HARRY POTTER & THE HBP - what did you think? (SPOILERS!) (3 Viewers)

[jennylim]

haha persephone, i agree about the fanfiction thing!!! i was happy about the

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harry ginny and ron hermione...those 2 were always my favourite ships

. ginny is fast becoming my favourite character...i just love her!!! i love that she's hot and all the guys like her!!! go girl!!! but some bits like

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ron and lavender, malfoy as a failed death eater (which incidentally made me think vividly of the sound of music where the captain is talking to rolf), harry breaking up with ginny because he loves her too much, remus/tonks

and so on are so very fanfictiony!!! it's sad but the first time i read OotP and even this for a bit, i was critiquing it like a fanfic in my head.

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speaking about harry and ginny though, the only plausible reason i can see for them getting together before ron and hermione is that either one or both is going to die. like jkr is obviously leaving r/hr for the last bit so that if they marry or whatever it's way more plausible that they will last the distance.

but omg if she kills harry i won't be able to cope..last night i just re-read the end of HBP and actually sobbed. i've never done that before.

 

[persephone]

yeah voldemort wasn't really in this. It was just a whole lot of backstory.

I bought my copy from Big W for $22.43. There was a line. But my friend saved me a place.

It's not my favourite book of the series. Book 3 is. But this book really annoys me.

And right now, I think a Weasley is going to die.

 

[Tulipa]

ok finished it last night and i'm still :

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praying to a god somewhere that snape did it for some obscure reason. like dumbledore had to die for voldemort to be killed or something. i REFUSE to believe that he was bad, its just not fair!

AND

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laughing at all the funny relationships, i think that was rowlings way of lightening up the book although the lupin/tonks thing was kinda random and out of the blue. it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next book with regards to hogwarts and everyone's movements.

 

[Trippendicular]

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I thought the book was frustratingly indecisive in a way, especially with the whole half-blood prince. Whereas in the other books you always found out about the object in the title and it reached a resolution (such as the philosophers stone in book 1 etc), this one kind of dodged the whole half-blood prince issue until at the end, Snape goes "Oh by the way, I'm the half-blood prince." And I didn't like how JK handled Dumbledore's death either, especially in terms of Harry's reaction to it. I thought she do a good job of Sirius's death and Harry's reaction to that, but here he kind of met it with indifference even though it looked like Harry had got closer to Dumbledore than he had to anyone else, including Sirius. And furthermore, the story overall lacked a definitive ending, it raised more questions and provided unsatisfactory answers to all the questions it promised to answer. It started promisingly and I felt like some interesting things were going to be revealed but as the book got on, I realised she was running out of pages to reveal things in and by the time Harry and Dumbledore had left for the cave, I knew there'd be no more interesting information revealed in order for their to be the required action-packed finale and sad conclusion.
And now the books are going to lose the whole linear style progression, with Harry starting at the Dursleys then going to Hogwarts and leaving at the end. Book 7 will be like an entirely new book compared to the others.

 

[Meldrum]

Methinks that a lot of this book was Ghost written. Between media appearances, having a family and having sex with her amazingly well-endowed husband, JKR just hasn't had the time to write as good a book as the others.

Fucking JKR's sold out...what a skev.

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Speaking of Skev's I now hate Ginny Weasley. All through the books she's been an annoying ranga. All of a sudden she's Paris Hilton. WTF?!

 

[bubz :D]

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i think dumbledore knew something was going to happen to him, which was why he was so eager to fill harry in with nearly everything he knew, so that he could continue without him...

still some things lacking though. why would he trust snape merely because he showed remorse for telling part of the prophecy to voldemort? snape is excellent at occlumency and would've been able to hide his true intentions very well, but wouldn't dumbledore have been able to see through that, even a tiny bit? as the book said, dumbledore tries to see the best in people, like harry tried to see the best in the HBP - both disregarding, or not bothering to find out background info.

if i was voldemort, and snape'd come running back to me, i'd have blasted him on the spot.

and yes, i agree the whole "oh btw, i'm the half-blood price" was a little abrupt, so abrupt that i almost missed that part it would've been nicer if it was the usual "sit down harry, and i'll explain bits of what you need to know but not tell you other stuff so i can leave it to the other books"

i was disappointed with the lack of info on aunt petunia too, but i heard that in the last book there'll be more explanations (i mean, where else would there be?) ... anyway, i definitely like this one more than OoTP, even though now that dumbledore is dead, there's an extremely unsettling feeling that i've only felt after goblet of fire. the next book just holds uncertainty.

 

[Sweets]

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I loved the start of the book. The middle was a bit blah, other then the Horcruxes nothing really happened just same lame love triangles. I also think school wasn't as fun because so many of the people we are used to seeing there-- Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Angelina etc they were all gone.

I'm really glad they are not going back to school. I knew they wearn't going to the moment Dumbledore died. It would just seem wrong.

I was soo sad when Dumbledore died. The whole Snape thing pisses me off though. I know that it was his greatest weakness seeing the good in people and the whole line of when i make mistakes they are generally big was sort of a tip-off but the fact that Dumbledore till the end that Snape was good pissed me off.

Generally though I really loved the book. Everyone compares it to the other ones and says ohh its not as good etc but obviously the books can't be the same. In the other ones we enjoyed a resolution where Voldemort was still out there but no one had died or anything but now I think the books are darker and there are no more fun twists (GOB) which I actually like. I miss the lack of 'everyday harry' though. I'm more of a fan of that then 'hero harry'.

I can't believe Dumbledore died. I actually cried

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

now that i know who dies...i wonder if i will cry at the end. I hope so. can anyone clarify if ron and hermione actually get together? i know i shouldnt spoil it any further but i really want to know!!!! lol

 

[ujuphleg]

In amongst all of this though, the appearance of R.A.B this late in the series does mean that there is some hope for the next book. A new Dumbledore type figure?

 

[urdy]

Did anyone else get the feeling that a LOT was left out? There weren't that many "unsolved puzzles" revealed. And I've read it thrice already, each time was crappier. It does sound really sold out... The quest for missing pieces blah blah, hero must do it alone without anyone blocking his path. Meh. Great book though. Probably the best. I just wanted more substance to it! There were a few needless and stupid chapters, e.g. the first one. Btw was it just my version that had quite a few grammatical and spelling errors? It kinda distracted me, e.g. the fug patch that was left at the window by his breath?

 

[persephone]

Still annoyed

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It did seem that this was not JK Rowling's usual style. And that abrupt bit about Snape being the HBP was out of place. Out of nowhere.

I think that they will go back to school, with a new headmaster. And R.A.B. could be Regalus Black....is he the one that died? I get characters confused sometimes.

I was annoyed that there was nothing about the professors' families in there. Was Dumbledore's relos at his funeral? Like Aberforth.

I have a problem with Harry and Ginny....it doesn't make sense. He doesn't describe his feelings...and the ferocious monster is NOT a feeling...it seems insincere....

And was Fleur that annoying in Book 4?

Book 7 will tie all the loose ends up obviously.

Poor, poor Dumbledore.

The introduction of the Horcruxes and the Unbreakable Vow came out of nowhere.

Sorry, I'm repeating myself but it really reminded me of Harry Potter fanfiction. I hope she hasn't been reading them to get ideas....

Waiting for Book 7

 

[bubz :D]

yes, regalus died... from what sirius said, it didn't sound like a very important death, just that he died coz he wanted out (of the death eaters)... i guess it kinda fits in with that message he wrote? my friend thinks that the death eaters must've found him with the horcrux he'd stolen, and killed him.

my friend also said slughorn mentioned regalus a few times? i must've missed all of them

fleur... yes, was quite annoying in book 4

as for going back to school, i dont think harry will - when will he find the time to find the remaining horcruxes? but i think hermione'd die without her NEWTs, so the others'll probably go back to hogwarts but harry will head to godric's hollow and wherever else.

 

[Libbster]

I found there wasn't as much plot development as I would have liked.

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Fleur was just pissing me off along with the Ginny/Harry Ron/Lavender relationship. However, I can't believe the whole Snape and DD thing. I couldn't believe DD was gone until the portrait was on the wall, I thought this has to be an illusion. Apparently not!

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RAB has got me puzzled, I didn't even consider Regulus Black!! However, now when I think about, it is a possibility, as he was killed by Voldemort a few days after betraying him, if i remember correctly. I can remember Sirius saying something aobut it, i think it was in OotP. I wonder where the rest of the Horcruxes could be though, as there are basically no clues to their location

 

[Libbster]

Sorry! Forgot

 

[glycerine]

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I thought the book was frustratingly indecisive in a way, especially with the whole half-blood prince. Whereas in the other books you always found out about the object in the title and it reached a resolution (such as the philosophers stone in book 1 etc), this one kind of dodged the whole half-blood prince issue until at the end, Snape goes "Oh by the way, I'm the half-blood prince." And I didn't like how JK handled Dumbledore's death either, especially in terms of Harry's reaction to it. I thought she do a good job of Sirius's death and Harry's reaction to that, but here he kind of met it with indifference even though it looked like Harry had got closer to Dumbledore than he had to anyone else, including Sirius. And furthermore, the story overall lacked a definitive ending, it raised more questions and provided unsatisfactory answers to all the questions it promised to answer. It started promisingly and I felt like some interesting things were going to be revealed but as the book got on, I realised she was running out of pages to reveal things in and by the time Harry and Dumbledore had left for the cave, I knew there'd be no more interesting information revealed in order for their to be the required action-packed finale and sad conclusion.
And now the books are going to lose the whole linear style progression, with Harry starting at the Dursleys then going to Hogwarts and leaving at the end. Book 7 will be like an entirely new book compared to the others.

In regards to the ending thing and the unsolved questions, I just really believe that was her intention. This was *not* a stand-alone book by any means, so to go answering most of the questions people have built up would be stupid cos then book 7 wouldn't be anywhere near as good.

 

[bubz :D]

spoiler tags would be preferred, mainly for anything about who dies/who kills

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mugglenet.com says that we will find out about snape's weaknesses in book 6/7 (obviously 7, now)...

however, there's already been a bit of a hint - he HATES being called a coward (p 564). i can't wait for the harry & snape meetng in the next book, as there is bound to be one.


ahhh... think about what could've happened though, if dumbledore hadn't frozen harry....

 

[glycerine]

I don't know, I think she can do it. I wouldn't mind if book 7 is really, really long.

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Now that you mention it, I wonder where the coward thing comes from. Do you think he's a coward (too scared *not* to work for Voldemort) or just evil?

 

[persephone]

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BTW, when can we take the spoiler tags off?

I think he'll go back, if only to visit Hagrid and Dumbledore. Perhaps the Horcrux is at the school so maybe he'll have to go back. If Ron, Hermione and urggh...Ginny have go back I suppose he wouldn't want to be the only one left behind. Besides I'm sure that they could help him. Ginny...not so sure.

I remember reading on another forum some speculation about Percy. And about the letter that Percy wrote to Ron in OotP. People think that it was from the real Percy who has been imprisioned and that Peter Pettigrew was on Polyjuice Potion and was impersonating Percy creating the rift between him and the Weasleys. And I feel bad that nothing was revealed. They spent so much time on the theory and their questions weren't answered.

Speaking of Polyjuice Potion ... all that stuff with Draco Malfoy and the Room of Requirement just got a bit tiresome. And Draco .... kill or be killed ... I suppose Snape couldn't break his Unbreakable Vow and had to do what Draco failed to do. I suppose Dumbledore knew this. Snape ... kill or be killed ... he must be hating himself.... Snape is still good!!!

 

[glycerine]

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I've entertained thoughts that Snape isn't 'really' evil, yada yada, but frankly, I just don't think it's true. Although it would explain the 'DON'T CALL ME COWARD! WAHHH!' bit

 

[bubz :D]

hmm i'm not sure about when the tags can be taken off, the book just came out! though i'm sure most people know who dies by now anyway (thanks to some insensitive dicks in NS)... like i said, to respect those who haven't finished it (even though it clearly says SPOILERS in the thread title) - keep who dies/who kills between tags.

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i dont know about the snape thing, i dont really have any doubts who's side he's on now... i mean, remember his face when he killed dumbledore? *shudders*

it's possible voldemort could've gotten quirrel to plant something in hogwarts.

like harry, i'm very interested about draco... is there a chance he takes their side?