(no subject)
I said that thoughts about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would come, so here we go!
I really liked this book. It might be that the fifth book was full of Harry being angsty and mean, and he seemed to have taken a step back and viewed situations from afar before taking them head-on. In other words, he didn't yell at everyone all the time. I did catch a few times that he started to get aggravated what with Dumbledore repeatedly ignoring Harry's warning of Draco Malfoy and, of course, Snape. Dumbledore, as it turns out, had the problem with Malfoy under control the whole year. Also, according to Dumbledore, there was never a problem with Snape -- Snape was always completely trustworthy.
This book was sort of an exposition to the seventh book, but I think it held its own in a way because it didn't just reaise a lot of questions, it actually answered a lot too. We finally learned of the history of Voldemort and how he became to be what he is. I found the Horcrux story to be pretty fascinating; it will be even more interesting to find out how the 'good guys' try to destroy them.
My hypotheses so far, in no particular order: A few of the Horcruxes will be found at 12 Grimmauld Place (Nagini and the soul still inside Voldemort won't be, of course, but the real locket may be, if it hasn't been destroyed already); "RAB" is possibly Sirius's brother, Regulus Black (possibly still alive, with a faked death by the Order?); Snape is still good, and only killed Dumbledore out of an oath to Albus (the same type of oath that Harry took when Dumbledore was drinking the strange potion in Tom's cauldron); Dumbledore's brother is still alive, and is actually the guy who runs the Hog's Head (though not much was said on the matter in this book, it's something that seems sensible and I'm always reminded of it whenever that place is mentioned); Harry's having Lily's eyes is going to be important (Horcrux? maybe?); Dumbledore's hand is another Hand of Glory;
There are so many things to think about that I have to do another read through before I can organize my thoughts anymore.
Oh, and I really liked the Harry-Ginny dating... 'thing'. It seemed so natural. I also REALLY loved the cave chapter!
I really liked this book. It might be that the fifth book was full of Harry being angsty and mean, and he seemed to have taken a step back and viewed situations from afar before taking them head-on. In other words, he didn't yell at everyone all the time. I did catch a few times that he started to get aggravated what with Dumbledore repeatedly ignoring Harry's warning of Draco Malfoy and, of course, Snape. Dumbledore, as it turns out, had the problem with Malfoy under control the whole year. Also, according to Dumbledore, there was never a problem with Snape -- Snape was always completely trustworthy.
This book was sort of an exposition to the seventh book, but I think it held its own in a way because it didn't just reaise a lot of questions, it actually answered a lot too. We finally learned of the history of Voldemort and how he became to be what he is. I found the Horcrux story to be pretty fascinating; it will be even more interesting to find out how the 'good guys' try to destroy them.
My hypotheses so far, in no particular order: A few of the Horcruxes will be found at 12 Grimmauld Place (Nagini and the soul still inside Voldemort won't be, of course, but the real locket may be, if it hasn't been destroyed already); "RAB" is possibly Sirius's brother, Regulus Black (possibly still alive, with a faked death by the Order?); Snape is still good, and only killed Dumbledore out of an oath to Albus (the same type of oath that Harry took when Dumbledore was drinking the strange potion in Tom's cauldron); Dumbledore's brother is still alive, and is actually the guy who runs the Hog's Head (though not much was said on the matter in this book, it's something that seems sensible and I'm always reminded of it whenever that place is mentioned); Harry's having Lily's eyes is going to be important (Horcrux? maybe?); Dumbledore's hand is another Hand of Glory;
There are so many things to think about that I have to do another read through before I can organize my thoughts anymore.
Oh, and I really liked the Harry-Ginny dating... 'thing'. It seemed so natural. I also REALLY loved the cave chapter!