Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

[heavenly_pearl]

So, I'm finally up to date on all the books. This one didn't manage to knock Goblet of Fire from the top spot, but I think it managed a solid second or third. (I can't decide if I like it better than Chamber of Secrets or not.)

For those who have yet to read the book...

 

Likes

- Only one chapter with those horrible Dursleys. Yay!
- Loved Fred and George's joke shop. I'm still laughing at U-No-Poo.
- Lavender and "Won-Won" amused me to no end.
- Ron under Romilda Vane's love spell? Comedy gold.
- Harry's lessons with Dumbledore where they visited memories of Voldemort were very interesting.
- Luna's commentary during that one Quidditch game was hilarious. She's not quite up to the level of Lee Jordan, but like Ron, I hope she commentates at future games, if there are any.
- Good character development with Draco Malfoy.
- Finally, a good death scene!
- The scene where Fleur sees the mangled Bill and says she's good-looking enough for the both of them made me tear up.

Dislikes

- While I loved the spontaneous kiss between Harry and Ginny after the Quidditch game, the rest of their relationship development was a bit lacking.
- What the heck happened to Tonks? I know she was upset that Lupin kept refusing her advances, but really!
- Is it just me, or does anybody else think that maybe Dumbledore didn't have to drink that potion in the cave? If he could use a cup to take it out, why didn't he at least try tossing it away first before automatically deciding he needed to drink it? It's possible that the potion could have replenished itself if he did, but if that was the case, some explanation was needed.
- This one is a bit of a toss-up. I'm not much for action scenes, so a part of me really liked that Harry wasn't there for all of the big Death Eater battle at Hogwarts. However, delegating the beginning of the battle to mere exposition by other characters, telling Harry what happened, just seemed rather strange. I can't really explain it.

Comments

[sea_thoughts]

- Ron under Romilda Vane's love spell? Comedy gold.
Yeah, it's slightly spoiled for me by the fact he nearly ended up dying at the end of the chapter. I know that has nothing to do with Slughorn or Romilda, but it still makes me shiver.

- While I loved the spontaneous kiss between Harry and Ginny after the Quidditch game, the rest of their relationship development was a bit lacking.
More detail about their interaction during the summer holidays might have helped; but yeah, I think it was brushed over.

- What the heck happened to Tonks? I know she was upset that Lupin kept refusing her advances, but really!
She's upset that the man she loves is in a situation where he might die, he won't talk to her about it, he won't talk to her about anything. Plus, she's in a war; her comrades are getting killed; Dementors are breeding and not helping the general atmosphere. I do think JKR could have hinted at this instead of writing it as she did, where all of Tonks's misery is laid at Remus's door.

When you say 'good death scene', what are you comparing it to?

[heavenly-pearl.livejournal.com]

- What the heck happened to Tonks? I know she was upset that Lupin kept refusing her advances, but really!
She's upset that the man she loves is in a situation where he might die, he won't talk to her about it, he won't talk to her about anything. Plus, she's in a war; her comrades are getting killed; Dementors are breeding and not helping the general atmosphere. I do think JKR could have hinted at this instead of writing it as she did, where all of Tonks's misery is laid at Remus's door.

Yeah, it did have potential. I even like the idea of Remus/Tonks. The way it was written though... Just wasn't satisfying. They really needed more interaction to make her depression believable.

When you say 'good death scene', what are you comparing it to?

Cedric's and Sirius'. I felt their death scenes were majorly lacking, but Dumbledore's was great.