So, I pulled a "Mixdorf." I read the 700+ page Half-Blood Prince, starting on Sunday and finishing last night. While I have said that I like the series a lot, I have claimed to maybe be not quite the fan that some of my closest friends & associates are. But, man, I sure do get glued to those suckers when I read through them.
My random ruminations, following the HBP:
- What an amazing, amazing kid Harry is (in a non-magical sense, that is)
- I think one of the things that makes me think I like the series a little less than some people is that I really do get annoyed at some of the lack of depth of some characters and the repeating themes (OK, do we really believe that Hermione's going to still raise her hand first in every class and that Ron's going to still pester her about it, etc.).
- Good Lord, these last couple of books have been dark & heavy. Not sure I would want Lucy reading this before she's at least 10 or so, unless I really, really get the sense she's ready to handle the weight of some of the seriously bad shit that goes on in there.
- Related to the last couple of items-seems like Rowling can't really decide whether she wants this to be children's literature or not. Sometimes obvious & somewhat shallow humour, as well as the shallow characters can be attributed as being very enjoyable for kids (especialy with respect to how lots of them view adults), but with the adult sort of themes that I spoke to in my last point-I just don't know. Seems like a little bit of trying to have it both ways. * Sigh * maybe I'm just out of touch with respect to how desensitized most kids are these days. But I had a distinctly similar feeling while reading various books of the Redwall series (of which only the first I would truly, truly recommend). Cute little anthropomorphic animal characters making mincemeat of each other in bloody battles, throughout.
- Really interesting buildup in the book. To date, neither Harry nor Dumbledore had ever been wrong in their suspicions, and it was interesting reading to know that ultimately someone would be wrong on Snape.
- God DAMN Snape! God DAMN him to Hell! He's definitely not going to survive this series, and I think it's probably You-Know-Who who's going to do him in in a final act of treachery (ala the Teacher killing that servant guy in DaVinci Code). He reminds me of a terrorist-he had what looks to be a miserable childhood with lots of things working against him, but that's no excuse for going bad.
- Why does Harry have to break up with Ginny, if he's at least that close with Ron & Hermione. Not sure that's made clear. I would think Ginny could hook up with them and make it a four person team, going forward.
- Hard to believe that Snape got away from Buckbeak.
- Would like to see Firenze & maybe some of the other centaurs get involved. Though I realize they generally despize the wizarding world, it would be a little like, "The eagles are coming!"
- Not sure I'd want to be a Death Eater that runs into Harry next book.
- Kind of interesting the turn on Malfoy at the end. There's no reason to believe, up to that point, that there's a shred of good in him. Wonder if she (Rowling) has grand plans for him in the future, is just using him as an example of Voldemort's villany, or if she just wanted to sort of diminish him as a major player in the series.
- It's gonna be quite different, knowing what we know about Snape, reading through the books again someday. Holy shit. And, as much as we hate him-you gotta think he's one of the most powerful wizards around.
- How many Aurors are there? In the teens, in the hundreds, or what? Likewise, how many Death Eaters? They don't give you much of an idea of the scope of this war, but you definitely see the same characters, particularly on the good side, appearing over and over.
- Sirius & Dumbledore are gone, gone, gone, right?
- Any theories on who R.A.B. is?
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17 comments:
Interesting ruminations.
I'll throw in some ideas of my own.
1. I'm not sold on the Dumbledore is dead and Snape is a shithead story sold at the end of HBP. The whole jist of Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching was spells done without using your voice. Is it not possible that while saying Abracadavra (Lost Skeleton of Cadavra) Snape was actually doing something completely different? Is it not possible that Dumbledore wants to go underground to be more effective. It's a plot line that hearkens directly to Aslan in LWW, and even slightly to Gandalf in LOTR, but if you're going to steal from fantasy novels, those are the ones.
2. While Harry and Hermione stand a small chance of surviving in the larger world searching for Voldemort, Ron's only purpose would be as a sacrifice. He has absolutely no skills at ANYTHING other than being a dependable friend. I don't like Harry and Hermione's chances as it is, against full-blown baddies, but it's possible.
3. I think the writing in this one was as good as it has been. I would think that she is torn between keeping up with the age of her characters in terms of intensity of the plot, while also acknowledging that kids that read the first one at a young age are going to read them all shortly thereafter. It's a weird position to be in.
4. It seems quite natural that Malfoy doesn't have the stomach for real evil. He's really just a bully and other than petty crimes, participating in heavy duty crap is beyond him.
Responses to YOUR comments:
1. I don't think that's the way Rowling works. I was holding out hope for Sirius, but I think her whole thing is for Harry to come of age by realizing that he can no longer rely on others to protect him. I hope he really kicks ass in the next book.
2. Harry may kick ass. We'll see. In any event, the Aurors in general seem to have a lot of trouble doing away with anyone (much like the Yoda problem). At the end of all these horrific battles, everyone evil always gets away.
3. Agreed. Luckily, that class of kids she brought in at the beginning have (hopefully) matured enough to handle it. It was defniitely a lot more whimsical in the first book or two-at least that's the way I thought of it. Harry & Draco were more like rivals that got on one another's nerves. It seemed weird when they started introducing the idea that people in Draco's life (including his parents) were evil killers.
4. Perhaps, but that seems a little odd. His lineage, status, & grooming all would indicate he would be next in line to be chief bad guy.
Couple followup ruminations:
1. Since Snape was forever the greasy outcast, wouldn't you think he would have resented a "Golden Boy" like Draco, and indeed felt threatened that a character like him could grow to become Voldemort's #1? Seems a bit odd that Snape would have always loved him that much.
2. What IS the deal with Slytherin. Is everyone there evil? Their lineage (for the most part) is from known past Death Eaters, everyone we've ever been introduced to from that house behaves in an evil manner, and so on. Yet we get every indication they are viewed the same by all the staff at Hogwarts (and, indeed, the wizarding community at large). One would think they would simply use the sorting hat to determine that 1/4 of the students who really, really shouldn't be taught how to do magic.
We only know what's going on based on Harry's view of the world. He sees Snape as evil and liking Malfoy, and so then do we. Other than the trust of Dumbledore, we've no realistic way of judging Snape.
That has been the biggest failing of the movies, the inability of the film-makers to convey all of things going on in Harry's head.
Regardless, I think it's a little odd to have an entire book about silent spell casting and NOT have it figure in the plot in any particular way.
Yeah, Slytherins are evil, Hufflepufffs and the other one are useless and Gryffindor kicks ass.
What a world.
I am not taken in by these books at all. I wish that I was interested. Glad to see that you have time to read.
Taken in is an interesting way to put that. As if it were the intro to some sort of cult. To a certain degree that is the case, but it's certainly nothing but high-quality entertainment.
As far as finding time to read, I go through streaks, but I usually read some every day, even if it's only while sitting on the crapper.
Clog, by saying "glad that you have the time to read," it sounds like you are saying that I'm sitting on loads of free time. Please assure me you were suggesting no such nonsense.
Not trying to say that at all. I am just applauding you on your creative ability to prioritize and arrange your schedule to accomodate the things you really want to do. Hats off to you my great friend!
Just finished reading HBP, so here are some of my thoughts in response to yours.
I am sure that R.A.B. is is Regulus Black. Wouldn't be surprised if one or more of the Horcruxes are already in Harry's possession at 12 Grimmauld Place.
I am sure that Dumbledore is dead, but not sold in the least about the status of Snape. Remember that Snape and Dumbledore were overheard arguing by Hagrid. Snape told Dumbledore that he didn't want to do something, and Dumbledore told him he had no choice. Also Snape was overhead by Harry trying to get Malfoy to reveal his plan. Snape will be done in by Voldemort, but it will be in trying to save Harry. In the end it obviously will have to be Harry alone against Voldemort.
Stellar commentary, Johnson! I can't believe no one else suggested that with respect to R.A.B. I remember now that he was Sirius' brother, but have forgotten much in the way of details about him.
Did you read something about that, or figure it out on your own. If so, a curse upon you & all slow readers, who retain far too much...
As soon as I saw the initials I was sure the B was for Black, but it took a minute for me to remember Regulus. After I finished the book, I Googled it, and it seems to be the leading theory.
If you remember, Regulus was a Death Eater who tried to desert, and was killed.
Or, we should say, "killed."
I read briefly about Regulus on the Harry Potter Lexicon, following reading your theory.
I have trouble getting Sharon to post in this forum, but here's where she's at:
- She's positive Dumbledore's gone for good.
- She's not sold on Snape being gone.
- She still really seems to believe that R.A.B. is going to be a totally new character. I don't think so at all. Huh, women. Who understands them? I don't!
No, was, was killed.
And Regulus as R.A.B. just makes sense for many reasons.
And you siad it brother!
I still stand by my Dumbledore is not dead theory. Still no reason for wordless spells in this book if not for my theory.
Time will tell.
Have no recollection at all of Regulus Black - jesus you guys are nerds.
That falls perfectly in line with my "the amount you retain is in inverse proportion to the speed at which you read" theory.
Certainly true, but it's unlikely that esoteric knowledge of Harry Potter will save my life.
I do believe that Dumbledore is dead.
I do not believe that Snape is evil. I'm sure he and Dumbledore had discussed that this might happen, in order for Snape not to blow his cover.
I had no idea who RAB was.
I also think Rowling is writing the books in such a way as to keep up with the ages of the characters. You either have to tell your kids to wait to read them all, or let them read one a year or something...
Also a GREAT read: Robert Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trio. The first is called The Golden Compass. Excellent!!!!!!
Good to know.
What the hell, Mixdorf arguing against the accumulation of useless knowledge? That's like Lucy lobbying against the accumulation of toys.
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