what to do or where he fits.
I have even less liking of James and co. and Lilly now, thanks to Snape's pensieve. I am totally unimpressed with the Marauder crew, although I do still rather like Lupin. I find Sirius a pompous wanker and James isn't much better. I can appreciate that seeing how his father tormented Snape for no reason other than 'because he could' would have been a tremendous shock for Harry, and I felt that the explanation that Sirius and Lupin gave him for this was rather, er, LAME.
Did not like Umbridge. I took umbridge with Prof Umbridge, haha, so witty. *snerk* I thought her punishment with the quill and the blood was quite appalling. Actually, all of her was quite appalling, but it was bloody good to see MacGonagall deal with her.
Voldie vs. Dumbledude was a bit...anticlimactic. Sirius' death was lost in a haze of other things, taking away from what would have been an intensely dramatic moment. Lucius - cool and totally underused - as usual, le sigh. The other death eaters are all somewhat out there. Man, those dudes have no idea how to chill out.
Dumbledore's explanation to Harry at the end of the book regarding why he kept him in the dark and what information he needed to know has caused quite a bit of uproar in fandom, but I personally agree with what and how Dumbledore did it. If I were in the same situation, caring would lead me to behave in exactly the same way. Doesn't make it right, doesn't make it good, but whats done is done.
I realise I've probably been overly harsh and critical, but I'm pretty jaded by the entire Potter franchise. The book was a good read, I was rivetted and read it in about 7 hours, but I wasn't knocked off my feet by any of the revelations or what not. *shrug*
Ship wise: HxD not dead. Just full of teenage rage. I don't see that ship being dead at all, IMO. I think it's changed dynamic certainly, but I don't think it's deader than a dead thing. LxS is still very fucking cool.
New characters: Luna - very interesting, actually. I rather liked her. The Centaurs pissed me off. Hagrid's brother pissed me off. I really, really liked the horses that only people who had seen death could see (can't remember the name), but they raised a continuity error in my head - if only people who have seen death can see these creatures, Harry should have been able to see them from the get go as he witnessed the death of his mother at Voldie's hands as an infant. So, ha!
Fan fic wise: Yes, I will write more, b.c I have had bunnies. I have a rather amusing dark comedy HxD floating around my head and a very, very dark piece about 7th year Pansy now. I will write these directly...once the fucking paper is finished.
Okay, rant and ramble over with.