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Post by Mairi on Jan 23, 2005 19:04:55 GMT -5
Get your calendar out and start counting down the days. J. K. Rowlings has announced that book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be released on July 16, 2005.
Amazon.com is offering a savings of 40% if you preorder it now.
Mairi
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Post by Mairi on Jul 18, 2005 8:08:22 GMT -5
Just got my copy on Friday and finished it last evening. Excellent read! I confess though that I cried the whole way through the last 3 chapters so you do need tissues close by.
Did anyone else read it yet? And your thoughts on it?
Mairi
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kiden
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Post by kiden on Jul 19, 2005 23:42:50 GMT -5
got it at the midnight releasing, read it that day, was very disappointed. very little action, few plot twists, predictable scenes.....all in all, she is loosing her touch.
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Post by Mairi on Jul 20, 2005 10:20:00 GMT -5
Did you feel that the print was larger in this book ? I did and I think it was so that they had to use more pages in order to make the book seem as large as the last one.
I also felt that things could have been better explained so that we would understand why this was happening ect.
I know many have liked Snape from the begining cause he is the kicked to the side puppy sort of character. And I agree with many who have read this book that they would like to see Snape dead because of what he did. But I still feel that there is another side entirely of this character. I mean look at Sirus(sp). He was supposedly a deranged killer who tiped Voldemort off as to where Harry's parents were and in the end we found out that it wasn't Sirus who did any of that but rather someone else entirely. So I feel that there is something else to Snape than a double agent to help Voldemort
Mairi
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Post by shadowraven on Jul 20, 2005 12:57:29 GMT -5
In book 6, Harry is almost an adult. He's 16 years old. He'll be 17 in the next book and that is when the wizards become adults; they come into their own. Harry still acts a little like a teenager, however, he is vastly more mature than he was in the earlier books. He is starting to challenge adults and teachers like he is almost on their level. Harry carries himself more as an adult, therefore, he interacts with the world that way. It's a big step for Harry and a big difference in how this book is written.
In the last book Harry was angry and angsty. Clearly he was in his awkward teenage years between being a boy and being a man. None of it was helped though by no one really believing him that Voldemort was back and more powerful than ever.
In this book, Harry has more of a feel for what his purpose is: to kill Lord Voldemort. He's more resolute and determined about it. He has to stop him by whatever means necessary. He has to find out everything he can about him from his origins through to the creature he is now. This book's overall feel is: to conquer an evil creature, you must first understand it.
Harry is not simply reacting to what Voldemort is doing--like he used to when he was a child. He's trying to head Voldemort off at the pass. Harry's getting to know him, getting to understand him. Getting a feel for what made him the way he is. All of this is so he can predict what Voldemort's next moves might be. Also, for what Voldemort's weaknesses are. This book enfolds as more of a chess game--it's sitting back, gathering information, and strategizing. It's much more of an intellectual pursuit right now than ever before. To put is simply, Harry is profiling his enemy.
************Spoilers**************
I agree that there weren't that many plot twists in this book, and the one's that were revealed weren't even that big or that interesting. In that way, the book was disappointing. The many and varied plot twists and revelations are what make the books very interesting. The book just failed to deliver. The biggest plot twist/reveal was supposed to be about Snape. I'm assuming that because it was in the title of the book. However, I think it was poorly handled. That revelation came just after what happened to Dombledore, and I feel that is was too soon. I mean, I was so upset about Dombledore that finding out that Snape was the half-blood prince was like: that was the big mystery?! who really cares. The ending could have been done better too. It was too open ended. It calls into question if there will be a 7th book and if there is what would it be like if there wasn't a 7th year at Hogwarts. I also thought there was too much made about love interests in this book. Ugh!!! I really don't want to know about their love lives.
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Post by WingedWolfPsion on Jul 20, 2005 15:19:32 GMT -5
I think I can say the book was way too open-ended without giving anything away. <g>
I agree with that completely. For an adult book, it's not so bad, but for a childrens' book, waiting an entire year to find out what happened is going to seem like waiting forever. I don't think there is any question there will be another, there has to be. Whether it will be at Hogwarts, well...that we can't be sure of.
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Post by AlloriaDark on Jul 20, 2005 18:30:25 GMT -5
I just think she's getting tired of writing the series and is trying to tie up all the lose ends and get it over with.
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nick
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Post by nick on Jul 20, 2005 22:15:31 GMT -5
I thought of this also, of the Death Eaters making it into the school: remember how Malfoy said that the one guy who got shoved in the cabinet had to Apparate out? Well, if they had to Apparate out, how did they get in the school? Apparation into the school is impossible, remember? And a clue on who got the Horcrux before Harry and Dumbledore: Sirius' Brother's name started with "R", and Black is "B"... so is it possible that Sirius' brother got it and destroyed it?
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Post by Mairi on Jul 21, 2005 5:52:04 GMT -5
Alloria Dark Wrote: I just think she's getting tired of writing the series and is trying to tie up all the lose ends and get it over with. -------------------------------------- I some what agree. This last book was thrown together almost like these were just the idea's she had but she didn't take the time to write what would have connected them. Perhaps with a family now she doesn't have the committment it takes to write world class novels.
Mairi
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Post by Mairi on Jul 21, 2005 5:53:41 GMT -5
Nick Wrote: And a clue on who got the Horcrux before Harry and Dumbledore: Sirius' Brother's name started with "R", and Black is "B"... so is it possible that Sirius' brother got it and destroyed it? --------------------------------------
Good catch! But isn't Sirius's brother a death eater?
Mairi
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Post by AlloriaDark on Jul 21, 2005 10:36:02 GMT -5
Yes, but many of the death eaters are motivated by power, he could have been thinking of overthrowing the dark lord in order to become the most powerful wizard.
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Post by Mairi on Jul 21, 2005 13:04:55 GMT -5
True he could have had that thought but I doubt it.
According to the book Order of the Phoenix, page 112 and 113. Sirius's brotherRegulus Black was one of the first to join Voldemorts Death Eaters. he got in so far and then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. But Voldemorts org is a bit like KKK, when things get messy you don't jump ship. Its a lifetime of service or death. So he was murdered on Vldemorts orders.
And from the sounds of things, he wouldn't have been the type of person who had the nerve to do anything to thwart the dark lord.
Mairi
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Post by Mairi on Jul 22, 2005 12:35:01 GMT -5
I have been re-reading the Order of the Phoenix thinking that there might be clues in it that I missed when I read it a year ago and to be honest there are. The R.A. B. could also be Ameila Bones. We don't know if she had a first name that she chose not to use or not. And if she did than she could be the person who got to that horcrux first.
She has a grudge against Voldemort because he had her whole family killed. Ameila's brother Edgar was a member of the original Order of the Phoenix and he was killed too.
Mairi
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Post by AlloriaDark on Jul 22, 2005 14:36:28 GMT -5
Knowing how the rest of the books have gone, I'd say it's a character we've already been introduced to under an assumed name.
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Post by Joshuacaine on Jul 24, 2005 0:38:31 GMT -5
Okay, time to get flamed, I guess. I've heard a lot of people bitching about Snape lately. My personal opinion though: Snape is still innocent. Well okay, Snape was never innocent but you know what I mean. Sure he killed Albus, but there are three valid reasons why I think he did it. 1) Albus was dying anyways from the poison. His only hope was to get to Snape for an antidote, but when he ran into the death eaters there was no way out, even with Snape's help. When Albus was saying "please" to Snape he wasn't begging for his life he was saying please kill me. This brings me to the second part. 2) If Serverus killed Albus, Draco wouldn't have to, thereby saving what little goodness there was left in the boy. When he promised his mother to protect Draco from harm, it was mental as well as physical. 3) This most definitely puts Snape on Voldemort's "people who will not betray me" list. I have a feeling that in the next book Snape will try to kill V. and fail (prolly getting killed in the process) but somehow enabling Harry to finish the job either by weakening V. or giving Potter support at a vital moment, thus showing that he is indeed not a bad guy. Well those are my thoughts on the matter... feel free to disagree as I love a good debate. Until we meet in detention, Joshua
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