"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"... Read it yet?

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My husband finished it Sunday then I started reading it. I finished Tuesday night. As I was reading the last part, I had tears rolling down my face. I really enjoyed it and will probably read it again.

I do agree that she adds a lot of unnecessary stuff. I think Order of the Phoenix could have been a lot shorter if she didn’t add so many details about what the characters were doing while they were talking. But like many, I agree that Goblet of Fire was the best.

Maggie
 
I read it and enjoyed it. PoA is my favorite though. Some of you have said OotP is too long? I thought it was a good length. I would have liked another 200+ pages in HBP for more character development.

As I told my husband, she’s not an awesome writer, but she does make you like the characters enough to want to see where they end up. There were alot of loose threads that need to be tied up. I don’t know how she’ll accomplish it in less than 800 pages for book 7.

I would rate it (HBP) a 2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars. It might get more once book 7 comes out and I see where she was going with some of the sub-plots.
 
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UtahMaggie:
I agree that Goblet of Fire was the best.

Maggie
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:nope: Book One for sure.

Eamon
 
wisdom 3:5:
I read it and enjoyed it. PoA is my favorite though.
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This was my favorite too, however, I think the movie left out some key points.
 
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auppie:
This was my favorite too, however, I think the movie left out some key points.
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Yes. I didn’t quite get the feeling that Ron & Hermione were having a huge fight where they didn’t talk to each other. Well, books are always better than movies.
 
Yes. I didn’t quite get the feeling that Ron & Hermione were having a huge fight where they didn’t talk to each other. Well, books are always better than movies.
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Yes, books are always better than movies. I think my imagination is vivid enough just reading. 😃

Some key points I thought were missed in the movie:

Professor Lupin, without explanation, knowing what the Marauder’s Map was, and how to use it.

No history was given behind the Marauder’s Map…who it was that created it (James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Petigrew a/k/a Prongs, Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail).

No mention of why Harry’s Patronus takes the form of a stag.

There were more, but these stood out most in my mind.

auppie
 
I’ve read it and I loved it. It was intense, well-crafted. Sad ending, though.
 
ElizabethJoy said:
I loved the book! The ending was very sad, but for some reason, I have this very strong feeling that everything is not as it seems.

Dumbledore had an ironcast reason for trusting Snape, just as he had for turning Harry’s claims about Draco aside.

Dumbledore was under the influence of a very powerful potion - I think that the last spell put on him by Snape is going to turn out to be reversible. (Hey, my nickname isn’t “Pollyanna” for nuttin’! 😉 )

Snape is going to help Harry defeat Voldemort, but he will be handicapped by the fact that now, no one trusts him. Harry will probably not trust him until the very end of the last book, so there will probably be some occasions for encounters between the two.
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Interesting idea. Personally, I never trusted Snape but the ending of HBP bothered me partly because it showed Dumbledore to be an idiot for ever having trusted him, especially with the explanation that Dumbledore gave.

I loved the beginning with the Minister of Magic popping in on the British PM, as if poor Tony Blair didn’t have enough on his plate.

One thing occurs to me. Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic and when you think about it the magic in the books is quite inferior to “muggle” technology. Maybe Mr. Weasley, who is a Muggle-technophile can convine the ati-Voldemort forces that they’d be better off communicating by cell phone than owl post 🙂

TC
 
The more I think about it, the more I think Dumbledore purposely sacrificed himself and had Snape kill him.

We read earlier in the book that they had an argument near Hagrid’s hut, that may have been Dumbledore begging Snape to kill him.

Snape can stay close to Voldemort without suspicion of treason and act as a double agent.

I think this because in Snape’s duel with Harry, he never tries to so much as hex him, he simply deflects Harry’s attacks and tells him to “close his mouth and his mind”. Giving Harry a clue and a tip on how he will have to fight Voldemort.

And I have heard that “RAB” is Regulus Black, check Harry boards for more indepth discussion
 
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ElizabethJoy:
But, who is R. A. B.? Someone who hates Voldemort and is powerful enough to get through the cavern and across the lake to the horcrux. Someone has one of Voldemort’s horcruxes - has s/he destroyed it or is s/he just looking for a way to become the next master of the dark side?
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Rabastan Black? You might also want to reread the chapter of Order of the Phoenix where they clean the drawing room of Sirius’ house. Near the part with the music box.
 
Aha! Clues - thank you! 👍

I am in the middle of packing up to move to another state, so I can’t get to the first five HP’s to try to find these hints. As soon as I get unpacked on the other end, I think it’ll be a good time to start from the beginning, again.

I think you have it, SwordOfLight. Dumbledore insisted that Snape must and Snape was protesting that he couldn’t, in the argument that Hagrid overheard. I think they were arguing about was Snape’s binding oath to Draco’s mother that Snape would do what Draco could not. There was also the pleading tone when Dumbledore addressed Snape just before Snape put the curse on him - initially it looks like Dumbledore is pleading for Snape to stop, when he would have actually been pleading for Snape to carry on with it.

And I hadn’t thought about the duels between Snape and Harry, but I think you’re right!

Snape is surely going to turn out to be a good guy - but he’s going to have to stand a lot of persecution and misunderstanding before it’s proven.

This is one of the things that I like about these books. Evil can have the appearance of getting the upper hand, but the good guys win. And things are often not what they appear, just like in real life.

Now, are McGonagal and all the other Order members under the impression that Snape is a villain, or does someone know the reason for Dumbledore’s unfailing trust in him?

I **loved **that little touch of whimsy with the MoM popping into the British PM’s office. :rotfl:

And Dobby - I never get tired of Dobby. Did anyone else cry when Harry tricked Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock? :o

I wonder if JK Rowling is going to be able to tie all of this up in just one more book? I half-expect to hear a news release next year that the series has been extended. There’s just so much, not just from this book, but from all of them.

I wouldn’t mind a few more. 🙂
Elizabeth
 
I don’t think that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him. I certainly hope he didn’t. It’s one thing for Dumbledore to sacrifice himself for the greater good; it’s another thing entirely to ask someone to murder him. I just think that if Snape murdered an innocent person, it’s evil, even if that person had arranged it ahead of time. It would seem to me that the series was definitely twisting the idea of good and evil if the ‘good’ guys can murder innocent people for the cause of ‘good.’ We cannot do evil that good may result.

On the other hand, I definitely think there’s more to Dumbledore’s trust in Snape than mere foolishness. It seems like people in the book suggest that Dumbledore’s trust of Snape was part of a greater flaw in his trusting people who don’t deserve to be trusted, but I never see Dumbledore doing that. He often trusts people who other people wouldn’t trust, but his trust is always justified, and he always makes sure to take precautions if they are necessary. He trusts Hagrid, Lupin, etc., and they all turn out to be good people. He doesn’t trust Riddle even when he seems to have repented of his old ways, and his mistrust is justified. I don’t see how, if he was smart enough not to trust Riddle’s seeming change, he would trust Snape so much just because Snape said he was sorry. I think there’s a lot more to it.
 
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Shinobu:
My only question is, are you calling the Pope a lunatic and close-minded?
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I hate to say it, but YES, if he blathers on about “Harry Potter”… I truly thing that the man has more important things to do (and I hope that he does 'em!)… Kinda like everyone who is whining about the patch for “GTA San Andreas”… GET A LIFE, it’s only a bloody game!!! Finally, WATCH IT GANG, you are giving things away, and this shouldn’t be a place for “spoilers”!!!
If people don’t want to read the book, that’s cool, but if they haven’t gotten to it yet, then don’t screw up the ending for anybody,… OK?

Peace!
 
Seeing as how I was much too involved in preparing a presentation for my Intensive Care rotation (pharmacy intern here), I had to allow my 12 year old daughter to get the new book first. Of course, she was done within less than 24 hours, and I was able to get started a few days later. I enjoyed it, although I wish it had been longer. The previous 2 books had kept me involved for longer periods of time. Still, I am satisfied with the current one and anticipating the finale.

I have to agree with SwordofLight in most areas, but in the interest of avoiding spoilers I will not go further for the time being. Suffice it to say that I think the phoenix will rise again in victory. :dancing:
 
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TeriGator:
but in the interest of avoiding spoilers I will not go further for the time being. Suffice it to say that I think the phoenix will rise again in victory. :dancing:
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There are already some major SPOILERS in this thread, so if you haven’t read the book yet, stop reading this and other threads on the topic until you do. It’s pretty darn hard for those of us who have read the book to talk about it at all without giving away things we shouldn’t.

Now then, I’m glad to have read some of the more hopeful comments above. I finished the book last night and it made me feel pretty bad. I hope that things work out well, but it’s going to be a long wait for the next book.

I would have liked the book to be a little bit longer. One thing I’d have liked would have been a little more time in Snape’s class to see how he rates as a Defense teacher.

–Bill
 
I’m in the process of reading it. I should be done by the end of the week. I’ll offer my 2 cents then.
 
I’m afraid to read through this topic, for fear of spoiling it since I’m still reading, but once again; these are among my favorite books ever. Chapter 14 was a highlight so far; so well-written. The characters are just like me in some ways. It’s crazy how you feel like you almost know them!
 
I also enjoyed the book and I’m also looking for clues that Snape is not evil. (He’s been one of my favorite characters since the first book.)

I guess I need to re-read the book to find some more clues!
 
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ElizabethJoy:
Snape is surely going to turn out to be a good guy - but he’s going to have to stand a lot of persecution and misunderstanding before it’s proven.

This is one of the things that I like about these books. Evil can have the appearance of getting the upper hand, but the good guys win. And things are often not what they appear, just like in real life.
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I agree with you ElizabethJoy. I think that Snape is going to turn out to be not the person that many think he is. Personally, I think he is playing the dangerous role of double agent. Just as you said you were touched by Dobby receiving the sock, I had a different appreciation for the character when Harry saw the scenes of Snape’s childhood in the Pensieve. It brought back to mind those in my high school who were treated as less than human by the in group simply because they were poor, dressed differently, or were talented in math or science.
 
Does anyone else not like the book sleeve? I mean the way it’s made. I always take it off when I’m reading the book. I know it’s made to last and they really do! But, man! The Harry Potter hard bound books are really difficult to read with the cover on.

Maggie
 
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