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

[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?