The Half Blood Prince review and ramble....long and spoilery!
Good morning all! Well I finished The Half Blood Prince last night and I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it. Don't think you're going to get off that easily however because now I'm going to review the heck out of it. Try to remain calm and in your seats ladies and gentlemen, here we go.
I'm a pretty big Harry Potter fan. I was there from the beginning when only half of the world had read them. I introduced my mother and grandmother to them. I'm a fan but I'm not a fan girl nor do I squeal and I'm 25 years old so I try to remain reasonably calm even while in the midst of the HP fever that causes me to ignore the real world while I race through the books like I have to finish them now or DIE! Now I've heard people say that they are not that good in the sense that they are not very well written. You may be right. I don't really care. First of all, I read enough truly "good literature" every year to choke a T-Rex so occasionally slumming it with Harry Potter and oh say....Dan Brown's books is not something I feel that I should be ashamed of. At heart I am still that little girl who believes in magic so Harry Potter tends to appeal to my most secret, childish desires. Being raised on fairy tales and musicals seems to have permanently altered how I see the world. For better or for worse is open to debate but lets get back to the subject at hand, shall we.
I have to say that the 5th book was a bit disappointing. My mom keeps calling it the forgettable one and I've resisted saying anything like that for fear of evoking the angry Harry Potter fangirls of doom but really, it was. I enjoyed reading it but I didn't live in it like I normally do. I find that I can't even remember what actually took place. I think that's why I wasn't as eager to dive in like usual. This book, however, was very much like what I remembered the first four to be. Fun, funny and exciting....and dark! I love how Rowling created the feeling of being an angsty teenager. I even like that she made a bit of reference to *ahem* awakening sexuality without exploring it too much. These are, after all, children's books and should remain PG at least. There was one particular dialogue that left me wondering just how much was happening behind closed doors but it was very subtle (to be specific without spoiling anything, it was a reference to whether Harry had something tattooed on his chest or not and was mostly for comic relief) and far from being pornographic. Again I have to express my distaste for writing HP fanfiction with a sexual theme. Kiddie porn anyone? But I digress on that. They can keep writing it and I'll keep avoiding it. The characters are always awesome in her books and I love the development of some of the newer characters; Tonks for example. How cute is she!I have further notes on specific characters but I'll save those for the "spoiler section" of my review since they are pretty hard core spoiler heavy. EDIT: squirrelbait pointed out to me that I keep referring to them as children and I felt that I should clarify. They are technically still children by law even though that age is characterized by angst and awakening sexuality. It is therefore not appropriate for some to write explicitly about teenage sexual encounters. This is just where I stand on that and I wanted to make sure that everyone understood my choice of wording. But yeah, I still keep thinking of them as kids. I suppose that, to me, they are kids.
And so here's the spoiler part. Please, please, please do not click on the cut unless you have read the book or refuse to ever ever do so. I mean it. No, seriously, don't. In an attempt to keep drama to a minimum, I'm even screening comments on this post so those who have read can be free to say what they like without worrying about spoiling if for anyone. I'm so clever. ;) Anyway, on with the rest....
First, I don't understand this mass hatred of Ginny. Number one, its just a book and therefore she is just a character. Number two, I quite like her character and think she and Harry are a perfect match. They understand each other and she's got a bit of moxie that makes her ideal as his other half. (I'm actually surprised that she agreed to stay behind...perhaps that will change in the next book.) As Rowling once said herself, could you imagine Harry and Hermione together? No, they would fight ALL the time and not in the "ooh sexual tension" way that she and Ron fight. I think that people forget to trust the writer. They are, after all, her characters. To further show my defiance to those people, I'm even using a Ginny icon but mostly just because I love how it turned out. Oooh shiney!
Second, I was a bit torn on what to think of the development of Snape's character. I really love how she played the readers on that little mystery. From the beginning, we are all wondering along with Harry just what the heck is going on! But also like him, we are grudgingly trusting Dumbledore. I actually think that was a very clever twist on the old bait and switch trick. I was a little disappointed that he turned out to be evil only because I thought that the good Snape made such an interesting character. Yeah, he was dark and sinister and hated Harry and his parents but he was really good at heart....right? Well, apparently not and probably that is what Rowling intended from the beginning. Perhaps there will be further delving into his motives later. He may not be totally nasty... I'm also very interested in how Draco's story will end. He hasn't killed anyone yet so can he still be saved?
Third, I just love the new insights on Voldemort and his past! How cool are the Horcruxes! I'm also dying to know who wrote that note and thought that was a fantastic twist, although it made the death of Dumbledore that much more tragic. So how do I feel about Dumbledore's death? Well, I'm very sad but I understand that Harry needed to grow up. He needed to step out from behind the protection of others and become who he is supposed to be. I really liked that the book examined that and the role of the prophecy and how Voldemort interpreted it. All of that was just great.
Okay, now I'm just dancing around gleefully in the aftermath of the book but I really did enjoy it, horrendous editing mistakes aside. I don't blame the author for that. Naturally when you are writing a book, mistakes occur. That's why you hire editors and fact checkers. I'm guessing that someone wasn't doing their job or that it was rushed into print to keep up with the deadline. I don't know about the rest of you, but I would have cheerfully waited an extra month or so for proper editing. I'm thinking we are owed a refund by the publishing company but I doubt that will happen so I'm just going to move on.
And that's all I have for you on Harry Potter. Sorry this was long winded but I had so many things floating around in my head from last night. It's just nice to put them here so hopefully I can concentrate on other things. Like work maybe? ;)
As far as my life goes, everything is fine. Benny had a visit to the vet who was thrilled at how healthy she looks. Benny is being a serious pill right now (she's playing the "I want in...now out....now in...no I want out...no in...." game) so I know that she's okay. My dad went into emergency surgery last night to remove over a hundred gallstones! Holy cow! It looks like he's doing great and they are supposed to release him today. Apparently those suckers run in my family. Great! Other than that, nothing else is happening. I have work to do know so I'd better get to it.
Have a nice day all!
I'm a pretty big Harry Potter fan. I was there from the beginning when only half of the world had read them. I introduced my mother and grandmother to them. I'm a fan but I'm not a fan girl nor do I squeal and I'm 25 years old so I try to remain reasonably calm even while in the midst of the HP fever that causes me to ignore the real world while I race through the books like I have to finish them now or DIE! Now I've heard people say that they are not that good in the sense that they are not very well written. You may be right. I don't really care. First of all, I read enough truly "good literature" every year to choke a T-Rex so occasionally slumming it with Harry Potter and oh say....Dan Brown's books is not something I feel that I should be ashamed of. At heart I am still that little girl who believes in magic so Harry Potter tends to appeal to my most secret, childish desires. Being raised on fairy tales and musicals seems to have permanently altered how I see the world. For better or for worse is open to debate but lets get back to the subject at hand, shall we.
I have to say that the 5th book was a bit disappointing. My mom keeps calling it the forgettable one and I've resisted saying anything like that for fear of evoking the angry Harry Potter fangirls of doom but really, it was. I enjoyed reading it but I didn't live in it like I normally do. I find that I can't even remember what actually took place. I think that's why I wasn't as eager to dive in like usual. This book, however, was very much like what I remembered the first four to be. Fun, funny and exciting....and dark! I love how Rowling created the feeling of being an angsty teenager. I even like that she made a bit of reference to *ahem* awakening sexuality without exploring it too much. These are, after all, children's books and should remain PG at least. There was one particular dialogue that left me wondering just how much was happening behind closed doors but it was very subtle (to be specific without spoiling anything, it was a reference to whether Harry had something tattooed on his chest or not and was mostly for comic relief) and far from being pornographic. Again I have to express my distaste for writing HP fanfiction with a sexual theme. Kiddie porn anyone? But I digress on that. They can keep writing it and I'll keep avoiding it. The characters are always awesome in her books and I love the development of some of the newer characters; Tonks for example. How cute is she!I have further notes on specific characters but I'll save those for the "spoiler section" of my review since they are pretty hard core spoiler heavy. EDIT: squirrelbait pointed out to me that I keep referring to them as children and I felt that I should clarify. They are technically still children by law even though that age is characterized by angst and awakening sexuality. It is therefore not appropriate for some to write explicitly about teenage sexual encounters. This is just where I stand on that and I wanted to make sure that everyone understood my choice of wording. But yeah, I still keep thinking of them as kids. I suppose that, to me, they are kids.
And so here's the spoiler part. Please, please, please do not click on the cut unless you have read the book or refuse to ever ever do so. I mean it. No, seriously, don't. In an attempt to keep drama to a minimum, I'm even screening comments on this post so those who have read can be free to say what they like without worrying about spoiling if for anyone. I'm so clever. ;) Anyway, on with the rest....
First, I don't understand this mass hatred of Ginny. Number one, its just a book and therefore she is just a character. Number two, I quite like her character and think she and Harry are a perfect match. They understand each other and she's got a bit of moxie that makes her ideal as his other half. (I'm actually surprised that she agreed to stay behind...perhaps that will change in the next book.) As Rowling once said herself, could you imagine Harry and Hermione together? No, they would fight ALL the time and not in the "ooh sexual tension" way that she and Ron fight. I think that people forget to trust the writer. They are, after all, her characters. To further show my defiance to those people, I'm even using a Ginny icon but mostly just because I love how it turned out. Oooh shiney!
Second, I was a bit torn on what to think of the development of Snape's character. I really love how she played the readers on that little mystery. From the beginning, we are all wondering along with Harry just what the heck is going on! But also like him, we are grudgingly trusting Dumbledore. I actually think that was a very clever twist on the old bait and switch trick. I was a little disappointed that he turned out to be evil only because I thought that the good Snape made such an interesting character. Yeah, he was dark and sinister and hated Harry and his parents but he was really good at heart....right? Well, apparently not and probably that is what Rowling intended from the beginning. Perhaps there will be further delving into his motives later. He may not be totally nasty... I'm also very interested in how Draco's story will end. He hasn't killed anyone yet so can he still be saved?
Third, I just love the new insights on Voldemort and his past! How cool are the Horcruxes! I'm also dying to know who wrote that note and thought that was a fantastic twist, although it made the death of Dumbledore that much more tragic. So how do I feel about Dumbledore's death? Well, I'm very sad but I understand that Harry needed to grow up. He needed to step out from behind the protection of others and become who he is supposed to be. I really liked that the book examined that and the role of the prophecy and how Voldemort interpreted it. All of that was just great.
Okay, now I'm just dancing around gleefully in the aftermath of the book but I really did enjoy it, horrendous editing mistakes aside. I don't blame the author for that. Naturally when you are writing a book, mistakes occur. That's why you hire editors and fact checkers. I'm guessing that someone wasn't doing their job or that it was rushed into print to keep up with the deadline. I don't know about the rest of you, but I would have cheerfully waited an extra month or so for proper editing. I'm thinking we are owed a refund by the publishing company but I doubt that will happen so I'm just going to move on.
And that's all I have for you on Harry Potter. Sorry this was long winded but I had so many things floating around in my head from last night. It's just nice to put them here so hopefully I can concentrate on other things. Like work maybe? ;)
As far as my life goes, everything is fine. Benny had a visit to the vet who was thrilled at how healthy she looks. Benny is being a serious pill right now (she's playing the "I want in...now out....now in...no I want out...no in...." game) so I know that she's okay. My dad went into emergency surgery last night to remove over a hundred gallstones! Holy cow! It looks like he's doing great and they are supposed to release him today. Apparently those suckers run in my family. Great! Other than that, nothing else is happening. I have work to do know so I'd better get to it.
Have a nice day all!