in mourning....and in awe.
Jul. 17th, 2005 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
duchess_of_pieREVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS #125: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE by J.K. Rowling (book)
WARNING: i have tried my damndest to be spoiler-free here, but at least one has called me on it. read at your own risk.
finally, a book to replace POA in my heart as favorite in the series.
I used to feel sorry for my nephews because I knew that they—or noah at least—would someday grow to love these books. but they will have missed out on the time in between when the huge amount of theoryslinging and speculation kept the fun going for years. it also allowed for re-reads that allow you to pick up on the details coming in the next book. but not ten chapters into HBP I knew I wouldn’t have to feel that way anymore, because there are enough gasp moments here that post-book 7 readers years from now will get a thrill out of whether they’ve put in the wait time or not. things (and people!) are finally coming together.
jo has said that, now that the wizarding world was at war, there would be more deaths. and, having just finished the book this afternoon, I will spend the evening in mourning. this book’s a tough one to take.
moments of gasps, squeals and right-out laugher (and they run in high numbers this time), in order, spoiler-free:
--the casting of the vow
--the twin’s success
--the new DADA teacher
--merope
--what ginny smells like *^_^*
--levicorpus
--the confundus charm
--harry pulls the fast felix on ron
--all the snogging
--peeves’ requirement for getting past a fourth floor corridor (a favorite moment of silliness)
--the second quiddich comentator
--“I love you….”
--the perfect workings of luck. nice.
--horcruxes. brilliant
--zombies. m’f’king zombies. yeah! (nice “two towers” homage.) *shiver*
--the moment atop the tower, and the actions of all present….
--the half-blood prince and all of his “involvement”
--the note in the locket
--the unexpected resolve of a very pretty woman
--what tonks wants and what tonks gets (eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!)
--eileen and tobias
--the entire last chapter which took me an hour to read because I had to put it down every page-turn to cry.
and I am a bit glad of the wait for book 7. because it will be harsh, and I will need time.
what I wonder is: will parents be in an uproar? there’s lot’s of teenage shenanegans here, lots of emotion running rampant, children having to face adult decisions, teachers offering drinks to students, truly upsetting events, and scenes that will give ME nightmares. harsh, I say. harsh. you will be hearing from some pissed-off folk.
so. let the speculation for book 7 begin. one major piece of information jo has given: after book 6, there are no new characters introduced. will slughorn come back? who will fill the empty post? wtf with snape? and may I just say….i still don’t believe EVERYthing I’ve read….
one thing more for those finished with the book, one more gasp moment that jo has left us: figuring out what R.A.B. means. your clues are this: jo has said, no more new characters. so we know we’ve come across this already. figured it out yet? here’s another clue from me to you: you’ve never physically seen R.A.B. and you never will. good luck.
WARNING: i have tried my damndest to be spoiler-free here, but at least one has called me on it. read at your own risk.
finally, a book to replace POA in my heart as favorite in the series.
I used to feel sorry for my nephews because I knew that they—or noah at least—would someday grow to love these books. but they will have missed out on the time in between when the huge amount of theoryslinging and speculation kept the fun going for years. it also allowed for re-reads that allow you to pick up on the details coming in the next book. but not ten chapters into HBP I knew I wouldn’t have to feel that way anymore, because there are enough gasp moments here that post-book 7 readers years from now will get a thrill out of whether they’ve put in the wait time or not. things (and people!) are finally coming together.
jo has said that, now that the wizarding world was at war, there would be more deaths. and, having just finished the book this afternoon, I will spend the evening in mourning. this book’s a tough one to take.
moments of gasps, squeals and right-out laugher (and they run in high numbers this time), in order, spoiler-free:
--the casting of the vow
--the twin’s success
--the new DADA teacher
--merope
--what ginny smells like *^_^*
--levicorpus
--the confundus charm
--harry pulls the fast felix on ron
--all the snogging
--peeves’ requirement for getting past a fourth floor corridor (a favorite moment of silliness)
--the second quiddich comentator
--“I love you….”
--the perfect workings of luck. nice.
--horcruxes. brilliant
--zombies. m’f’king zombies. yeah! (nice “two towers” homage.) *shiver*
--the moment atop the tower, and the actions of all present….
--the half-blood prince and all of his “involvement”
--the note in the locket
--the unexpected resolve of a very pretty woman
--what tonks wants and what tonks gets (eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!)
--eileen and tobias
--the entire last chapter which took me an hour to read because I had to put it down every page-turn to cry.
and I am a bit glad of the wait for book 7. because it will be harsh, and I will need time.
what I wonder is: will parents be in an uproar? there’s lot’s of teenage shenanegans here, lots of emotion running rampant, children having to face adult decisions, teachers offering drinks to students, truly upsetting events, and scenes that will give ME nightmares. harsh, I say. harsh. you will be hearing from some pissed-off folk.
so. let the speculation for book 7 begin. one major piece of information jo has given: after book 6, there are no new characters introduced. will slughorn come back? who will fill the empty post? wtf with snape? and may I just say….i still don’t believe EVERYthing I’ve read….
one thing more for those finished with the book, one more gasp moment that jo has left us: figuring out what R.A.B. means. your clues are this: jo has said, no more new characters. so we know we’ve come across this already. figured it out yet? here’s another clue from me to you: you’ve never physically seen R.A.B. and you never will. good luck.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-17 08:35 pm (UTC)I loved that!!
no subject
Date: 2005-07-18 04:40 am (UTC)After some consideration. Yes, it's my favourite too. We'll be talking for years about this one.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-18 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-18 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-18 02:11 pm (UTC)i'm an ass.