Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

J K Rowling

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursley's house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can't quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the dursley's of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks time? Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of muggle and magic start to intertwine...

J. K. Rowling charts Harry Potter's latest adventures in his sixth year at Hogwarts with consummate skill and in breathtaking fashion.

Review by Chrissi (070805) Rating (8/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 8/10
I am sure that many people already know the ending, but if you are thinking of reading it and have had people trying to spoil it for you, fear not, I shall not be giving away any major plot twists, so it is safe to read on...

After the Order of the Phoenix, I was a bit concerned for poor Harry's sanity - after all, he is only a teenager, and it was a rather harrowing time . I admit that he drove me insane, I could have taken him by the scruff of the neck and quite happily throttled the moody and miserable teenager that he had become. Children and teenagers reading this will probably not understand, those older with children probably know what I mean, maybe I should apologise to my parents, just in case I was ever like that.

In fact, I was so hacked off with him by the end of Order of the Phoenix that I did not re-read the series from the beginning, as I am prone to doing with series such as this, so that I can enjoy it all in one go. (Rather like bottles of wine are nice in their entirety, rather than one glass, and large bars of chocolate have to be eaten in one sitting - I have never understood people who ration their pleasures - I am a glutton, and I like to wring every bit out of things, but that may just be me.)

We, like everyone else, wanted our books as soon as possible, but did not wish to be in the supermarket waiting for the pallets to be unwrapped, so we arrived at Asda at about half past twelve. There were three pallets, all sitting in pride of place and each had the top couple of layers missing, we collected ours and a few bits and pieces and took it home. I would like to say that I resisted the luridly coloured dustjacket but I cannot; I started it at about half past one in the morning. The first couple of hours were great, all my misgivings about miserable teenagers were soothed, and (unlike Order of the Phoenix) I also laughed a couple of times!

After a couple of hours, I gave up and went to sleep, but, armed with a cup of tea, it was the first thing that I picked up on Saturday morning. Ignorant of all else, (apologies to my darling Husband) I finished it at about half past one on Saturday afternoon, and then came a huge difficulty - I could not talk about it at all, I had to keep my mouth shut and say all those infuriating things like - "you'll see" and "I can't say". Living with someone who habitually guesses the endings to books and films, (and is often right) this is sooo difficult!

I really enjoyed it - not nearly so dark as Order of the Phoenix, much like the first four of the series, and I was so relieved. I know that the audience are growing up as Harry is, but there is only so much death and mayhem that you can pack into one series. It is not until afterwards that I realised that this is the book which contains lots of the information about the path forward for Harry, there is not much action taking place until the end, but it does not matter, as it is an enthralling story.

I still enjoy JKR's use of plot devices, the way that she introduces things that are later significant - maybe it is me ( I am sure that it is not) but I am guessing what may happen later, but so many options, I don't know which is my favourite. My only concern is the (seeming) amount of stuff that Harry would appear to have to achieve to be able to finish his feud with Voldemort. I am not sure whether it will all happen in one book, although this tome is slightly less fat than Order of the Phoenix, there comes a limit to the amount of words you can get between two covers, maybe I am over-complicating matters though, jumping the gun, but I shall ask your forgiveness, I am already looking forward to the next one.

Not to give anything away, but JKR does tend to give us a twist or two in her books, where anything can and sometimes does happen, and this is no exception. I was shocked at the twist in this one - I am still not sure that it can be right - could it be a double cross? I do think JKR is a subtle writer, and I can't make up my mind whether... anything... I like what she has done, and yet I don't, but it certainly will have us all talking about HP7 until the moment that we shall be able to get our hands on it at some long-distant midnight. I shall be there, again, at midnight (or just after) and I might even slog my way through Order of the Phoenix and all the others to prolong the pleasure...
Chrissi (7th August 2005)