SPOILER WARNING: A thread about the Harry Potter books

[Plane Sailing]

Personally I think she is good at writing a page-turner, and does a good job of pulling surprise reveals (especially in the earlier books).

I typically like the earlier books better than the later ones because they have been edited down to a reasonable story IMO. The later books, where the author has become much more powerful, seem to not have been edited down in the same way. I think that any novel that can't be held in one hand to read is too long!

I'm not surprised that the story is so popular with children, because it merges together two classic British staples - the friends and enemies at a boarding school being one, and the underdog who wins out being the other.

I found Harry as a stupid and irritating teenager more offputting in the later books, while recognising that it is actually a pretty good representation of teenagerdom.

However, I've always been annoyed by Dumbledore - there are numerous occasions where he could have shared a little more information a little earlier and things would have been very different. At one point I thought I was reading a Wheel of Time novel, if you know what I mean...

Cheers

 

[Joshua Randall]

I'm not surprised that the story is so popular with children, because it merges together two classic British staples - the friends and enemies at a boarding school being one

I have never been to the UK and know next to nothing about its culture. However, I have a vivid image in my mind of the school system, formed exclusively from reading books like Tom Jones and Harry Potter. And that makes me never want to go to school in the UK.

 

[jcfiala]

- One must wonder why Dumbledore does not require Harry and Snape to sit down and talk matters out, in an attempt at reconcilation ... considering how counterproductive their antagonism is.

He's hoping that by forcing them to work together, that they'll work past their antagonism, find what they have in common, and build a new relationship. It, unfortunately, doesn't work, although it could have been if Harry or Snape had been willing to try harder. It's one of Harry's failures, I think.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

I wonder about the Ministry Of Magics inept handling of the magical terrorism threat posed by Voldy and his minions. I also wonder about the other nations, like how American wizards behave and educate their yung'uns. And I wonder why Dumbledore ever trusted Snape.

That said, I enjoy the books. They are fun to read. Rowling knows what she is doing as a writer and story teller.

And that is enough for me.

 

[Berandor]

I was disappointed only in the most recent book; Order of the Phoenix was alright (I still think Prisoner and Goblet are the best), but Half-Blood Prince didn't grab me at all until maybe a hundred or so pages before the end.

[sblock]There was too little happening during the school year that had any significance. It was just drawn-out "waiting for the shoe to drop", to me. And then it went almost too quickly. [/sblock]

Also, I was disappointed in the story resolution and certain portrayals.
[sblock]Dumbledore dying gives me the impression that she's pretty much following Campbell here, with mentors dying and the young hero finding his own way. It also seems pretty obvious to me that Harry himself is the final receptacle of Vodemort's soul, and I wonder if/how JKR will go about not killing Harry at the end (of course, at the moment I'm fairly sure she will kill Harry, or let Harry kill himself to stop you-know-who).

Finally, Harry's righteousness grates on me. In the end, when he's telling Ginny off, I was really annoyed and I can only hope that he'll be punished for it. I mean, who is he to tell Ginny what she wants or doesn't want to endure as his girlfriend? Doesn't she have any say about it? I just hope that Ginny isn't hurt for disobeying her man and Ron has to save Hermione in the end.[/sblock]

As to Snape, I hope he turns out alright. It certainly seems that way to me, kind of blatantly so, which means I'm dreading that I'm wrong.

And is it just me, or does anybody else now picture Snape as Alan Rickman? It's almost automatic when I read about him.

 

[Tiberius]

Regarding Order of the Phoenix:
[sblock]I thought this book was pretty solid. It probably could have been a little tighter of a story, but I thought it worked. My main beef with OotP is the incompetance of the Death Eater A-squad sent to retrieve the prophecy. This is, in part, due to the rules (or, really, lack of rules) Rowling has set down in regards to the consequences of magic use. Given:

• There appears to be no mechanical drawback to using the Avada Kedavra curse

• Said curse is indefensible

• The Death Eaters are looking at stints in Azkaban anyway if they're caught

• Death Eaters seem like they're supposed to be evil badasses

• Only Harry is specifically to be killed by the Dark Lord

I see no reason why the Death Eaters wouldn't be lobbing the Killing Curse at any student that isn't Harry. Why bother with the stuff that can be defended against?
[/sblock]

Regarding Half-Blood Prince:
[sblock]While this one scored points with me for Voldemort being effectively a lich, I was disappointed with it on a couple of points. First of all, I concur that the story just kinda floated along until the very end, where all of a sudden you get the death of Dumbledore and the revelation of Snape as the HPB. Also, it seemed to me that the identity of the Prince didn't really matter to the plot nearly as much as the items and people that made the titles of the other books did.[/sblock]

Regarding Snape:
[sblock]Much as I would love for him to have been a DEEP cover Death Eater all this time, I think this theory is well and truly shot at the very end of HBP, when he's trying to make his escape while still attempting to teach Potter that closing his mind is the only way he'll be able to defeat Voldemort. Doesn't strike me as the sort of thing a loyal Death Eater would do. "No, you idiot, this is how you beat my boss!"[/sblock]

 

[Crothian]

[sblock]Finally, Harry's righteousness grates on me. In the end, when he's telling Ginny off, I was really annoyed and I can only hope that he'll be punished for it. I mean, who is he to tell Ginny what she wants or doesn't want to endure as his girlfriend? Doesn't she have any say about it? I just hope that Ginny isn't hurt for disobeying her man and Ron has to save Hermione in the end.[/sblock]

[sblock] She has a say, but so does he. It takes two people to have a relationship and if one of them says no for whatever reason then it just isn't going to happen. [/sblock]

 

[Umbran]

I typically like the earlier books better than the later ones because they have been edited down to a reasonable story IMO. The later books, where the author has become much more powerful, seem to not have been edited down in the same way. I think that any novel that can't be held in one hand to read is too long!

Each book is targetted at an audience of approximately the same age as Harry - which means they span a range from 11 to 17 years. I think the increased length reflects the increased sophistication of the reader - you expect a 17 year old to handle more subtlety and complexity, but those do require a greater number of pages to express.

 

[Meloncov]

Regarding Order of the Phoenix:
[sblock]
Given:

• There appears to be no mechanical drawback to using the Avada Kedavra curse

• Said curse is indefensible

• The Death Eaters are looking at stints in Azkaban anyway if they're caught

• Death Eaters seem like they're supposed to be evil badasses

• Only Harry is specifically to be killed by the Dark Lord

I see no reason why the Death Eaters wouldn't be lobbing the Killing Curse at any student that isn't Harry. Why bother with the stuff that can be defended against?
[/sblock]

"Aveda Kavada" takes significently longer to say than "stupefy," especially as the incantations require that you speak them clearly and relatively slowly. In a fight, those fractions of a second are significent.

 

[Moonstone Spider]

However, I've always been annoyed by Dumbledore - there are numerous occasions where he could have shared a little more information a little earlier and things would have been very different. At one point I thought I was reading a Wheel of Time novel, if you know what I mean...

Cheers

If they simple summarily executed everybody the sorting hat picked for Slytherin the world would be a happier place. Seriously, between the fact that everybody who joins Voldemort (Including Voldy himself) is a Slytherin, the heir of Slytherin deal, the fact that the guy who founded Slytherin was a genocidal maniac, and the fact that apparently joining house Slytherin carries a mind-altering enchantment that turns you into an Ass, I can imagine no reason for the house to exist.