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trinityvixenThat's right, SPOILERS. I need to vent and be spoiler-ful about it. Please don't read this unless you've read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
I can't say I didn't like HBP. I liked a few things about it, but I think expectation could not be satisfied by what Rowling put out. I know that my critique of certain things is due to anticipatory high expectations, but my defenses of the book all stem from love of series, so the two balance out.
Problems/Questions I had with/about Half-Blood Prince:
1. Romantic entanglements being made into TEH ANGSTORS!
That teenagers and people under stress (such as those who are fighting a war) tend to be a tad dramatic when falling in love is not unheard of. But with the trend towards darker, more mature ambience in the series, HBP's 'OMG KISSING SQUEEE!" reactions are more than a little eye-roll worthy. Harry's first kiss with Cho was suitably nerve-wracking; Ron's being outed as a lip-virgin (well, an all-around virgin I guess) is properly done in the same vein. However, Slut!Ginny making out with boys left and right? No, no, a thousand times no (I was using the hyperbole with 'slut'; it is not to be taken literally). Lavendar flirting with Ron, Ron being tempted and anxious-yes; Ron and Lavendar being glued to each other like RichandAmy from "Foxtrot"-no. If not for the huge fanon-paired Lupin/Tonks, that might have seemed strange (Tonks'--forgive the pun--stupid moony, dreamy sleep-walking over it is NOT OKAY). Bill/Fleur--expected. Harry/Ginny, likewise, but the entire 'Harry is clearly jealous of Dean because he wants Ginny' angsting was laborious. And kissing her in the common room like that? ::sticks finger down throat::
2. Exposition, exposition, exposition
Too much. The wrap-up conversations with Dumbledore at the end of every book are the most boring parts of all the books to come before this. The penseive was an interesting concept, but with too much use it becomes less special and more blah-blah ordinary when it still should retain some aura of mystery (memory is mysterious). All the talk between Dumbledore and Harry bored me, even when it was relatively interesting subject matter (one thing I'll defend: I love Riddle's backstory because he's a brat and a psychopath from the get-go--he's not sympathetic like all the fangirls want him to be). Dumbledore's being made human by all the talk, and he's weaker, which, well, ruins the fun a bit, since the best parts of Order of the Phoenix had him cutting loose on Voldemort and pretty much kicking ass. It's more realistic that Dumbledore's slowing down, but still....does he have to talk that much? And I'm with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
feiran: why was the horcrux memory so important if Dumbledore pretty much had the multiple horcrux angle figured?
3. The Prince and Corpse
I said I knew who the Half-Blood Prince was; I also knew who would die in this book. Maybe the latter isn't impressive, but nor should the former be. Rowling said it wasn't Voldemort, and it couldn't be Harry. I liked my friend theKathy's idea that it was Dean Thomas, but rather figured it wouldn't be him either. Slughorn's references to Lily being soooooooo good at potions seemed far too obvious to ever throw me off track. Rowling has done 'defer suspicion' tactics better; in Chamber of Secrets, I never figured out Tom Riddle or the heir of Slytherin until the end confrontation. In HBP, once you knew the Prince was good at potions, well, it was like 'duh.'
Dumbledore dying was so obvious that his death lacked any real emotional punch, though Snape being the one to off him was delightfully surprising. I dunno, I just wasn't bothered by it. He was a good character, and it's too bad he's gone, but that's about it. I didn't feel much more involved than I did with Sirius' death, and I liked Sirius a lot. Somehow, Rowling manages to kill characters I like without making me too sad they're gone. That's not saying much for her dramatic writing ability.
4. S/He did what now?
I can't gripe about the excess characters coming out of nowhere--I guess they needed fresher faces than Rowling had hinted at in books past--but I can gripe about the canon characters' actions.
Case #1: Hermione jinxing McLaggen. I know he was a jerk, and mean to Ron (I'd jinx him), but that doesn't excuse what she did. Hermione was the one who stopped the cursing on Harry in the game first year (that she thought was Snape's doing). She ought to be ashamed at playing so unfair. If you write it off as teenage temper, you've got the wrong Hermione.
Case #2: Crying Draco. Yes, he can be sensitive and scared for his life--most people in danger of ticking off Voldy usually are--but there was no hint at all he felt that way until Harry caught him in the bathroom (::groans:: NOT THAT WAY!). He was a prick the entire time, and a self-assured one, and otherwise missing for most of the book. How Harry got it set in his mind Draco was up to anything is beyond me, seeing as he hardly ever saw Malfoy compared to previous books (most of the other books had them running into each other/butting heads every other chapter). I dunno, he seemed too vanilla on that crying jag to be serious.
Case #3: Tonks. Mentioned above, she was dead dull and forlorn in this book. She had reason, I suppose, but she was so out-of-character as we knew her from OotP that I was figuring she must be under the Imperious Curse. Walking around Hogwarts randomly? Always down-beat? Even Harry dealt with Sirius' death better than that.
There's probably more, but I'm going to focus on what I liked for next time.
I can't say I didn't like HBP. I liked a few things about it, but I think expectation could not be satisfied by what Rowling put out. I know that my critique of certain things is due to anticipatory high expectations, but my defenses of the book all stem from love of series, so the two balance out.
Problems/Questions I had with/about Half-Blood Prince:
1. Romantic entanglements being made into TEH ANGSTORS!
That teenagers and people under stress (such as those who are fighting a war) tend to be a tad dramatic when falling in love is not unheard of. But with the trend towards darker, more mature ambience in the series, HBP's 'OMG KISSING SQUEEE!" reactions are more than a little eye-roll worthy. Harry's first kiss with Cho was suitably nerve-wracking; Ron's being outed as a lip-virgin (well, an all-around virgin I guess) is properly done in the same vein. However, Slut!Ginny making out with boys left and right? No, no, a thousand times no (I was using the hyperbole with 'slut'; it is not to be taken literally). Lavendar flirting with Ron, Ron being tempted and anxious-yes; Ron and Lavendar being glued to each other like RichandAmy from "Foxtrot"-no. If not for the huge fanon-paired Lupin/Tonks, that might have seemed strange (Tonks'--forgive the pun--stupid moony, dreamy sleep-walking over it is NOT OKAY). Bill/Fleur--expected. Harry/Ginny, likewise, but the entire 'Harry is clearly jealous of Dean because he wants Ginny' angsting was laborious. And kissing her in the common room like that? ::sticks finger down throat::
2. Exposition, exposition, exposition
Too much. The wrap-up conversations with Dumbledore at the end of every book are the most boring parts of all the books to come before this. The penseive was an interesting concept, but with too much use it becomes less special and more blah-blah ordinary when it still should retain some aura of mystery (memory is mysterious). All the talk between Dumbledore and Harry bored me, even when it was relatively interesting subject matter (one thing I'll defend: I love Riddle's backstory because he's a brat and a psychopath from the get-go--he's not sympathetic like all the fangirls want him to be). Dumbledore's being made human by all the talk, and he's weaker, which, well, ruins the fun a bit, since the best parts of Order of the Phoenix had him cutting loose on Voldemort and pretty much kicking ass. It's more realistic that Dumbledore's slowing down, but still....does he have to talk that much? And I'm with
feiran: why was the horcrux memory so important if Dumbledore pretty much had the multiple horcrux angle figured?3. The Prince and Corpse
I said I knew who the Half-Blood Prince was; I also knew who would die in this book. Maybe the latter isn't impressive, but nor should the former be. Rowling said it wasn't Voldemort, and it couldn't be Harry. I liked my friend theKathy's idea that it was Dean Thomas, but rather figured it wouldn't be him either. Slughorn's references to Lily being soooooooo good at potions seemed far too obvious to ever throw me off track. Rowling has done 'defer suspicion' tactics better; in Chamber of Secrets, I never figured out Tom Riddle or the heir of Slytherin until the end confrontation. In HBP, once you knew the Prince was good at potions, well, it was like 'duh.'
Dumbledore dying was so obvious that his death lacked any real emotional punch, though Snape being the one to off him was delightfully surprising. I dunno, I just wasn't bothered by it. He was a good character, and it's too bad he's gone, but that's about it. I didn't feel much more involved than I did with Sirius' death, and I liked Sirius a lot. Somehow, Rowling manages to kill characters I like without making me too sad they're gone. That's not saying much for her dramatic writing ability.
4. S/He did what now?
I can't gripe about the excess characters coming out of nowhere--I guess they needed fresher faces than Rowling had hinted at in books past--but I can gripe about the canon characters' actions.
Case #1: Hermione jinxing McLaggen. I know he was a jerk, and mean to Ron (I'd jinx him), but that doesn't excuse what she did. Hermione was the one who stopped the cursing on Harry in the game first year (that she thought was Snape's doing). She ought to be ashamed at playing so unfair. If you write it off as teenage temper, you've got the wrong Hermione.
Case #2: Crying Draco. Yes, he can be sensitive and scared for his life--most people in danger of ticking off Voldy usually are--but there was no hint at all he felt that way until Harry caught him in the bathroom (::groans:: NOT THAT WAY!). He was a prick the entire time, and a self-assured one, and otherwise missing for most of the book. How Harry got it set in his mind Draco was up to anything is beyond me, seeing as he hardly ever saw Malfoy compared to previous books (most of the other books had them running into each other/butting heads every other chapter). I dunno, he seemed too vanilla on that crying jag to be serious.
Case #3: Tonks. Mentioned above, she was dead dull and forlorn in this book. She had reason, I suppose, but she was so out-of-character as we knew her from OotP that I was figuring she must be under the Imperious Curse. Walking around Hogwarts randomly? Always down-beat? Even Harry dealt with Sirius' death better than that.
There's probably more, but I'm going to focus on what I liked for next time.
