Thursday, July 17, 2003
(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX)
Well, I've finished it. It's pretty good actually, certainly better than I feared what with it's size and my reaction to reading Goblet of Fire. I'm a bit disappointed that the whole imminent doom we felt at the end of Goblet isn't sorted out here, with elements like Hagrid's mission to the Giants and whatever it is exactly that Snape is doing aren't resolved here but dealt with in a way that means they will be dealt with in the next book or, God forbid, book seven. So a cynic might suggest that the centre around which the entire long book revolves is a very small one, Voldemort trying to break into the Ministry of Magic to find out the details of a prophecy involving him and Harry.
Aah yes, the Prophecy. The two key points in the pre-publication publicity were that someone dies and Dumbledore tells Harry the truth about him and his past. In these two areas I feel Rowling disappoints. I won't say by name who dies, but I didn't get that feeling when something truly awful has happened (as when Gandalf 'dies' in LotR), though others disagree. But the big reveal by Dumbledore (which, as I feared, does come at the end of the book) is a let down. What new facts do we learn? That Harry is safe from Voldemort at the Dursley's because of the blood bond between his Mum and his Aunt (which at least closes one plothole, though still leaves unanswered the question of one of Voldemort's followers finding the location and killing Harry) and that the prophecy says that either Harry must kill Voldemort or Voldemort must kill Harry. Now, considering that Harry has survived four encounters with Voldemort I'd be surprised if he had thought Voldemort was coming back from the dead in order to settle down and make crochet bobble-hats. So we don't get a revelation that turns our understanding of things upside down but rather a result akin to drawing a line between dots 19 and 20 when you already can see the join-the-dots makes the picture of a rabbit.
As replacements for the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters being genuinely nasty the Ministry for Magic is quite a good one, although Fudge's ostrich-driven attempts to discredit Harry ring truer than Umbridge and what seems like genuine malevolence on her part. The way that Harry slowly wins round other students from thinking he's a mad glory hunter to seeing that he's right and then, led by George and Fred, in open defiance of Umbridge when she predictably seizes control of Hogwarts is a genuine heartening moment in the book. She certainly makes up for the total lack of threat from Malfoy and co. I hope that Rowling will have a serious think about Draco and his little group before writing the next book as their continued existence is a real pain, the lack of nuances to their character makes them easy to dismiss as pantomime school nastiness. Even making Malfoy a super-prefect does not make him any more than a plot-delaying nuisance who's only role is to turn up every few chapters to toss insults at Harry and his friends who, growing up now, find them easier than before to brush off. I would love it if he follows through on his threat at the end of this book and next time does something truly horrible to Harry. Either that or just break the sexual tension and go to bed with him.
So, that actually turned out to be a pretty good book, although it should have been trimmed a little, and Rowling's writing style still isn't the most amazing in the world. Seven and a half out of ten I think.
Well, I've finished it. It's pretty good actually, certainly better than I feared what with it's size and my reaction to reading Goblet of Fire. I'm a bit disappointed that the whole imminent doom we felt at the end of Goblet isn't sorted out here, with elements like Hagrid's mission to the Giants and whatever it is exactly that Snape is doing aren't resolved here but dealt with in a way that means they will be dealt with in the next book or, God forbid, book seven. So a cynic might suggest that the centre around which the entire long book revolves is a very small one, Voldemort trying to break into the Ministry of Magic to find out the details of a prophecy involving him and Harry.
Aah yes, the Prophecy. The two key points in the pre-publication publicity were that someone dies and Dumbledore tells Harry the truth about him and his past. In these two areas I feel Rowling disappoints. I won't say by name who dies, but I didn't get that feeling when something truly awful has happened (as when Gandalf 'dies' in LotR), though others disagree. But the big reveal by Dumbledore (which, as I feared, does come at the end of the book) is a let down. What new facts do we learn? That Harry is safe from Voldemort at the Dursley's because of the blood bond between his Mum and his Aunt (which at least closes one plothole, though still leaves unanswered the question of one of Voldemort's followers finding the location and killing Harry) and that the prophecy says that either Harry must kill Voldemort or Voldemort must kill Harry. Now, considering that Harry has survived four encounters with Voldemort I'd be surprised if he had thought Voldemort was coming back from the dead in order to settle down and make crochet bobble-hats. So we don't get a revelation that turns our understanding of things upside down but rather a result akin to drawing a line between dots 19 and 20 when you already can see the join-the-dots makes the picture of a rabbit.
As replacements for the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters being genuinely nasty the Ministry for Magic is quite a good one, although Fudge's ostrich-driven attempts to discredit Harry ring truer than Umbridge and what seems like genuine malevolence on her part. The way that Harry slowly wins round other students from thinking he's a mad glory hunter to seeing that he's right and then, led by George and Fred, in open defiance of Umbridge when she predictably seizes control of Hogwarts is a genuine heartening moment in the book. She certainly makes up for the total lack of threat from Malfoy and co. I hope that Rowling will have a serious think about Draco and his little group before writing the next book as their continued existence is a real pain, the lack of nuances to their character makes them easy to dismiss as pantomime school nastiness. Even making Malfoy a super-prefect does not make him any more than a plot-delaying nuisance who's only role is to turn up every few chapters to toss insults at Harry and his friends who, growing up now, find them easier than before to brush off. I would love it if he follows through on his threat at the end of this book and next time does something truly horrible to Harry. Either that or just break the sexual tension and go to bed with him.
So, that actually turned out to be a pretty good book, although it should have been trimmed a little, and Rowling's writing style still isn't the most amazing in the world. Seven and a half out of ten I think.
