SPOILER WARNING!!!











Here are a few of my random thoughts from Book 6...

1) I was beyond angry/sad when Snape killed Dumbledore. I can't say that I didn't expect him to be bad, and yet I was still shocked beyond belief. Dumbledore, being the great and powerful wizard that he was, had reason to trust Snape, and although he is horrible, Dumbledore's trust seemed enough to make me sure that he had in fact changed. When Dumbledore begged Snape to help him and it only took a few seconds for Snape to shout "Avada Kedavra" I just plain wanted to chuck the book across the room.

2) Will Harry still be able to get advice from Dumbledore now that there is a portrait of him in his old office?

3) I understood why Harry broke things off with Ginny, but boy did I want to see them stay together longer!

4) Why on earth do we have to wait for another book for Ron and Hermione to FINALLY get together?!?!

5) Book 7 seems like it will be vastly different from the previous 6. Of course, this will be the final fight between Harry and Voldemort so it is bound to be different there, but it seems that the entire book will not even take place at Hogwarts like the rest. Will Hogwarts really close its doors? Obviously, this battle is something that Harry needs to face, but I think it would be weird to read through Book 7 without the more comedic value that comes from the trio's classtime.

You know, I was thinking about your last point quite a bit after I finished the book. A friend of mine was discussing Book 7 with me. If Harry did go back to Hogwarts, how would he track down and destory the rest of the Horcruxes? Even if he did go back, he would miss quite a bit of class time, and his grades would suffer horrible. The easiest way to eliminate these problems would be to close down Hogwarts for a year. But then that makes me wonder what would happen to the students? Would their schooling have to be postponed a year?

I think that if Harry indeed does NOT go back to Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione won't either. I can't picture Harry facing this alone; I'm sure he could do it, but I don't want him to have to. Hopefully Ginny will come along, and support Harry throughout everything.

Point 5) I don't think book 7 can possibly have the same comedic value no. However it will have so much more, Harry will be able to step up with the help of his two friends who are becoming both quite proficient wizards in their own rights.

Of course, killing voldemort will only be possible with love. My theory is that Malfoy and Potter will finally realise they indeed love each other and will hold hands. United in love they will kill Voldemort and ride off into the sunset.

Im thinking harry wont need Hogwarts anymore (he wont really need a career, as he's either going to die, or live out his days in fame and riches [which he will probably shun]) but will make a breif appearance, perhaps to enlist help of some sorts. (snape sucks)

I agree with the fact that Draco will be at least somewhat important in the next book. He had more character development than in the last 5 books put together and has shown that he's not exactly ready to kill someone nor is he going with the plan because he wants to (being forced into it by Voldermort because of threats to his family). He's shown to be not as evil as he seemed to be and i think this will have some sort of significance in the next book where he would either change sides or at least do some sort of assistance in bringing Voldermort down. I don't think he would end up being a Death Eater completely with what i've seen from the book.

I also think Draco will be allowed to go back with the Death Eaters because even if he couldn't kill Dumbledore, he proved that he could go with the plan and be of use (getting Death Eaters into Hogwarts) as well as be blackmailed into continueing to work for them with threats of killing him and his family. But he is still expendable if needed, as shown since he was given this plan as "vengeance for Lucius's mistake" and as someone to test or try the plan first (Snape believes the Dark lord actually intends for him to kill Dumbledore in the end). I also think Snape cares somewhat for Draco (is the godson thing i see in fanfiction true?) and will try to defend him (as he has shown by taking the Unbreakable Vow).

I voted disappointed, it wasn't bad at all, but I just felt it let us down in some places.

-I didn't think the relationship that finally developed between Harry and Ginny was very well written.
-I was a bit bored at how some of the other relationships mentioned seemed to be a bit unlikely, and dragged on in parts remeniscent of a teen romance novel.
-Even though we got to spend more time with Dumbledore, I felt the closeness of Dd and Harry wasn't developed to be as important as it could have been.
-I guess we needed the pensieve scenes, but there too, I felt Dd could have used that time to help develope Harrys skills in magic at the same time as giving him background info on Voldemort. I was really looking forward to that when Dd said he would be giving Harry lessons, but it just never happened.
-I also found myself waiting to hear something about Voldemorts where abouts or current plans in the war, yet nothing came.

Some things I really liked were

-Dracos new character developement, it's nice to see him struggling with his own ideals of power.
-Harry's resolve to face this head on and to keep his nerve because he knows he's doing it because he wants to, not because he has to.
-Snape killing Dumbledore, I thought that was a stroke of brilliance (oh what a tangled web we weave JK)
-The whole bathroom scene with Draco and Harry, I thought this scene taught us a lot about both of them.

I have to say I read the book in one sitting, and was very tired by the time I finished it, so that could have effected how I felt. I am re-reading it now and am 1/3rd the way through, and I am enjoying the subtleties more. I may drastically change my opinion by the end of the second read

Thers probably more, but I'll leave it at that seeing as it's a long post

What I found particularly funny (And unrelated) was that in the time it took Malfoy to say Cruc... Harry manage to realise, retaliate, and spurt out Septumserpta! Or whatever it is he said.

Thats some quick thinking Harry! Slow on Draco's behalf.

At the end of the book I was sad, because I realised this series is coming to an end. I get like this close to the finish of all decent novals however I don't think I have ever come quite as close to crying as when my favourite character died.

hmm this is a tough question because i'm still not quite clear on how i'm feeling about it. Well at the end i was really upset, really sad about Dumbledore's death, it came as such a surprise to me because i mean, yes i did feel that Dumbledore would have to die in the end, with Harry 'taking over' in a sense, but i just felt that he was one of those characters that, like Harry or Voldemort, would only die at the end of the series. I just thought Dumbledore was probably the most fascinating character in the book and to see him go... Harry might've matured a bit, but I thought, "who is going to guide Harry now?"
And overall, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I'm going to read to book again because i do feel that i rushed it a little bit in eagerness to find out what will happen, so that i now absorb everything entirely. I guess i'll have a better verdict then. But right now, i think that a lot was said, but nothing was really said. I found there was a lot of information i really didnt find that interesting, for example the first chapter. I also think the whole thing between Ron and Hermione was drawn out a bit too much. And the whole Won Won/Lav Lav thing wasnt that fascinating either. But i might think that way because to be honest i wasnt really that interested in the love aspect of the book. Of course you'd want some, but not too much. (Unless it involved Sirius... or James... or even Lupin now, I dont know after that little Tonks/Lupin dialogue i found him very appealing). And what's more... this book was meant to be, as Jo herself stated, a "time for answers, not more questions and clues…." However, I felt rather disappointed in that aspect because i felt that hardly any of my questions were answered; even some of the things that she confirmed we'd find out, we didnt. I really dont know what to think...

Oh God. Oh no. Please please please don't hit me for saying this. But um...well...I was...disappointed...with the sixth book. Yes, disappointed. It didn't have the same magical feeling as in the other previous 5. I know it's supposed to be darker and everything, but maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Firstly, Dumbledore's death alone made me go through two entire packs of tissues. I couldn't and still cannot bear it. I wanted to chuck my book out of the window. I always thought he'd die in a heroic fight or something, and he just dies like that, no wand in hand, because of Snape! I'm sure there's more to DD's death of course, but still.

Secondly, I thought the characters changed a whole lot more than in the 5 other books put together. And I sometimes didn't think their actions, what they did and said, were always very fitting, you know?

Then there's the part where Ginny and Harry sort of split up. I snorted when I read it. I thought it was so...like, kitschy. I mean it's the sort of stuff you always read in fanfictions, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing (read mine and laugh out loud. Couldn't get any mushier), but this is the sixth Harry Potter we're talking about! I just couldn't beleive she'd put something like that in her books! If Ginny and Harry don't become a couple again in book 7, I don't know what I'll do.

And then, well, I can't help but think that there's only ONE more Harry Potter book...And if Harry isn't in Hogwarts in that one...it won't make it really "Harry Pottersy" anymore...Some people said that there won't be that humour anymore, and I couldn't agree more. One of the reasons why I love J.K's books is that there's always something funny in them, even during the darker periods. I just hope there'll be more of J.K's jokes in book 7, even though it doesn't look like it...

Oh. Mustn't forget Draco. I still love him to bits, even if he DID bring the DE's in Hogwarts. He didn't want to kill DD, he was just lowering his wand when the other DE's all came in. And when he was crying in the boy's bathroom, I kind of like, melted...lol, sorry, it just proves that he isn't the horrible cold git everyone thinks he is. I'm pretty sure that he'll help Harry in the end, or that he'll sacrify himself for Harry. It's not the last we'll hear of him anyways.



Okay, now, after all my rambling, I'll be expecting a lot of hate-mail. Sorry, but I really AM disappointed.

Ah, I already posted my opinions on another thread, but I think I'll post them again here.

I was disappointed with the sixth book. Yes, disappointed. It didn't have the same magical feeling as in the other previous 5. I know it's supposed to be darker and everything, but maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Firstly, Dumbledore's death alone made me go through two entire packs of tissues. I couldn't and still cannot bear it. I wanted to chuck my book out of the window. I always thought he'd die in a heroic fight or something, and he just dies like that, no wand in hand, because of Snape! I'm sure there's more to DD's death of course, but still. It left me very, very confused.

Secondly, I thought the characters changed a whole lot more in book 6 than in the other 5 books put together. And I sometimes didn't think their actions, what they did and said, were always very fitting, you know?

Then there's the part where Ginny and Harry sort of split up. I snorted when I read it. I thought it was so...kitschy. And mushy. I mean it's the sort of stuff you always read in fanfictions, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing (read mine and laugh out loud. Couldn't get any mushier), but this is the sixth Harry Potter we're talking about! I just couldn't beleive she'd put something like that in her books! If Ginny and Harry don't become a couple again in book 7, I don't know what I'll do.

And then, well, I can't help but think that there's only ONE more Harry Potter book...And if Harry isn't in Hogwarts in that one...it won't make it really "Harry Pottersy" anymore...Some people said that there won't be that humour anymore, and I couldn't agree more. One of the reasons why I love J.K's books is that there's always something funny in them, even during the darker periods. I just hope there'll be more of J.K's jokes in book 7, even though it doesn't look like it...

Oh. Mustn't forget Draco. I still love him to bits, even if he DID bring the DE's in Hogwarts. He didn't want to kill DD, he was just lowering his wand when the other DE's all came in. And when he was crying in the boy's bathroom, I kind of like, melted...lol, sorry, it just proves that he isn't the horrible cold git everyone thinks he is. Again, we learned a whole lot more about him in book 6 than we did in the other previous 5. We finally discovered his more vulnerable side. I'm pretty sure that he'll help Harry in the end, or that he'll sacrify himself for Harry. It's not the last we'll hear of him anyways.

I would disagree, I think that book 6 is a fave of mine behind P.O.A, I couldn't stand O.O.T.P, it dragged on and Harry just annoyed me all the way through it. Granted, the last two have had a less of a beginning, middle and end but that is because its leading us to the final book and J.K has to fit alot of stuff into it to answer all questions in book 7. I thought you could really tell Harry had matured, remember, he is almost 17 now so its bound to get darker, J.K has tried to grow with her readers. Its been 8 years since it was first published and those original HP readers would of grown. She is very clever, even the language gets more complex.

first off, i totally cried when dumbledore died.

also, people were talking about if they closed Hogwarts, and i can't help but agree.

clues of this was the fact that all the 6th years weren't having any trouble (or extremely little) with their studies, except for a few references to general student-type procrastination and laziness, thus they are ready to go out in the world.

second major clue was that she qualified right off the bat that Harry was going to come "of age" at 17, this means that as soon as his birthday hits he'll be allowed to do magic without worrying about the underage magic rules. plus, ron and hermione were already established as having turned 17, and thus being of age.

what do you think?

The Book:

All and all, I like this book better than Order of the Phoenix. Goblet of Fire is still my favorite, and Prisoner of Azkaban is pretty good too, so I guess that puts Half-Blood Prince at about second or third best in the series so far for me. The first two books, while cute and everything, just plain aren’t as cool as the last four.

This book--being a little shorter than Goblet of Fire—avoided what I think was the main (and perhaps only) problem with Phoenix, which was that that book was too long. Not long like “Oh my pants this is a long book,” but more like the book sagging in certain areas. Some parts of that book had a little too much attention to detail.

The Title:

Since we’ve been reading these books for some time, it didn’t surprise me that the Half-Blood Prince isn’t royalty. Knowing Jo, I expected some messed-up twist, like the Prince was a girl or some crazy thing like that. The thing that I find striking though is that the title is basically “Harry and Snape.” I guess considering Snape’s role in this book, it makes sense, and I don’t know what else would have worked, but it just seems kind of odd, because Harry’s used potion book isn’t that big of a deal—all it does it give him some potions tips.

Another thing that bothers me about the title is that it doesn’t really have anything to do with what this books’ mystery was, which was what Draco was up to. Of course, Order of the Phoenix didn’t much either, but perhaps the title just seems weird to me because it isn’t exactly grandiose.

First and Second Chapters:

We get first chapters like this in books 1 and 4, though it was unlike any previous book to not have Harry in the first two chapters. It was unorthodox, and I liked it. Considering we get a chapter devoted to the two ministers’ relationship, I’m guessing that the intertwining between the Muggle and Wizard worlds will increase. Otherwise, why bother with the chapter?

Small flaw in the book, especially towards the beginning:

Maybe I’m just used to Harry’s short temper and endless self-debates, but I felt like Harry was kind of distant and plain in the beginning of the book. It then occurred to me that JKR wasn’t spending much time on what Harry was thinking, mostly just whatever he was saying. Fortunately though, she was wise enough to not make Harry instantly perfect again, and he still gets pissed off at stuff in this book. JRK spent a reasonable amount of time showing how messed-up her other characters can be this time around. Some people really hated Harry’s attitude in Book 5, but I guess he was just ahead of his time.

No unnecessary revisiting:

One thing that struck me about Book 6 was that it didn’t revisit Book 5 much. I expected that in the beginning we’d see Harry still depressed about Sirius, and maybe a scene where Cho’s like “You ruined my life be-atch!” but we don’t get either, and this makes me happy. It just moves things along. Cho’s reaction to Harry in the train was nice a realistic too—a stony expression and a quick and discrete exit.

Also, the only reason we got Grawp was to **** Umbridge up, and thus, he has no role in Book 6 (which I’m very happy about), but he still isn’t absent, which would make it obvious as to the fact that he was only created for that one purpose. Jo is a smart lady.

The 2 books later thing:

One thing you may have noticed is that JRK introduces a concept (and doesn’t make it seem like much of a big deal at the time) exactly 2 books before it becomes important. In Book 1, we learn about animaguses, and in Book 3 we learn who Scabbers really is. In Book 2, we are introduced to Poly-Juice Potion, which is how Crouch Jr. pretends to be Moody in Book 4. In Book 3, we get to see a prophecy that is important, and in Book 5 we get to see a prophecy that is much more important. In Book 4, we are introduced to the pensieve, which is used repeatedly in this book.

And so, this obviously makes me wonder, what is it in Book 5 that becomes important in Book 7? The Veil???

The sad fact about Harry and Quidditch:

As depressing as it may be, I have come to the conclusion that when Harry won the Quidditch Cup in Book 3, not only was this his first great moment in Quidditch, it was his last. There is no Quidditch Cup in Book 4, he got temporarily banned by Umbridge in Book 5, and in Book 6, he is forced to do pointless filing when the championship game happens. He sure as hell isn’t playing Quidditch in Book 7. As a matter of fact, when you really think about it, while Harry should play three games each year, after his fourth year, he plays a total of three games after that—one in Year 5 and two in Year 6. That’s kinda sad when you stop and think about it.

This books’ mystery:

While we usually have some crazy mystery in each book, this one didn’t have much of one. We always kinda knew what was going on—Draco trying to screw Hogwarts over somehow. Of course, Jo had said that Books 1-5 each tell their own story, while Books 6 and 7 are kind of like one single big story cut in half, so I guess that’s why there was more emphasis on Riddle’s past and hormones in this book than whatever the basic plot was. Another thing that goes along with this 6+7 single story is that Voldemort doesn’t show up in Book 6.

Dumbledore:

I’d read a mild spoiler from a website that Jo said that “the exact reason why Dumbledore trusts Snape will be revealed.” Which is what? “Oops, my bad Dumbledore.” And Dumbledore waits years before he lets Snape teach DADA anyway. What the hell? I was expecting a very good reason, and until I read the second chapter of this book, it never occurred to me that Snape really could be evil. I guess Dumbledore’s infinite desire to think people are all wonderful human beings kinda screwed him over.

Draco:

Haha, you suck.

Snape:

When I watched Snape (or read, excuse me) kill Dumbledore, I was like “Noooooo!” I had always thought Snape was just a stupid face, but not evil. Well, it looks like he really never stopped being a servant of Voldemort. Of course, there is still one possibility (however unlikely) that Snape had killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore’s orders. If Snape hadn’t killed Dumbledore, Snape would have died from his unbreakable vow. Since the Death Eater’s still think he’s on their side (they’re probably right, of course), then Snape could mess things up from the inside. Of course, it seems Dumbledore never told this to his Order of the Phoenix, and I think that’s the best argument against this theory. However, it still could work, because Dumbledore could have been pleading for Snape to kill him because he knew Snape might have difficulty doing it, or Dumbledore was just acting.

Furthermore, Snape could have gotten so pissed off at Harry for calling him a coward and using his old potions book that he was like “Oh no you dih-int!” He may have thought he was incredibly brave for having the nerve to kill Dumbledore when he didn’t want to. But, again, it would seem like Snape is indeed evil. We just can’t be 100% until Book 7.

Making Book 6 into a movie:

After reading this book, it occurred to me that making into a movie will be much easier than Movies 4 and 5 (coming out this fall and sometime in 2007). Think about this—there isn’t too much in this Book you would need to have in a movie. First, you’d have the Spinner’s End scene, then Dumbledore picks up Harry and they go to Slughorn, then Harry tells his friends about the prophecy, and they’re off to Hogwarts. There’s your beginning of the movie, and you can do all that in about 10-15 minutes easily. You’ve still got another 15 minutes for the rest of the first act, like introducing Harry’s potions book and the Draco mystery. I just felt like there was a lot in Book 6 that would not be critical to the movie. This, of course, doesn’t mean at all that I thought the Book was a drag to read, just that kids flirting, however fun it may be to read, is not completely vital to the basic story of the Cave and Snape’s Avada Kedavra. In fact, between the arrival at Hogwarts and the Cave/Snape end of the book, there doesn’t seem to be much that seems completely necessary to have in a movie, and parts of it could be easily condensed. For instance, Dumbledore could tell Harry about the Horcruxes without his help, having already figured it out on his own somehow.

Thoughts on Book 7:

While there are obvious questions like “Who is R.A.B.?” or “Are Harry and Ginny gonna get it on?” I just thought of a few things about the final book in the series.

#1- Is Harry going back to Hogwarts? I think I remember Jo promising she’ll bring Harry safely to the train station in Book 7 (as in, I won’t tell you if he dies in Book 7, but he’ll make it to Book 7). Still, I don’t think he’s going to much learning, is he?

#2- Is Harry going to become a leader in any way? Or is he just flying solo?

#3- Should I care about all those minor characters anymore? Luna, Seamus, Dean, Colin, Neville, etc. All these people basically had no role in Book 6. Are we going to see them in a huge army together? And if so, am I really going to care? If Luna had a bigger role in Book 6, I might care if she dies in Book 7, but now…

#4- We still don’t know why Harry didn’t die when Voldemort did the curse on him.

#5- When the pants is Ron making his move on Hermione? What a wimp. I recommend Hermione grabs Ron in the crotch.

I was disappointed. The first chapter showed so much promise, but it kinda dwindled away. The middle mushy stuff between the main characters was unbearable. Its a shame we had to get through all that to get to the Voldemort story - which was my fav part.

As for the end, JK is bad at pacing. For action, it was too slowed down with unnecessary descriptions.

I still like the first and third book the best.

Really should be a option in the voting for Disturbed. I have been mulling over this book for 3 days now (not counting the day I read it). I don't remember a book I have gnashed in my head as much as this one

I was quite impressed because it's a book with more action and that develops more quickly than the others. I was really impressed at JK's way of writing all this, though I must confess all the changes we see at the begining made me feel a bit confused.
I was foreseeing DD's death all through the book, but trying unconciously to ocnvince myself that it wasn't true, saying it couldn't be true... I cried more than I did when Sirius died, and then at the funeral... I was so shocked that Snape did it... I never thought him an all-goodie, but not an all-baddie either. Maybe there's something hidden we don't know.
I feel it's JK's best to date and I simply loved it, even if it left me really sad... My mother kept asking what was wrong with me last night when I finished beacuse I was so blue...

Dumbledore's woman through and through

I was wayyyy surprised at everything between lavander and ron and there seemed to be alot more love going on them i though there was going to be

MOD EDIT: Please keep all posts over two sentences; one liners are not allowed on VTM. Thanks, Mason.

I would have to say that I was pretty disappointed with the book. I was really looking forward to finding out more about Aunt Petunia and I didn’t really find anything out about her at all. I was also disappointed that the stay at the Dursley’s was so short, even though Rowling said that it would be his shortest say yet I didn’t expect it to be that short. Also, as the book went on I was ready to find out that Dumbledore was under the Imperius Curse or something because I didn’t think he was acting like himself. I thought the romance was forced also and after that whole fiasco with Ron and Hermione being jealous with each other I thought they would admit that they loved each other and that never happened either. The thing with Ron and Lavender Brown didn’t make sense either. Ron always seemed too nervous around girls to act like that but all of the sudden he mauling Lavenders face like it’s a strawberry candy cane! I also thought we were going to find out what Dudley was most afraid of and we didn‘t. Everything in the book seemed rushed and forced, it didn’t flow like the others. One thing I did like in the book was that we saw Draco in a different light . We saw that he was actually a person with real feelings and fears instead of the annoying little kid who makes fun of people all the time. I couldn’t believe that Snape betrayed Dumbledore like that though! What a LOSER!

I was really, really shoked at the end of the book. But I was more than satisfied with the book. It was a really sad ending though but you can't escape the fact that it was the bloody best book you've ever read!
The fact that Snape actually was the HBP was another shocking moment, but it made all sense. He was completly obsessed with the dark arts in his school days, and the style of his writings was, as described in OoTP "Snape's worst memory", the same. And Snape is that kind of person who could invent a curse like Sectumsempra, that was a really horrible curse, don't you agree?

I really felt a hatred towards Snape when I read about he killing Dumbledore and that he managed to escape, but I'm sure he'll die in the next book, hopefully by Harry's wand.

I hate to say it - but since the Goblet of Fire (my favourite), HP seems to have lost a bit of its magic. There is just not enough mystery and suprises. I guessed who the half-blood prince was the moment that he was mentioned in the POTIONS book.

I admit though Dumbledores death was pretty ** shocking. I was gobsmacked that it was Snape and not Voldermort that killed him. You can't fault JK for the way he went.

It's a shame that the next book won't be at Hogwarts - Isn't there a danger that it might just become a bit long and serious? After all, Harry has to find and destroy 2 (or maybe 3) horcruxes, kill Voldermort's Snake, avenge Dumbledore by killing Snape, find out who RAB is, save the wizarding world by destroying Voldemort AND get back together with Ginny (who might die anyway).
phew...it's going to be a busy year...

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I pretty much agree with all of your "disappointed readers"...

Unfortunately, it feels as though the author is not addressing the same public anymore. What I liked about HP was the magic and sorcery. This book seems to be "The Hogwarts Tabloid" for 500 pages!
Then, when the action finally picks up, it all happens really fast and Dd dies.
If I'd wanted to read teenage love stories with no action, I wouldn't have bought Harry Potter...
Of course, some romance is always fun, but the whole book is based on who "snogs" who and who's jealous about it... With just a couple of magical incidents for the background.

Oh well, it doesn't compare to books 3 and 4. That was action! But HBP does set things up for the finale, which I will definitely read!! I just hope it's not another 500 pages of love love kiss kiss, for only 100 pages of action.

I have to echo what had already been said on here...I was really disappointed. To me it seemed that Harry really hadn't progressed at all in the past 5 years. The fact that no one listened to him when he knew something was up with Draco. Also it seemed really loose plot wise. nothing happened for 3/4 of the book and then WHAM action. And even then it was stunted and weird. If Dumbledore knew what Draco was up to then why did he do such pitifully little about it? Why if he anticipated (which he obviously did because the order were there) Death Eaters coming into the school did he allow himself to be conned into seeing the dark mark and to being disarmed so easily.
Also the hurcrux being not real is plainly weird and means Dumbledore died for nothing.
And what the hell has she done to Snape's character?? If he is working for the order he is well and truly screwed now as no one from the order is going to understand why he murdered Dumbledore. Add that to the fact that Harry will kill him.
So at the end of a rather unsatisfying read we have Harry alone isolated and probably about to act rashly due to grief.
Draco completely confused with no way out being forced to act as Voldy's puppet to protect his parents
A wild goose chase for the missing bits of Voldy's soul THEN the final killing of Voldy
Snape's allegiance lack of and eventual murder by harry???
Harry not returning to school!??!?!?!?!! (Are you MAD you dont know nearly enough spells surely the duel with snape proved that!!)
Everyone else returning to school (in which case are we gonig to have a meanwhile back at the school type scenario??)
And to top it all off Harry's ridiculous obsession with Ginny... who he hasn't been interested at all (and the monster of jealously rising up in him motif really wasn't effective)
I don't know. I love JK, and I cried buckets at Sirius's death, but this one just failed to engage on any level...it wasnt particularly funny, dramatic, sad, or answered any of the burning questions.
In fact the 7th book is going to have to be HUGE to effectively deal with all the new stuff she has woven into this one.
Maybe my expectations were just too high or maybe she is getting bored with writting them all now?
Oh one other thing why are the graphics for the front cover of the english version (childrens) so much scarier than the American ones??? Harry and Dumbledore look like demons!!

Hmm, I absolutely loved it, I didn't like O.O.T.P though so was pleasantly surprised. However, my house mate (fellow H.P fan!) pretty much mirrored a lot of whats on here, she found there wasn't enough action and stuff for her.

We are both of the firm opinion that Book 7 is just going to blow us both away! Stay with J.K, I don't think for one second she is bored of writing them, she just knows whats going to happen in the final book and as they have progressed I think she has had to throw some stuff in that may not flow perfectly but is essential for that final book.

I also think she is getting us used to the idea that Harry is more than likely going to end up dying himself.

I can't say I love this book, I mean Half Blood Prince is Great, it may have not been the best ending to a long-waited book. I'm still shocked by the ending, but I'm guessing that the ending Had to be done, everything in these books happen for a reason. This book is ah-mazing, there's no doubt about that. The thing is that it's not like the other Harry Potter books. In the 6th book Jk Rowling doesn't describe much about the other books, this book is more focused on itself and as Jk Rowling said it has a lot to do with the second book.

I gotta say I was surprised about Tonks.

Don't forget that this is the first book where Harry truely matures and realises that task ahead of him. Also people who say there 'isn't as much magic' etc, have you maybe thought that its just simply because you are so used to JK's writing and books that you have somehow become used to it and all the quirky things she makes up? There is still a large element of new characters and spells etc thrown in there, it may just be as the books go on you just get used to it all and it loses some of its 'wow' factor?

I voted disapointed.. i was especially disapointed about ron and hermione.. I thought they were going to end up with each other, not harry and guinny! ginny isn't metioned in the last 5 books this way.. this development is going way too fast, it really shocked me. it looked a bit like a bad written fan fic ( no offence fan fic writers, but some ficcs are going to fast, too, in a not rowlingish style) and the hp/gw thing was not rowlingish either. There are a lot of romances is this book.. a bit too much, if you ask me.. And I really read the last 20 pages a dozen time to make sure I didn't forget a page ( the page with the Hr/R kiss )
and then the parts with Dd.. a bit too much Dd... getting kinda bored.. It wasn't like the other 5 books.. less humor, less fun.. she didn't write about regular things ike tests, S.P.E.W, owl mails, lessons... And there has never been a good report about this slug club, has there? hmm.. yeah, disapointed.

There was bound to be less humour and fun though, Harry realised he must either murder or be murdered.

Its not the most cheerful thought in the world!

I think the book was Fantastic! Of course I had a hard timer eading the end,but for the most part I thought the books was Great. I think that J.K. did a great job with the writing of the characters and how they had changed. i think the biggest change was in HArry of course. He definatly was able to take charge more, he was more mature and more sure of himself. I'm glad that J.K. put in all the romance stuff becasue that is what most teenagers have on thier minds is having relationships and stuff.

Hogwarts had a really diffrent feel to it this time. Can't quite explain that but it just didn't feel the same. I don't know if that is what she was quite going for but it definatley felt diffrent.

I love the humor that she just slides right on in there like Luna being Commentator that was absolutley great. Or the quiditch tryouts were preety funny also.

Anyways I thought that over all I was thouroughly happy with the book. It is alwasy amazing to see what J.K. Rowling has up her sleeve and she hasn't dissapointed me yet.

Anyways jut my thoughts on the book.

Harry Potter is growing up and it looks like quite a lot of people don't want to grow up with it.

Personally I was getting a bit bored of the normal Harry Potter book... In Dursleys, something odd happens, goes to school, discovers something, all comes to a head, Harry is a hero, goes back to Dursleys. Don't get me wrong, the first books were great, but there is only so many times you can got over the same thing.

This book did it's main job IMHO, and it did that job well. It set up the final book VERY nicely indeed. Yes, it did still have some "Hogwarts" humour in it, but it was mostly different from the rest of them.

My only worry is that there is going to be a bit too much in the final book, but we shall see.

Well done JKR, best book so far. Keep up the excellent work of transforming Harry Potter.

Well said, CroesoHarry. Harry Potter is coming into his own, and with that there are going to be some changes in his life, and in J.K.'s writing style.

My friends would ask me what I thought of the book, and I would only say that I felt "shocked, saddened, and betrayed" at what happened in the ending. What happened with Snape caused me to go back through the series, wondering what his true motives were. For example, in OOTP Ron expresses his suspicions that Snape is opening up Harry's mind to Voldemort rather than trying to help him close it. Hermione shuts him up, but now ... given what we know, I can't help but wonder exactly WHAT Snape WAS doing in those Occlumency lessons. How many times did Harry feel the flashes into Voldemort's mood were just getting worse? There was no way he was going to tell Dumbledore when Dumbledore didn't seem to want to speak to him, and for that matter, Dumbledore probably had no idea what was going on behind the closed door's of Snape's office. He trusted Severus Snape and trusted that Harry was being taught Occlumency.

Honorable humor mention (whatever that is) to Dobby fighting with Kreacher, and Luna commentating the Quidditch game. That was awesome, I just had to laugh!

Also very intriguing were the flashes of insight we got into Voldemort's past. "I can make them hurt if I want to" ... that's just chilling. The Merope Gaunt/Tom Riddle Sr. love story (or lack thereof) had me feeling sorry for Voldemort, as he was a baby no one wanted, but I get the impression he was a nasty kid with a lot of Slytherin in him. Dumbledore's refusal to call Voldemort by the new name he had chosen for himself, and the tension this caused, added to the dynamic. And finally, Dumbledore's statement that he couldn't scare Tom with a burning wardrobe and make him pay for his crimes ... yikes, he knew exactly what Voldemort was up to.

Fleur Delacour, or Phlegm as the Weasleys so affectionately call her ... she was pretty annoying. I was particularly touched by the reconciliation between her and Mrs. Weasley at the end, though, and of her insistence that she would stay beside Bill's side, come what may. That's true love right there. Although her statement "I am good loooking enough for ze both of us!" was kind of out there. The Lupin/Tonks romance was also very touching, and nice to see that Tonks was sporting her vivid-colored hair once she and Lupin finally admitted how they felt about each other. The Harry/Ginny and Ron/Lavender romances came seemingly out of nowhere, and I found Lavender ("Won Won!") to be very annoying. Then again, I've never really liked her character.

Draco Malfoy: I really enjoyed this subplot. Voldemort is using Draco Malfoy to get back at Lucius for the destruction of his diary for Malfoy's own personal gain, and Draco, with his father in prison, finds himself his own man. And it scares him to the point of crying and of using the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. He knows he has to complete this mission for Voldemort whether he wants to or not (which, by the way, is completely Lucius's fault), otherwise Voldemort will kill him and his mother, and likely his father too.

I was surprised that Voldemort himself didn't make an appearance in present day, but I suppose there was enough to be going on with already.

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a full-fledged book review.

I think this book is some ways had the least affect on me so far. I thought there were alot of unnecessary extra storylines intertwined within the book. I know they are everyday occurences which it is important to show, however i felt the initial storyline (muggles/wizards/voldemort triangle) was far too important for anything else to be needed.
I also felt that the search for the Horocrux at the end was slightly rushed and 'squeezed in'. I was waiting for a whole array of weird and wonderful challenges in which the full power of Dumbledore was unmasked, but it never came. I also thought that there could have been many more OOTP vs DE moments. Where did they all disappear off to at the end? What happened to the great battle like at the end of OOTP? These are the reasons i voted 'confused'. I am still struggling to unpick the essential storyline from the mass of ...er... 'stuff'....

disappointed was my vote.
Personally, i wasn't that pleased with the book in parts. Many things that we were to find out in this book got pushed forward to the next book i believe.

A few things that just made me want to slap a few people were the romances. Especially Ron and the way he treated Hermione when he was with Lavender. But i also was finding that Hermione was...out of charcter? I mean she seemed a bit...different. Such as in Chapter 4, Draco Detour when she went into that store with out any thought and just...winged it you might say. I was slightly shocked there since that wasn't Hermione at all.
Overall with the Romance....there was to much, and i just felt it was a bit of a fanfiction more then anything. (But Remus/Tonks was just to darn cute!)


Now on to the remainder of the book, it was very intresting to see Lord Voldemorts past but i believed it got a bit tedious after a while. Even if i knew who was dying before the booked started (blame spoilers i got one just Pop out of no where for me that made me sad) I still cried during the funeral. And i am glad Hermione and Ron are close once again.

This book, instead of been named Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince should of aptly been called instead A Sad and Unfortunate Story of Voldemort with a Tacky Harry Potter Theme.

Obviously, I was very disappointed with the sixth book. I should of noticed the warning signs when vomit was obviously dripping from its wretched pages.

The main glops of the vomit come from several main points, first of which being the characterization within the books. Rowling has gone way off course with her characters, making them into two dimensional beings of singular emotions. Such character are:

-Harry, who has been transformed from a doubtful savior back into an immature naive Harry we all come to know from his first book.

-Ron has been reduced down into a disgusting grunt who eats, snogs, and complains at anything that happens to him.

-Hermione has shed her strong smart woman role and decided to become a daydreamy, perky schoolgirl.

-Draco, which although I want to see more, has been throughly destroyed with his characterization as a twit. It is true that is was a twit before, but now he's a twit with the undeveloped feeling of an eight year old.

-Dumbledore, who has lost his fatherly and, recently by the fifth book, humble characterization, has now transformed into an bumbeling old man with spike of unknown sterness and foolishness.

-Hagrid, in which he joins his old friend Dumbledore in his onset of amnesia of who he once was, (knowledgable but lovable), and now decides to become the bumbeling giant

-Ginny, who has gained attitude for no reason.

-Neville and Luna, the two most confident individuals in this entire story, have suddenly lost their confidence into silence.

It has been said:

i really liked this book, i thought that it was good that J.k. is showing us that there is not just action and adventure in this book, but an emotional theme too. Overall i think that this is one of her best out of the entire series.

I was so upset when Dumbledore died and extreemly angry that Snape killed him but by the time the book was over I was so depressed about how the end went but kind of thought that harry's plan was kinda cool. inspireing almost.

Ok, here goes! Just a few points I've picked out... (Can't really argue with what you feel about the book, because thats your opinion.. beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that)

Where in Dumbledore's name was Luna, she should certainly have gained a bigger part. What I'm afraid of for book six is that it will become some kind of Indiana Jones story where he chases after all these mysterious artefacts hidden by different means and than finally counters the big bad Voldemort, killing his henchmen on the way. Certainly hope the chase after those horcruxces will be done quickly (chapter each).

Personally I enjoyed book six and that has been the trend as the books get darker they get better you see more plot and have to think more. I didn't like dumbledore dying but I knew it was going to happen. I thought it would happen in book seven though. the one thing I didn't understand was when Ginny started calling Fluer, Phlegm what is that supposed to mean??
I do not think that Harry is going to return to Hogwarts. it will stay open however him, Hermoine and Ron are probably going to stop by Ron's for the wedding then go apperate to the Dursleys. (yes withpout a liscense. Say hi and get going on there "Quest"

Well, you did do a lovely job defending the book, CroesoHarry. But I must say that I agree with most everything that Soumnek said....HIS (my apologies...) opinions are just about the same as mine.

For me I was mad because...everything seemed so fast paced, so quick. It felt to me as if I was only at the the surface of the water in detail and magic. In all of the other books I felt fully emersed in the magical world. This one seemed lacking, of something.

And yes, Harry and Ginny made me SO angry. It came out of absolutely nowhere. I can see where he would like her, yes...but that doesn't mean that it didn't just happen all of the sudden (though I had a feeling it would, from CoS)

Dumbledore's death was all too expected. And it wasn't a shock to me when he died. The emotion I felt for the character was pulled from the previous books.

-Does not approve of Remus/Tonks-
----
Though, I must say, the book had it's good points.

The new developments of Draco's characters were AMAZING! I loved it! And I was shocked (not at Dumbledore's death) but his Murderer was!

Personally I found it very....different....from what Harry Potter usually is....

I didn't totally hate it, but i didn't finish the book thinking "omg, I can't wait to read this again!" I think JK Rowlings writing style somehow changed between this book and OotP and it shocked us all.

I agree with some people thinking the romance was too fanfictiony. I had LOVED the r/hr romance before and now all the sudden it was just like bleecchh...'the OC meets Harry Potter'....I felt more like our ship sunk then sailed.

Then there was the out of character moments:

First of all....Ron

What the HELL was up with him in this book?! I LOVED him to BITS....or used to anyway....He irritated me SO many times throughout the story. He used to be so cute and funny and sweet and now he's just like "OMG girls....must...snog...now..." it was completely out of his usual character. I used to love him because of how he was around girls. So pathetic that it made you laugh. Now what is he? Some sort of player? I mean just blech. Then what? More snogging. And with who? The person I absolutely DESPISE! He acted like the guys at my school, and she reminded me of the girls at my school. It. Made. Me. So. Angry. And he barely even THOUGHT of Hermione. He treated her so horribly and I was SO mad. I don't even know if he deserves her at all. I mean, the OC pulled off that plot (the whole nerd boy gets noticed) far better. Half the book i felt like "oh just go away, Ron." It reminded me SO much of a fanfic. Also, throwing knives? Sure that was a tiny part, but What. The. Hell. Sure i've been violent with my older brother (whacked him with a high heel once, actually) but i would never throw a KNIFE at him. Thats just plain stupid.

Although Ron came through near the end. I loved him again when he got that necklace. The old Ron shined through a bit. The revolted face was just so funny and Ron-like. Then at the end where he comforted Hermione that was cute. A bit out of character still (he USED to have no idea what to do, but I guess it was better then how he HAD been acting) When he thought he was inlove seemed very Harry Potter and was very funny. But other then that the whole book I was either angry with him or extrememly disappointed.

I miss the old Ron SOOOO badly.

I had to get that all out. PHEW, i feel SO much better having said that.

Second....Hermione

She was a bit weird, but she didn't bother me near as much. Just a couple of things. When she ATTACKED Ron (although he much deserved it,) looking wild?? That was a bit off. Then she was deliberatly trying to make Ron jealous. What was she DOING? That was completely out of character. The "un-hermione like giggle" didn't seem right (and to make it worse, JK Rowling had to remind us all that Ron was making out near by) that bothered me. Hermione acted weird at points. She reminded me of one of those schemey girls in my grade. She got better near the end also.

But chapters 14, 15, and maybe 16 were NOT particular favorites when it came to Ron and Hermione. Those things bothered me the most of the entire story.

I thought the death of Dumbledore was ok. It was ironic he didn't die fighting, but I think it worked, and I was a bit on let down on how the HBP was revealed. It was just blurted out, like she squeezed it in somewhere. I was just like....oh....kay.....

However I LOVED the funeral at the end. I LOVED Remus/tonks, and I thought that last chapter was extremely well written. My last annoyance was that allllll the questions we'd been waiting two years to have answered seemed to have gotten pushed aside for unimportant things such as the romance.

Overall, when i'd finished reading, i was just left going ".....huh?...." The whole thing didn't work for me. Having finished, I'm slightly disappointed, slightly shocked, and slightly let down. I kind of feel like "what happened to Harry Potter?"

But still, kudos for the last chapters and other parts that i'm too lazy to remember that i loved.

Ok, where are all the mods? Are they going to express their opinions on their preference of the book?

*silence*

I guess I have to wait...

Anyway, CroesoHarry, excellent analysis on why Ron is dating Lavender. I would not of thought of that. Now my question is, which needed to be refined, is why does Lavender like Ron? Just because he made her laugh? That usually warrants only one date.