Thoughts on the new Harry Potter.
Comments behind cut to avoid ruining the ending for those who don't want to find out before they finish the book spoilers. (Never use a long sentence where a diminutive one will suffice.)
- Harry Potter is repeatedly said to have an "obsession" with Draco Malfoy, and apparently "can't get him out of [his] head". I realise that the context is different, but I'm pretty sure that's a generic Harry/Draco slash plot. Heck, I've even read a slash fic is incredibly similar to the Draco subplot in Half-Blood Prince. Is there a far more simple explanation that doesn't involve J.K. Rowling being a slash addict and having two male characters in a children's book be homosexual? In this person's opinion, almost certainly not.
- Too many relationships... ugh! Ron being face-deep in Lavendar, Ginny draped over Harry, Draco laying his head in Pansy's lap - if I wanted bizarre 'ships with little to no exposition explaining them, I'd have gone to fanfiction.net. Please Ms Rowling, can I have some more less?
- Is Dumbledore dead and gone? Quite possibly, but I'm far from certain. She's spent a lot of time in the books explaining Dumbledore's importance and now he's dead? I can't help but think that she's going to throw in some twist to have Dumbledore in the story again - even if he's just in a portrait a la Dippet et al.
- Is Snape 'teh evil'? I don't think so - or at least, not completely. It's completely lacking in logic to have him resume his activities as a Death Eater proper. All through the series he's had so many opportunities to kill Harry, Dumbledore as well as important members of the Order of the Phoenix, and yet he hasn't. I think that Dumbledore's "pleading" was to encourage Snape to kill him. If Snape hadn't, his cover would have been blown. Similarly, he couldn't have refused the Unbreakable Vow without giving himself away, at least confirming the suspicions of Bellatrix Lestrange. I think that Snape will die in the next book, possibly by Harry's wand, even despite his being on the side of good.
- How is it that Hagrid can survive an Avada Kevadra curse? The blond Death Eater must surely have used that Unforgivable on him, or he's a pretty poor servant of evil. We're told that Harry is the only person to have ever survived the killing curse - it seems to me that he's no longer the only one. Hagrid should, be rights, be dead. Giant's skin? Not convinced.
- The entire book was better than OotP by far. OotP gave me a headache because it was so downbeat and boring. This book was fast-paced and interesting; Rowling having thankfully cut down on pointless narrative flights and stuck to the plot. Good to see loose ends tied up, too.