Wow, I blew through that book!
And I was right! Snape was a good guy after all. I think. At the very least, he certainly enjoyed Lily's company. Speaking of which, did you notice how, just before Snape dies, he asks for Harry to look at him so he can see his eyes, which are just like Lily's? Awww, isn't that sweet!
In conclusion, though, I would say that the Deathly Hallows was a worthy finish to the series, though it got off to a very slow start. I suppose that is the custom of the Potter series, to finish with a bang, and this one certainly did.
This final novel was also packed to the brim with back stories, particularly Dumbledore's and Snape's, with a little bit of Harry's parents thrown in. I enjoyed this, because Snape is my favorite character, and Dumbledore is probably in the top 5.
Now that I mention it, I blew through that entire series. I'm certainly going to feel a bit of nostalgia, every time I see one.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
August Blog #4: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling, published 2005
(Fin!)
I'm having trouble deciding whether this entry, or The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book (so far, at least). I feel like The Half-Blood Prince is probably the better of the two.
The series has grown progressively darker with each novel, evolving from fairy tale-ish children's books to darker, more thought out fantasy novels. And The Half-Blood Prince is the latest next step.
Rowling (at least with the latest entries) has a habit of slowly building the story up, until it hits the climax in the last 100 or so pages, when things go haywire.
I feel like Snape will be a good guy, in the end. Or I'd like him to be, because he's pretty cool. Probably my favorite character, he's much more complex than the rest, it seems. Should I trust Snape, like Dumbledore did? Well, let's find out.
I'm having trouble deciding whether this entry, or The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book (so far, at least). I feel like The Half-Blood Prince is probably the better of the two.
The series has grown progressively darker with each novel, evolving from fairy tale-ish children's books to darker, more thought out fantasy novels. And The Half-Blood Prince is the latest next step.
Rowling (at least with the latest entries) has a habit of slowly building the story up, until it hits the climax in the last 100 or so pages, when things go haywire.
I feel like Snape will be a good guy, in the end. Or I'd like him to be, because he's pretty cool. Probably my favorite character, he's much more complex than the rest, it seems. Should I trust Snape, like Dumbledore did? Well, let's find out.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
August Blog #3: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling, published 2005
(I'm about a third of the way through the book.)
And now we come to the sixth Harry Potter novel. The sixth film was my favorite by far (though, admittedly, that's not saying much), so I suppose this book has some shoes to fill. And I suppose that so far, the book has filled those shoes to the brim, and is now spilling slightly over the edge. Whatever that means.
I have grown to ignore Rowlings prolific use of adverbs in dialogue attribution. The books are very well written on the whole, and they continue to keep me guessing, which satisfies my inner mystery craving.
The best part of these novels, and in this one particular, it seems, is the strength of the characters. Dumbledore is pretty awesome, Malfoy has finally seemed to change at least a little bit, Hermione has gotten a lot less one-sided, and Snape has always been awesome. Unfortunatelly, having seen the film, I know perfectly well that Snape is the Half-Blood Prince, but the film did not explore his writing as well as the novel, and the picture of Snape that is being painted makes Snape a very interesting character.
And now we come to the sixth Harry Potter novel. The sixth film was my favorite by far (though, admittedly, that's not saying much), so I suppose this book has some shoes to fill. And I suppose that so far, the book has filled those shoes to the brim, and is now spilling slightly over the edge. Whatever that means.
I have grown to ignore Rowlings prolific use of adverbs in dialogue attribution. The books are very well written on the whole, and they continue to keep me guessing, which satisfies my inner mystery craving.
The best part of these novels, and in this one particular, it seems, is the strength of the characters. Dumbledore is pretty awesome, Malfoy has finally seemed to change at least a little bit, Hermione has gotten a lot less one-sided, and Snape has always been awesome. Unfortunatelly, having seen the film, I know perfectly well that Snape is the Half-Blood Prince, but the film did not explore his writing as well as the novel, and the picture of Snape that is being painted makes Snape a very interesting character.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
August Blog #2: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling, published 2003
I have just completed the book.
Was Order of the Phoenix as good as the Goblet of Fire? No, probably not. And I didn't like it as much as the Prisoner of Azkaban either. But it was better than the first two novels, in my opinion, and that makes it pretty dang good.
Dumbledore is much cooler in OotP than he is in the other novels, in which he doesn't do much. Harry still hasn't changed that much, which is unfortunate. He has pretty much never wavered from the path of good. Malfoy is Malfoy, not necessarily a good thing, but I understand why he is in the novels.
Rowling is obviously a very good writer, but she NEVER stops using adverbs, especially in dialogue attribution. It's a little ridiculous. So many "Harry said menacingly"s and "Hermione roared imperiously"s, it's downright bonkers. Otherwise the series is very good, and I look forward to completing the series.
Was Order of the Phoenix as good as the Goblet of Fire? No, probably not. And I didn't like it as much as the Prisoner of Azkaban either. But it was better than the first two novels, in my opinion, and that makes it pretty dang good.
Dumbledore is much cooler in OotP than he is in the other novels, in which he doesn't do much. Harry still hasn't changed that much, which is unfortunate. He has pretty much never wavered from the path of good. Malfoy is Malfoy, not necessarily a good thing, but I understand why he is in the novels.
Rowling is obviously a very good writer, but she NEVER stops using adverbs, especially in dialogue attribution. It's a little ridiculous. So many "Harry said menacingly"s and "Hermione roared imperiously"s, it's downright bonkers. Otherwise the series is very good, and I look forward to completing the series.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
August Blog #1: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling, published 2003
Page: 383
I think the reason that I didn't read Harry Potter as a child was because I didn't like the movies. That, or I was just trying to be a nonconformist. I spent my elementary school years tackling The Lord of the Rings (because the movies are awesome), and believe me, that was not a fun reading experience at that age.
The Half-Blood Prince film won me over, it was pretty good, and the Harry Potter novels are very fun. Rowling has a fun voice, the story has fun characters (except for Malfoy, he's stayed exactly the same for all 5 novels so far), and Hogwarts is a fun setting. The novels really picked up once I started The Prisoner of Azkaban (the first two were too similar for my liking), and they haven't looked back.
The Order of the Phoenix has something to live up to, because I thought The Goblet of Fire was the best in the series so far (the movie was the worst one so far, however, which means it was pretty bad). The book is a little slow as of now, but the Goblet of Fire was slow as well, it just finished spectacularly. TOotP is also a more mature novel than the other ones, with darker undertones.
I can feel the story beginning to pick up, and look forward to continuing.
I think the reason that I didn't read Harry Potter as a child was because I didn't like the movies. That, or I was just trying to be a nonconformist. I spent my elementary school years tackling The Lord of the Rings (because the movies are awesome), and believe me, that was not a fun reading experience at that age.
The Half-Blood Prince film won me over, it was pretty good, and the Harry Potter novels are very fun. Rowling has a fun voice, the story has fun characters (except for Malfoy, he's stayed exactly the same for all 5 novels so far), and Hogwarts is a fun setting. The novels really picked up once I started The Prisoner of Azkaban (the first two were too similar for my liking), and they haven't looked back.
The Order of the Phoenix has something to live up to, because I thought The Goblet of Fire was the best in the series so far (the movie was the worst one so far, however, which means it was pretty bad). The book is a little slow as of now, but the Goblet of Fire was slow as well, it just finished spectacularly. TOotP is also a more mature novel than the other ones, with darker undertones.
I can feel the story beginning to pick up, and look forward to continuing.
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