and to think i bought it out of self-defense!
How I came to buy Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at a midnight release party is a rather amusing story in and of itself, but I don't got a lotta time, so I thought it would be fun to share my initial impressions of the book (as written in my journal immediately after finishing it on the 22nd) and see what you guys think.
i can't believe that sirius black is dead...perhaps years of x-files and buffy (as well as every other fantasy series yet written) have made me cynical, but i just don't accept it. that arch thing is really sketchy, anyways; never got a good explanation, did we? and where there is a glossing-over, there is always a loophole. just how things are done. snape, of course, will be defense against the dark arts teacher year seven. what else. viktor krum is still alive, we are reminded, which means that i still have good reason to await the quidditch match in which harry and krum face off, and i'm guessing that will also be saved for year seven? interesting what rowling's done, leading us on for so long with cho but then introducing luna relatively late in the overall storyline. next year can we expect cho-or-luna? agonizing? i do believe so. an interesting twist, as well, is ron and hermione's constant bickering. in the past there was a subtle but definite hint that ron fancied her, and this year they fought, which kind of threw me off, until harry witnessed his parents hating each other as fifth-yearers, which i certainly don't think is a coincidence. on the other hand, whereas earlier i may have just assumed that they would end up together, at this point i think they have developed as characters enough for me to seriously doubt the veracity of any such relationship [typsist's note: being able to type without looking rocks!!!!!]. i just can't see why hermione would be attracted to ron, given that she is obviously better than him at everything with the possible exception of quidditch...harry needs to sharpen up sone, on that note; he obviously has a lot of power but as yet seems less than spectacularly skilled - as in, working his power, except for in defense against the dark arts...
on the whole, fun times, several interesting plot developments, and indeed a rather intriguing setup. first, there was all this time spent at grimmauld place before school began. and there was already discord between the trio, which continued all year long. the sorting hat's telling the whole school to unify, and it completely fails to - tensions within houses as well as between. yet there's this undercurrent of cooperation, with dumbledore's army and the six kids running off together. i expect this storyline to continue next year....
More to be added later, including thoughts re: similarities to Buffy o joy of joys!
i can't believe that sirius black is dead...perhaps years of x-files and buffy (as well as every other fantasy series yet written) have made me cynical, but i just don't accept it. that arch thing is really sketchy, anyways; never got a good explanation, did we? and where there is a glossing-over, there is always a loophole. just how things are done. snape, of course, will be defense against the dark arts teacher year seven. what else. viktor krum is still alive, we are reminded, which means that i still have good reason to await the quidditch match in which harry and krum face off, and i'm guessing that will also be saved for year seven? interesting what rowling's done, leading us on for so long with cho but then introducing luna relatively late in the overall storyline. next year can we expect cho-or-luna? agonizing? i do believe so. an interesting twist, as well, is ron and hermione's constant bickering. in the past there was a subtle but definite hint that ron fancied her, and this year they fought, which kind of threw me off, until harry witnessed his parents hating each other as fifth-yearers, which i certainly don't think is a coincidence. on the other hand, whereas earlier i may have just assumed that they would end up together, at this point i think they have developed as characters enough for me to seriously doubt the veracity of any such relationship [typsist's note: being able to type without looking rocks!!!!!]. i just can't see why hermione would be attracted to ron, given that she is obviously better than him at everything with the possible exception of quidditch...harry needs to sharpen up sone, on that note; he obviously has a lot of power but as yet seems less than spectacularly skilled - as in, working his power, except for in defense against the dark arts...
on the whole, fun times, several interesting plot developments, and indeed a rather intriguing setup. first, there was all this time spent at grimmauld place before school began. and there was already discord between the trio, which continued all year long. the sorting hat's telling the whole school to unify, and it completely fails to - tensions within houses as well as between. yet there's this undercurrent of cooperation, with dumbledore's army and the six kids running off together. i expect this storyline to continue next year....
More to be added later, including thoughts re: similarities to Buffy o joy of joys!