Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Phemar · Tue 19/07/2005 14:57:56

Wow, I got this book yesterday after searching for ages because everywhere was sold out!

Despite being smaller than the previous two books, it is in fact a spectacular read so far, I'm really enjoying the style in which the whole thing is written.
Just one thing that annoys me though is the way that Rowling seems to think she has to add a different creature into the story every book. First giant spiders, then dementors and now zombies? Sounds a bit silly if you ask me.

Anyway, post your comments on the book and be sure to hide spoilers, ([ hide] and [ /hide]), I know some people have the tendency to get mighty peed off when certain things are revealed!

Mr Jake · Tue 19/07/2005 15:05:08

Page *** is the best.

Edit: Even if it is poorly written!

Edit 2: Sorry Hotspot, but that's naughty

Disco · Tue 19/07/2005 15:15:08

Hush! I'm on page 399. The book is quite good so far, but the various spite romances are a bit overdone if you ask me *thinks back to age sixteen* yeah, definitely.

I went to the Midnight Magic release party, where I had my face painted (typical), got some neat specs and some other freebies. I know you won't believe me so here's proof-

That's allegedly Hedwig, but someone half my age did it, no complaints.

Paper Carnival · Tue 19/07/2005 18:19:34

I read it. I didn't manage to get it from a bookstore yet but I downloaded it off limewire (it was hard with all the spoofs and jokes pretending they're the real one). Of course I'm gonna buy it, but I just couldn't wait to get it.

This book kinda escapes from the pattern of the previous book, cause this time we know something Harry doesn't and it explains a lot of things. Also,

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this time Harry's suspicions were mostly correct, unlike previous books

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One thing I didn't like was that it was more predictable than it should be

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I knew Dumbledore was gonna die, that Malfoy was given the task to murder him (or Harry, but I was wrong), that Snape (or Voldemort, but I was wrong about this again) was the Half-Blood Prince, that Ron and Hermione will have a crush for each other and that Harry Potter was going to fall in love with Ginny

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Sam. · Tue 19/07/2005 18:34:15

i have a controversial theory about this:

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I do NOT think snape is evil, i think he was purely acting on the unbreakable vow. Dumbledore had a reason to trust him, and i don't think it was "just because he said he was sorry". I also never thought dumbledore was a fool, i think it would be very hard to fool him, maybe harder than voldemort. Also, we haven't seen the last of DUmbl, hes got a protrait right?

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BerserkerTails · Tue 19/07/2005 19:03:50

Yeah, I thought it was very good, another great addition. I also noticed that it was very very dark, much darker than the other books. Especially in sequences such as:

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The fight between Harry and Malfoy in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

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Ron convulsing after being poisoned

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The Inervi in the water of the cave, grabbing for Harry and Dumbledore, coming to life etc...

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Chicky · Tue 19/07/2005 19:08:17

Huh? JK Rowling? Shouldn't you all be reading Pratchett?

Phemar · Tue 19/07/2005 19:23:55

Chicky, go back to sleep -_- ... hehe.

I have, however, during my course of reading this novel, noticed what I think may be a few concorde errors ...

Potch · Tue 19/07/2005 19:31:33

Finished it last night. Ã,Â Incidently, while all of the more expensive bookstores around here sold out of the books, I headed to Walmart at 2 am opening day to pick it up, and no lines, no sell outs, and half price compared to Borders and Barnes and Nobels! Ã,Â Can't beat that!

Anyway, being a tremendous Harry Potter freak, I loved it. Ã,Â Definately much darker than the others, but that was expected.

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Ã,Â Actually, I thought that the Ginny/Harry, and Ron/Hermione relationships were inevitable. Ã,Â They've been alluded to from the beginning.

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Ã,Â I have a theory on the whole Malofoy/Dumbledore/Snape thing. Ã,Â As someone said earlier, Dumbledore was not a fool. Ã,Â While he did make mistakes from time to time, when it came down to it, he was probably the smartest wizard that ever lived. Ã,Â We already know that he knew about Malfoy. Ã,Â I'm guessing that he probably knew about the unbreakable all along. Ã,Â It's possible that he told Snape to kill him to keep Malfoy from doing it. Ã,Â Dumbledore cares about his students, and even though Malfoy has been a jerk, Dumbledore didn't think he was pure evil. Ã,Â Malfoy is an intelligent kid, with a lot of contacts, and having someone like that on the good side would have been extremely helpful. Ã,Â So Dumbledore told Snape to kill him if he had to, Ã,Â in an effort to possibly save Malfoy and turn him. Ã,Â

Then again, Snape could be just an evil bastard, which is more likely

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BerserkerTails · Tue 19/07/2005 19:53:27

Also another question left at the end of the book...

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R.A.B, the person who has the real locket/horcrux. The only person I can think who has the initials RB in the whole series was Sirius Black's brother... I can't remember his first name right now, but I'm certain it started with an R. Perhaps he turned away from Voldemort and stole the Horcrux years ago? Who knows...

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hedgefield · Tue 19/07/2005 20:15:13

Gonna get it once it comes out in my language...

Mr Flibble · Tue 19/07/2005 20:20:43

Quote from: Chicky on Tue 19/07/2005 19:08:17
Huh? JK Rowling? Shouldn't you all be reading Pratchett?

Amen to that.

Minimi · Tue 19/07/2005 21:22:55

Harry Potter is actually our premier of the country The Netherlands, didn't you know?

BUSH must be behind all of this!

BTW... Harry Potter svcks... it's a poor story, for people that aren't used to REAL lecture!

Potch · Tue 19/07/2005 21:32:05

Well Minimi, I loaned the books to a woman who is in her late fifties, and taught classic literature for 20 years, and she adored the books. So to each his own.

passer-by · Tue 19/07/2005 21:39:06

Quote from: Minimi on Tue 19/07/2005 21:22:55
BTW... Harry Potter svcks... it's a poor story, for people that aren't used to REAL lecture!

What do you mean by real lecture? Any example (author or title) would do.

Babar · Tue 19/07/2005 21:44:52

It's a lie! Minimi, that fellow is obviously Bill Gates!

Haven't read it yet. Gonna buy when I can. Heh...it required great willpower not to highlight the spoilers,.

Al_Ninio · Tue 19/07/2005 21:48:37

Quote from: Minimi on Tue 19/07/2005 21:22:55
Harry Potter is actually our premier of the country The Netherlands, didn't you know?

Haha, get it? He has glasses so he's Harry Potter!
Oh man, that is the best joke I've seen in years.

Babar · Tue 19/07/2005 21:53:19

That's all it takes Al. As I can unfortunately attest to. That magically spoilt child caused me to shave my nice shaggy mane off

Potch · Tue 19/07/2005 22:03:00

Babar, keep up your willpower! I promise you, it will be so worth it to read it spoiler free!

Paper Carnival · Tue 19/07/2005 22:23:37

I have noticed that 95% of the people who bash Harry Potter are those who haven't even read the books. 4% of the rest claim that Harry Potter is the Antichrist.

But anyways, as for the theories:

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I did think about Snape being a good guy after all. Let's not forget that he did warn the Order in the last book when Harry told him "he's got Padfoot", but maybe he did that under Vol... *gasp* you-know-who's orders. I don't think the only reason he killed Dumbledore was the unbreakable vow, because he knows that Dumbledore is more way more important than he is. If he was a good guy after all, he would sacrifice himself for Dumbledore. Potch's theory is good, that maybe Snape murdered Dumbledore under his orders. But then again, it says that Dumbledore was pleading and that Snape "gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face." Which probably means that Snape is a butthole.

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