Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I did get my copy after all, so:
- Readers who complain about lack of Slytherin depth and the fact we didn't get to see them interact with each other except for that brief bit in CoS: this is your book
- It's also the first one where I find Draco Malfoy interesting. I hereby admit my guess that he's going to end up as this generation's Gilderoy Lockhart is probably wrong. Also? Someone write the Draco/Myrtle. It's canon.
- loved the Black sisters and Severus Snape chapter; Narcissa as concerned mother, as much as Molly Weasley ever was, should also refute the complaints JKR doesn't allow the Slytherins feelings; was amused by "Cissy" as a nickname because whoever said that the Black sisters must be inspired by the Mitford sisters is surely right
- speaking of Molly Weasley: mother-in-law from hell, clearly, unless you're Harry. And Ginny and every Weasley save Ron the in-laws from hell. Was siding with Fleur completely and thought "insular snobs". Was very glad to see Molly properly repentant at the end, though predicted this was coming.
- Horace Slughorn: and another Slytherin who is a three-dimensional human being. Neither a saint nor a villain. If I read any more complaints that JKR is so unfair to the green and silver bunch, I'm going to throw this book at them.
- otoh, she's not that good with romances. The Harry/Ginny was perfunctiary, if you ask me, and the Ron/Hermione dancing around each other is getting old.
- Remus/Tonks! A part of the Remus/Sirius contingent is going to go nuts over this while fernwithy's stories are somewhat canonical now
- Dumbledore telling off the Dursleys: sorry, Albus, but you don't get to do this. You put him there, you know exactly how they treated him via Arabella Figg, and you didn't do anything for eleven years. That prevents you from getting all self-righteous now. Sirius or Remus saying it would have had me cheering, but not you
- and the big one, of course: Snape killing Dumbledore. As of now, before I reread, my theory is that this was part of the plan and was what Snape and Dumbledore were arguing about when Hagrid overheard them, with Snape saying "you ask too much". Hence also Snape actually stopping the DE's from killing or torturing Harry. Not that the rant wasn't genuine enough. Also, love the irony of Snape's old notes making Harry brilliant in potions when Old Severus as an actual teacher with the method from hell couldn't, and Harry admiring the HFB throughout the year. Note that Hermione who still seems to be the voice of the author in these matters thinks that using the notes is cheating on Harry's part and points out the parallels to the DE's spells but also says it doesn't feel actually evil, just not nice
- of course, I could be wrong and Snape killed Dumbledore in an actual act of treachery; in either case, the scene and the entire preceding Draco confrontation is better composed than Sirius' death scene in OotP, though all in all I like OotP with its unrelenting sadism better as a book (will be in a minority here, I think)
- bimo should love the first chapter, which gives Fudge a good send-off, showing him in a far better light than anything previously
- the remaining artifacts with pieces of Voldemort's soul: my money is on the Sorting Hat as one of them. It will be destroyed in Book 7 as an outward symbol of the House System breaking down.
- Readers who complain about lack of Slytherin depth and the fact we didn't get to see them interact with each other except for that brief bit in CoS: this is your book
- It's also the first one where I find Draco Malfoy interesting. I hereby admit my guess that he's going to end up as this generation's Gilderoy Lockhart is probably wrong. Also? Someone write the Draco/Myrtle. It's canon.
- loved the Black sisters and Severus Snape chapter; Narcissa as concerned mother, as much as Molly Weasley ever was, should also refute the complaints JKR doesn't allow the Slytherins feelings; was amused by "Cissy" as a nickname because whoever said that the Black sisters must be inspired by the Mitford sisters is surely right
- speaking of Molly Weasley: mother-in-law from hell, clearly, unless you're Harry. And Ginny and every Weasley save Ron the in-laws from hell. Was siding with Fleur completely and thought "insular snobs". Was very glad to see Molly properly repentant at the end, though predicted this was coming.
- Horace Slughorn: and another Slytherin who is a three-dimensional human being. Neither a saint nor a villain. If I read any more complaints that JKR is so unfair to the green and silver bunch, I'm going to throw this book at them.
- otoh, she's not that good with romances. The Harry/Ginny was perfunctiary, if you ask me, and the Ron/Hermione dancing around each other is getting old.
- Remus/Tonks! A part of the Remus/Sirius contingent is going to go nuts over this while fernwithy's stories are somewhat canonical now
- Dumbledore telling off the Dursleys: sorry, Albus, but you don't get to do this. You put him there, you know exactly how they treated him via Arabella Figg, and you didn't do anything for eleven years. That prevents you from getting all self-righteous now. Sirius or Remus saying it would have had me cheering, but not you
- and the big one, of course: Snape killing Dumbledore. As of now, before I reread, my theory is that this was part of the plan and was what Snape and Dumbledore were arguing about when Hagrid overheard them, with Snape saying "you ask too much". Hence also Snape actually stopping the DE's from killing or torturing Harry. Not that the rant wasn't genuine enough. Also, love the irony of Snape's old notes making Harry brilliant in potions when Old Severus as an actual teacher with the method from hell couldn't, and Harry admiring the HFB throughout the year. Note that Hermione who still seems to be the voice of the author in these matters thinks that using the notes is cheating on Harry's part and points out the parallels to the DE's spells but also says it doesn't feel actually evil, just not nice
- of course, I could be wrong and Snape killed Dumbledore in an actual act of treachery; in either case, the scene and the entire preceding Draco confrontation is better composed than Sirius' death scene in OotP, though all in all I like OotP with its unrelenting sadism better as a book (will be in a minority here, I think)
- bimo should love the first chapter, which gives Fudge a good send-off, showing him in a far better light than anything previously
- the remaining artifacts with pieces of Voldemort's soul: my money is on the Sorting Hat as one of them. It will be destroyed in Book 7 as an outward symbol of the House System breaking down.