The Half Blood Prince

[poliphilo]

Order of the Phoenix is the best of the books- considered simply as a book or literary artefact. It's the one in which Rowling stretches herself and her readers the furthest-  the one that makes me think of Dickens.

Half Blood Prince doesn't make me think of Dickens. There's a falling back into the comfort zone.  It's like Chamber of Secrets on steroids.

Lots of back story. This is more Voldemort's book than Harry's.  We're marking time.  It's a transitional work, preparing us for what we all hope will be the whizz-bang climax of the Deathly Hallows.

Of course Harry had to fall in love sometime. I wish Rowling cared more about this side of things. I wish, actually, that she was more interested in her female characters. The ones who come alive are the eccentrics- Hermione, Luna, Tonks. She wants us to care about Ginny Weasley and we're eager to oblige- but do we? I'm afraid I don't.

Slughorn  is the best new character. I've known teachers like him. 

Boarding schools run on sexual energy.  All those adolescents. All that celibacy. I wish there could be more than hints of this in the books, but yes- I know, I know- not in front of the children.

The last hundred pages are riveting. But I don't see how I can discuss them without spoilers. 

Comments

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Despite her "niceness" Ginny is such a bland, grey character. I feel sorry for her. Hermione is so well done that Ginny really does pale in comparison.
And what do you think of Snape now?

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

Yes, let the serious Severus discussion begin!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I believe that Snape is working for the Order of the Phoenix.

He killed Dumbledore in order to preserve his cover- which is what Dumbledore himself would have wanted. Was Dumbledore dying anyway? I think he may have been. Either way, those two have been playing a deep, deep game.

It strikes me that we know nothing of Dumbledore's back story. I expect he and Snape will turn out to have been been intimately connected- perhaps by ties of blood.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, and to be honest, I'll be extremely disappointed if it turns out he's been on Voldemort's side all this time. It will negate all the wonderful complexity of Snape's character throughout the entire series, and turn it into "Well, he really was just an evil ass all along."

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Dumbledore trusted Snape implicitly. But we still don't know why. When we find out I think we'll also understand just who and what Snape is.

[pickwick.livejournal.com]

I think Snape's made an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore, something along the lines of "I will do anything you ask of me and I will not break cover".

I suspect the reason he had to first make the UV to Narcissa and then take over Draco's task is in order to sort of save Draco's soul...I wouldn't be surprised if Draco comes out of Hallows at least partially redeemed. Hmmm - Snape or Draco sacrifice themselves to save Harry?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That would make a lot of sense. But why would Snape make Dumbledore an Unbreakable Vow? There's something still to be revealed about those two.

I think Snape will die- probably heroically. I like your idea that Draco will be redeemed. We've already learned he's not got it in him to be a killer.

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

i agree with this. dumbledore sacrifices himself to preserve snape's double agent status. i think, looking back, it's fairly obvious that dumbledore knows he is going to die, and talks to harry as such-- all those lines telling harry he "knows everything he needs to know", "has all the preparation he needs". dumbledore has done everything he can for harry, and so he helps in the only remaining way- by sacrificing himself to save snape's cover.

although, i really want to know why dumbledore trusts snape so implicitly. i always thought mcgonagall or someone else would have known why.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There's also the evidence of the conversation Hagrid overhears in which Dumbledore urges Snape not to back out of doing something he's promised to do but plainly finds distasteful.

And was that expedition to find the horcrux all it seems or a ploy to take Harry out of the line of fire?

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Yes, I felt that Dumbledore was dying also just from the way he talked to Harry and how he was "preparing" him. Dumbledore´s history has never really been revealed, you´re right.

I´m wondering how she´s going to tie all this up in under a thousand pages.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking there are links between Harry, Sirius, Dumbledore, Snape and Voldemort of which we're not currently aware. JKR herself has said that there are stories "hidden between the lines" in the Black family tree.

Is she limited to 1,000 pages? I'd be quite happy if Deathly Hallows came in at 1,500.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

No, I don´t think she´s limited and judging from the cost of the book it has to be quite a hefty volume. (The publisher´s price is about $35. but amazon is charging $18. something for a pre-order. I haven´t checked the amazon.co.uk price yet)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The British supermarkets will almost certainly be offering the books at bargain prices. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the best offer

[ibid.livejournal.com]

I seriously thought in the eraly days Dumbledore and Voldemort were the same, think about it Dumbledore led Harry into so much trouble...

OOTP was too long methinks. It did need cutting as there was a lot I thought was superfluous and I don't think anyone dares to edit Rowling.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've had my doubts about Dumbledore too, but I suppose now that he's died gloriously and been tucked away in his white tomb we have to accept that he was basically who he said he was.

But I think there are still things to be revealed about his background.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I think you're pretty safe on the spoilers issue, to be honest. So long as you have the word "Spoiler" somewhere in the title of your post (and maybe use an lj-cut if you're really worried about it), I don't see a problem.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. Everybody who wants to read the books will probably have done so by now.

[humblenarrator.livejournal.com]

and now we all have less than six months for the final book!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm getting impatient...

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I have heard on the news that JK says TWO main characters die in her next book.

The book must be bleak--the cover doesn't even have a picture of Harry this time--it's all black.

At least she finished it--I was afraid she'd get writer's block and put it off forever...

I've been enjoying your reviews of the series. It's true that Ginny isn't vivid for me, but I'd never thought before about how much I liked her odd characters more. Interesting!

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. Harry and Voldemort. And Ron and Hermione will get married, and Ginny will get pregnant before Harry dies. And Dumbledore will come back as Fawkes.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

OMG, Laura. Say it isn't so...

I still have some warm feeling for Snape. Don't know why--maybe it's the actor in the movie.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

So which two characters?

I think Snape will be one of them- maybe he'll die saving Harry.

And the other will be one that's going to hit us hard- someone we like. Hagrid perhaps or Hermione.

I don't think she'll kill Harry, but I think she's going to make him suffer a lot- a bit like Frodo.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I thought it might be Hagrid, but I guess she'll get someone we love best--probably Hermione is a good guess, and maybe Ron, but Snape is also a good thought.

Do you remember that there is a reference to Dumbledore's brother?? Was he a twin? Anyway, that cannon was surely dragged onto the stage for a reason.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

JKR has said that the thing she hears most often from kids is "don't kill Ron". She's also said she's given one major character a reprieve. I'll bet she's bowed to her public and it's Ron she's talking about.

There are a lot of brothers knocking about, aren't there? Sirius has a brother. Dumbledore has a brother. And then of course there are the Weasleys. I think there's something significant and thematic going on here

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

That's true. But you can put out a "spoiler discussion" cut tag and folks can skip it if they like.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I sort of dislike making cuts. I'd rather have everything out in the open.

I figured we could discuss the spoilery stuff in comments.