Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

[fajrdrako]

I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince more than the previous couple of Rowling books, mostly because I liked (and respected) Harry more in this one. Even Ron and Dumbledore seemed less annoying to me, so the book was more of a pleasure to read.

I'll put my comments under a spoiler-cut just in case there is anyone in the world who hasn't read it yet.


1. I liked the concept of the Half-Blood Prince, the idea of the spells in Harry's book, even the Half-Blood Prince's name. I did not for a moment guess it was Snape who was the half-blood prince - in fact, I thought it was Harry's mother.

2. Though Snape has always been my favourite character, I don't see a loophole to his now-revealed evil. I think the whole point is that he hates Harry and Harry hates him, regardless of what he has done or why.

3. Though I liked Dumbledore more than before, I still didn't like him much, for numerous reasons. I find it hard to see Dumbledore objectively; I just don't like his style, and on this reading I realized why. It's because he seems insincere to me, and manipulative.

4. Most of the action was in the last ten per cent of the book.

5. I wasn't sure why Harry was so certain Ron wouldn't want him dating Ginny - just adolescent nerves, perhaps?

7. Nice funeral for Dumbledore.

8. I liked Tonks and Lupin. I wished we'd seen more of them.

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There was quite a bit of pair-bonding in that book, which I liked. I always thought it was odd that Dumbledore had no wife or lover.

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

That anyone knows about, anyway.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, yes, that's just it. The man is a cipher. I don't have a sense of knowing anything about his personal or inner life. Of course, we're seeing him through the eyes of a young student - Harry wouldn't necessarily know much about Dumbledore. Is it a requirement at Hogwarts that the teachers be unmarried?