Today is the conclusion of the reviews of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga, with the review of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The 768 page book was later the basis for two separate movies, one that was released a few weeks ago, while the second movie is to be released in July, 2011. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry, along with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger, decide to forgo their seventh year of Hogwarts in order to look for Horcruxes which contain parts of Lord Voldemort's soul and destroy them before Voldemort can finally succeed in his mission to kill Harry Potter and become the most powerful wizard on the planet. Meanwhile, Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, seem to have the world by it's tail, leaving behind a trail of fear and despair as they take over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts itself. Along the way, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine learn of three sacred objects that together are called the Deathly Hallows. Eventually, Harry and Voldemort have their faceoff, and everybody dies except for Seamus Finnegan and Professor Sprout. Well, not really. A few thoughts about this book, and yes there are SPOILERS, so you have been warned.
- You know, for a book series that was originally meant for kids, a lot of characters die in this book. Even from the beginning, many characters that have become well known in the series are bumped off rather unceremoniously. Actually, the whole book takes a more mature turn, as in this book there are characters cursing and numerous kidnappings and all sorts of stuff like that. I didn't have a problem with this too much, especially when you consider that the readers who grew up with the series were more mature by the release of Deathly Hallows and could accept this change in tone, but still, it is somewhat jarring to see how this story evolved from its beginnings.
- Since Harry and his cohorts are away from Hogwarts for most of the year, and out on their own, the story narrows its focus dramatically. Also, since there are a lot of times where the three are just out in the woods waiting for their next move, there's a lot of down time in this book where nothing happens other than some bickering among the three of them or they take forever to argue about their next move before finally coming to a decision. One of the things I liked most about this series was the wide array of characters that would either be introduced or greatly evolve throughout the series, but in the Deathly Hallows, there are very few characters being introduced, and we really only learn more about Dumbledore and Snape. Oh, and I guess the goblins. Everybody else either makes a token appearance or two or changes for the worse (i.e. Lupin). Except for Neville, as he finally stepped out of Harry's shadow to become a key part of the story, even though his role was rather short.
- After reading the seven Harry Potter books, I must say that I'm not impressed with Ron Weasley's performance. Or Ron in general, to be honest. Actually, he wasn't so bad in the first three books, but starting with the Goblet of Fire, Ron just gets more and more annoying. In this book, Ron really turns it up a notch, as he spends a lot of the book pining over Hermoine to the point where he becomes a lovesick mess who lost whatever charm he had possessed throughout the series. What really ticked me off is when he decided to leave his two friends, the only people who had put up with his constant bursts of immaturity and insensitivity, to fend for themselves. One, it really seemed kind of forced, as someone with the perpetrated bravery of Ron wouldn't just cut and run like that, and two, I understand that he was under some sort of negative force due to the locket, which of course raises the issue of why the three decided it would be a good idea to wear a cursed object like that around their necks in the first place. I guess at the end of the day I just have a hard time finding what it is Ron brings to the table. He's not particularly smart and tends to turn his back on his friends without warning. Harry's the chosen one, Hermoine supplies the ideas and logic, so what does Ron do, keep the drinks on ice?
- It was once observed by Professor Snape that "[Harry Potter] has fought his way out of a number of tight corners by a simple combination of sheer luck and more talented friends." Well, after the events of the Deathly Hallows, it's kind of hard to disagree with Snape about Potter's remarkable luck. Heck, he escapes time and time again from certain doom through an improbable series of events, and is only able to complete his task of destroying Horcruxes with the assistance of Neville and others. Then again, this is not anything new, as Harry once pulled a giant sword out of a hat and also was able to go back in time to save, well, himself. But in those other books, at least Harry had to show off some semblance of skill to accomplish his goal. In the Deathly Hallows, it seems like Harry became way too reliant on luck and other people's mistakes more than any skills he possessed, or maybe it's just me.
- Voldemort may be an all-powerful wizard and all, but he needs a new team of accomplices, as the Death Eaters usually suck. Even when they accomplish something, they usually screw things up so badly that things are worse than they were before. Yes, Bellatrix may be some sort of dark arts genius and the rest of the Death Eaters are fearful in their own way, but they seem to be so interested in serving Voldemort that all logic escapes their brains, so they do stupid things like leaving a bunch of wizards unattended in a prison cell. Actually, Voldemort seems to have a few brain farts himself throughout the book, as his arrogance seems to work against him in many ways throughout the series. I wonder if Voldemort is really that good, or the rest of the wizardy world (the ministry, Dumbledore, etc.) is really just not very good at their tasks.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had a few problems. There were a few plotholes, some things went unacknowledged or under acknowledged, and there's a lot of time in this book where nothing happens. However, as a whole. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows isn't too bad of a book, although not quite up to the level of the first four books. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows a 6.43 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Canon Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Continuing on with the reviews of each book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga, today I review the sixth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. At 652 pages, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince isn't as long as the previous two books, but it's lengthy enough to cover what needs to be covered. In this book, Harry is back for his sixth year at Hogwarts, along with Ron and Hermoine and Seamus and all his Hogwarts friends. More personnel changes take place, as Hogwarts has a new potions teacher in Horace Slughorn, who replaces Severus Snape. But don't fret about Snape, as he finally realizes his lifelong dream of becoming the new defense against the dark arts teacher. But not all is well as Hogwarts, as Harry's arch rival Voldemort and his Death Eaters have risen to power, causing chaos in their wake, and Harry, along with Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, spend much of the year preparing for the eventual showdown with Voldemort which, as has been prophesied, will leave one of the two dead. A few notes about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and I'm going to try to not spoil too much in the story, but there are due to be some SPOILERS, so be careful.
- In the last book, I felt that Harry and others, including Hermoine, had become a bunch of self-important cranks. Well, a year seems to have made a difference with Harry, as although he still has a few moments of immaturity, he seems a lot more focused and less likely to snap at everybody in sight this time around. However, it seems as if Ron and Hermoine once again spend most of the book angry at each other about all sorts of things. Then Ron gets a girlfriend, which makes things much much worse, and Hermoine's various dates with others doesn't help matters, so basically you have Harry's two best friends feuding with each other for half of the book, which is probably not the thing Harry needs to deal with, what with his upcoming battle with the most powerful dark wizard of all time and all. Harry is not spared by Hermoine's wrath either, as Harry uses an old potions book written in by the mysterious Half-Blood Prince to become the top student in potions class, much to Hermoine's chagrin. Although, I must say, I do kind of see her point, as Harry just happened to find the right book while Hermoine does all her work the old-fashioned way.
- In the previous years at Hogwarts, a certain pattern developed. Something traumatic happens, Harry gets involved, and everybody starts to pile on Harry. Well, not this time, as the events of the previous book have made Harry a modern day folk hero. The same newspapers that sought to destroy his reputation now call him 'the chosen one', the same Ministry of Magic that tried to get Harry expelled now ask for his help, the same group of students that once mocked and ridiculed Harry now treat him as if he's up on a pedestal (well, except for the Slytherins). To Harry's credit, he doesn't rub it in everybody's faces by telling them 'I told you so' or some other nonsense, although he also is rather skeptical of his newfound acceptance, and wants little or nothing to do with the same people that nearly destroyed him in the last book.
- In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it seems as if half the book is spent with Harry and Dumbledore learning about Voldemort's past through memories stored in Dumbledore's pensive. That's all well and good, as it gives both Voldemort and Dumbledore's characters more depth, the scenes also make the rest of the book's events seems boring in comparison. It's as if the Voldemort-Dumblerdore chapters are the ones that end up being of importance, while most of everything else that happens in the book (excluding Harry's scene with Slughorn at Hagrid's, and the ending sequence) kind of filler. Even when Ron Weasley, one of the main characters in the book, was in grave danger after being poisoned, it didn't seem to have the same impact as it should have, because the telling of the story gave more weight to Dumbledore's time with Harry than anything else, if that makes any sense.
- There aren't too many new characters introduced in this book. Yes, Slughorn is new, and plays a big role in the story after all. Slughorn isn't a particularly bad guy, however, he tends to favor those students who he feels would exceed in the future, and therefore, Slughorn can leech off of their fame in the future. It'd probably be mildly annoying for those that weren't the chosen few of Slughorn, I would imagine. Heck, I've had a couple of teachers like that before, and it's not too fun being on the other side of that equation. We also get acquainted with Voldemort's family, and considering what type of people they are, it's not hard to see how Voldemort could become so evil with people such as that being his blood.
- Once again, Draco Malfoy is back as Harry's foil at Hogwarts. But this time, Draco seems to have taken a turn. Not only is he more competent in his battles with Potter, breaking his nose at one point, but his smug self-nature seems to have been deflated some, as his pop's in prison and Voldemort has given Draco a seemingly impossible task. Somehow, even though it takes him all year, Draco puts together a plan that leads to this task being done, although you'll have to read the book to see what it is.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is better than the previous book, but still falls slightly short of the previous four books in the saga. Other than the demise of a major character at the end, it seems as if the sole purpose of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is to build up to the final book in the series, where everything will come to a head. Even the title plot with the Half Blood Prince gets lost in the shuffle, and the revelation of said Prince doesn't have as much impact as other events towards the end do. Also, characters such as Neville and Hagrid kind of get shuffled to the background, as the book mainly focuses on Harry and Dumbledore. Still, it's not a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination, and it does build up a lot of suspense to the conclusion. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince a 6.5 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading. Remember, if you have any ideas for future reviews, or comments about this or previous reviews, then send them to me either by e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com or by leaving a comment on the blog.
- In the last book, I felt that Harry and others, including Hermoine, had become a bunch of self-important cranks. Well, a year seems to have made a difference with Harry, as although he still has a few moments of immaturity, he seems a lot more focused and less likely to snap at everybody in sight this time around. However, it seems as if Ron and Hermoine once again spend most of the book angry at each other about all sorts of things. Then Ron gets a girlfriend, which makes things much much worse, and Hermoine's various dates with others doesn't help matters, so basically you have Harry's two best friends feuding with each other for half of the book, which is probably not the thing Harry needs to deal with, what with his upcoming battle with the most powerful dark wizard of all time and all. Harry is not spared by Hermoine's wrath either, as Harry uses an old potions book written in by the mysterious Half-Blood Prince to become the top student in potions class, much to Hermoine's chagrin. Although, I must say, I do kind of see her point, as Harry just happened to find the right book while Hermoine does all her work the old-fashioned way.
- In the previous years at Hogwarts, a certain pattern developed. Something traumatic happens, Harry gets involved, and everybody starts to pile on Harry. Well, not this time, as the events of the previous book have made Harry a modern day folk hero. The same newspapers that sought to destroy his reputation now call him 'the chosen one', the same Ministry of Magic that tried to get Harry expelled now ask for his help, the same group of students that once mocked and ridiculed Harry now treat him as if he's up on a pedestal (well, except for the Slytherins). To Harry's credit, he doesn't rub it in everybody's faces by telling them 'I told you so' or some other nonsense, although he also is rather skeptical of his newfound acceptance, and wants little or nothing to do with the same people that nearly destroyed him in the last book.
- In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it seems as if half the book is spent with Harry and Dumbledore learning about Voldemort's past through memories stored in Dumbledore's pensive. That's all well and good, as it gives both Voldemort and Dumbledore's characters more depth, the scenes also make the rest of the book's events seems boring in comparison. It's as if the Voldemort-Dumblerdore chapters are the ones that end up being of importance, while most of everything else that happens in the book (excluding Harry's scene with Slughorn at Hagrid's, and the ending sequence) kind of filler. Even when Ron Weasley, one of the main characters in the book, was in grave danger after being poisoned, it didn't seem to have the same impact as it should have, because the telling of the story gave more weight to Dumbledore's time with Harry than anything else, if that makes any sense.
- There aren't too many new characters introduced in this book. Yes, Slughorn is new, and plays a big role in the story after all. Slughorn isn't a particularly bad guy, however, he tends to favor those students who he feels would exceed in the future, and therefore, Slughorn can leech off of their fame in the future. It'd probably be mildly annoying for those that weren't the chosen few of Slughorn, I would imagine. Heck, I've had a couple of teachers like that before, and it's not too fun being on the other side of that equation. We also get acquainted with Voldemort's family, and considering what type of people they are, it's not hard to see how Voldemort could become so evil with people such as that being his blood.
- Once again, Draco Malfoy is back as Harry's foil at Hogwarts. But this time, Draco seems to have taken a turn. Not only is he more competent in his battles with Potter, breaking his nose at one point, but his smug self-nature seems to have been deflated some, as his pop's in prison and Voldemort has given Draco a seemingly impossible task. Somehow, even though it takes him all year, Draco puts together a plan that leads to this task being done, although you'll have to read the book to see what it is.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is better than the previous book, but still falls slightly short of the previous four books in the saga. Other than the demise of a major character at the end, it seems as if the sole purpose of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is to build up to the final book in the series, where everything will come to a head. Even the title plot with the Half Blood Prince gets lost in the shuffle, and the revelation of said Prince doesn't have as much impact as other events towards the end do. Also, characters such as Neville and Hagrid kind of get shuffled to the background, as the book mainly focuses on Harry and Dumbledore. Still, it's not a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination, and it does build up a lot of suspense to the conclusion. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince a 6.5 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading. Remember, if you have any ideas for future reviews, or comments about this or previous reviews, then send them to me either by e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com or by leaving a comment on the blog.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Canon Book Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Canon Review's series of reviews on the Harry Potter series continues with the fifth book in the saga, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The book is once again written by J.K. Rowling and is the biggest in the series at a massive 870 pages. It's Harry and the gang's fifth year at the wizardry school Hogwarts, and things have never been worse for Potter. Not only is his nemesis Lord Voldemort back in power, Harry also has to endure a smear campaign spearheaded by the Ministry of Magic, who denies that Voldemort is back in power. To make matters worse for Harry, a new teacher comes to Hogwarts whose sole purpose seems to be to punish Harry Potter, and Potter finds himself more and more alone, as Hagrid and Dumbeldore have bigger problems on their hands. He even gets into a feud with Seamus Finnegan, which ticked me off because Harry was slightly in the wrong there. But enough about that, here are a few notes from the book, and yes there are SPOILERS, so be careful.
- After witnessing the revival of his arch-rival Voldemort, the death of one of his fellow students, and not only enduring a smear campaign but also a plot to have him expelled from Hogwarts from the Ministry of Magic, well it's safe to say that Harry Potter is just a bit angry in this book. Naturally, he does what most people do in situations like these and takes out his frustration on those unfortunate enough to be close to him. It seems like half the book is spent on Harry yelling at whoever he happened to be talking to at the moment, whether they deserved it or not. The other half of the book is usually Harry either wallowing in self-pity or making the dumbest decision possible at every turn. While this may be the way that most teenagers would act in this situation, it does make Harry a lot less sympathetic in this book than in any of the previous titles.
- Then again, Harry's not the only person that has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. His two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger, seem to not be able to go more than five minutes without bickering at each other about even the smallest little thing. Granger in particular becomes more and more annoying, as she seemingly can't wait for any opportunity to boss her friends around. Even some of the adults of Hogwarts change for the worse, as head master Dumbledore seems to make a concentrated effort to have as little contact with Harry as possible (although it is later revealed that he had a good reason for this behavior), Snape becomes more and more hateful of Harry (although Harry certainly did not help himself in that matter), while Hagrid crosses the line between being a bit reckless and irresponsible to becoming a downright health risk for his friends to be around. At least Neville Longbottom actually changes for the better in this book, as he shows signs of being more than just a clumsy wizard, but rather a quite capable wizard, at least in a few subjects.
- Since there's another year at Hogwarts, there is also a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. This time it's a particularly nasty woman from the Ministry of Magic named Delores Umbridge. Umbridge doesn't seem to be too interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, rather, her main goal is to gain enough power to take over Hogwarts. Umbridge also has a secondary role, to make Harry Potter's life a living hell. Umbridge is very successful in her goal of tormenting Potter, to the point where it gets tiresome. After a while, you can start predicting just when Umbridge comes in to foil whatever plan Harry and his friends have going on at the time. Also, it's never really made clear why Umbridge hates Potter so much, to the point where she orders Dementors to attack Potter and even attacks his owl, Hedwig. But, there's never a reason given as to why Umbridge is so strongly against Potter other than he may be a threat to her power. Surely, there is some deeper reasoning behind Umbridge's behavior.
- Like all the previous Harry Potter books, we are introduced to quite a few new characters, which is a good thing because it takes up time which otherwise would be spent on Harry being grouchy and/or Hermoine being an unbearable pest. Most of these characters are part of the titular Order of the Phoenix, which is a group put together to fight off Voldemort, although some of the members like Mundungus seem more interested in their own personal desires than fighting off Voldemort. The only one of these characters that were remotely interesting was the metamorph auror Tonks, and she only has a minor role in this book. The most fascinating new character is a fellow Hogwarts student named Luna Lovegood, who has a very different outlook on life than anyone else. It's actually somewhat refreshing to have someone with a different outlook on things for once, as Luna adds a new element to the story and is one of the few endearing characters in this story.
- Once again, Harry Potter and his Quidditch team (with Ron as goalie) takes on Draco Malfoy and his team and once again, Harry gets the better of Draco by catching the snitch first. Shouldn't somebody point out how bad Draco is at Quidditch the next time he insults Harry or the Weasleys or whoever? In fact, Draco is seemingly more inept than ever, as the only time he can seem to do anything right is when Umbridge tells him what to do. You would think that with Draco's lack of success against Harry Potter, he would learn to lay low and not antagonize his rival as much as he does, but considering the events at the end, I don't foresee that happening.
- Also, once again, some unpleasant news or events happen to Harry Potter, and once again, the student body of Hogwarts turn their back on him nearly en masse. Of course, the story of Harry's narrow escape of Voldemort isn't really told until the middle of the book, but even so, considering how many times Harry and his pals have saved the school from certain doom, wouldn't you think they would cut him some slack? But no, the newspaper with a habit for sensationalizing stories is knocking Potter, so he must be a lying buffoon who is worse than Stalin. Yet once again, Harry is proven right, and only Seamus seems to be a big enough person to apologize.
Overall, this was by far the least enjoyable book in the Harry Potter series thus far. Most of the characters spent most of their time either yelling at each other or doing mind-numbingly stupid acts, the over reliance of Umbridge as Potter's new foil became rather tiresome, and there were quite a few plotholes in this book which I'm not going to spoil here, but still rather annoyed me. The book probably would have been better if it were at least 200 pages shorter, and the big revelation at the end was nothing that most readers probably didn't figure out after the first book. It wasn't a terrible book, but it wasn't all that good either. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a 5.045 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
- After witnessing the revival of his arch-rival Voldemort, the death of one of his fellow students, and not only enduring a smear campaign but also a plot to have him expelled from Hogwarts from the Ministry of Magic, well it's safe to say that Harry Potter is just a bit angry in this book. Naturally, he does what most people do in situations like these and takes out his frustration on those unfortunate enough to be close to him. It seems like half the book is spent on Harry yelling at whoever he happened to be talking to at the moment, whether they deserved it or not. The other half of the book is usually Harry either wallowing in self-pity or making the dumbest decision possible at every turn. While this may be the way that most teenagers would act in this situation, it does make Harry a lot less sympathetic in this book than in any of the previous titles.
- Then again, Harry's not the only person that has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. His two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger, seem to not be able to go more than five minutes without bickering at each other about even the smallest little thing. Granger in particular becomes more and more annoying, as she seemingly can't wait for any opportunity to boss her friends around. Even some of the adults of Hogwarts change for the worse, as head master Dumbledore seems to make a concentrated effort to have as little contact with Harry as possible (although it is later revealed that he had a good reason for this behavior), Snape becomes more and more hateful of Harry (although Harry certainly did not help himself in that matter), while Hagrid crosses the line between being a bit reckless and irresponsible to becoming a downright health risk for his friends to be around. At least Neville Longbottom actually changes for the better in this book, as he shows signs of being more than just a clumsy wizard, but rather a quite capable wizard, at least in a few subjects.
- Since there's another year at Hogwarts, there is also a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. This time it's a particularly nasty woman from the Ministry of Magic named Delores Umbridge. Umbridge doesn't seem to be too interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, rather, her main goal is to gain enough power to take over Hogwarts. Umbridge also has a secondary role, to make Harry Potter's life a living hell. Umbridge is very successful in her goal of tormenting Potter, to the point where it gets tiresome. After a while, you can start predicting just when Umbridge comes in to foil whatever plan Harry and his friends have going on at the time. Also, it's never really made clear why Umbridge hates Potter so much, to the point where she orders Dementors to attack Potter and even attacks his owl, Hedwig. But, there's never a reason given as to why Umbridge is so strongly against Potter other than he may be a threat to her power. Surely, there is some deeper reasoning behind Umbridge's behavior.
- Like all the previous Harry Potter books, we are introduced to quite a few new characters, which is a good thing because it takes up time which otherwise would be spent on Harry being grouchy and/or Hermoine being an unbearable pest. Most of these characters are part of the titular Order of the Phoenix, which is a group put together to fight off Voldemort, although some of the members like Mundungus seem more interested in their own personal desires than fighting off Voldemort. The only one of these characters that were remotely interesting was the metamorph auror Tonks, and she only has a minor role in this book. The most fascinating new character is a fellow Hogwarts student named Luna Lovegood, who has a very different outlook on life than anyone else. It's actually somewhat refreshing to have someone with a different outlook on things for once, as Luna adds a new element to the story and is one of the few endearing characters in this story.
- Once again, Harry Potter and his Quidditch team (with Ron as goalie) takes on Draco Malfoy and his team and once again, Harry gets the better of Draco by catching the snitch first. Shouldn't somebody point out how bad Draco is at Quidditch the next time he insults Harry or the Weasleys or whoever? In fact, Draco is seemingly more inept than ever, as the only time he can seem to do anything right is when Umbridge tells him what to do. You would think that with Draco's lack of success against Harry Potter, he would learn to lay low and not antagonize his rival as much as he does, but considering the events at the end, I don't foresee that happening.
- Also, once again, some unpleasant news or events happen to Harry Potter, and once again, the student body of Hogwarts turn their back on him nearly en masse. Of course, the story of Harry's narrow escape of Voldemort isn't really told until the middle of the book, but even so, considering how many times Harry and his pals have saved the school from certain doom, wouldn't you think they would cut him some slack? But no, the newspaper with a habit for sensationalizing stories is knocking Potter, so he must be a lying buffoon who is worse than Stalin. Yet once again, Harry is proven right, and only Seamus seems to be a big enough person to apologize.
Overall, this was by far the least enjoyable book in the Harry Potter series thus far. Most of the characters spent most of their time either yelling at each other or doing mind-numbingly stupid acts, the over reliance of Umbridge as Potter's new foil became rather tiresome, and there were quite a few plotholes in this book which I'm not going to spoil here, but still rather annoyed me. The book probably would have been better if it were at least 200 pages shorter, and the big revelation at the end was nothing that most readers probably didn't figure out after the first book. It wasn't a terrible book, but it wasn't all that good either. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a 5.045 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Canon Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I don't know if you've heard, but this weekend the new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 was released. As you might expect, it did quite well at the box office this weekend, as every Quidditch loving muggle went out and saw their man Harry and his pals battle the forces of evil or something. I don't know, I'm not that far into the Potter saga. I did not go and see this movie (although my sister did), so you may be wondering why I'm even mentioning Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. Well, it's for the hits that come along with mentioning a popular topic like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.
Now that that's out of way, today's review is actually of the fourth novel in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In this novel, Harry Potter doesn't actually touch the Goblet of Fire, but it dramatically changes his life and nearly gets him killed anyway. Yes, once again, poor Harry tries to go through another year at Hogwarts, a school for wizards, without causing too much trouble, but trouble has a funny way of finding Harry Potter and his friends. For one, his wand gets jacked at the Quidditch World Cup, and is later used to summon the Dark Mark of Voldemort, the most evil wizard in the world and the man that killed Harry's parents. Also, this year at Hogwarts, an old tradition is restarted with the revival of the Triwizard Cup, a competition between a wizard or witch from three rival schools, Hogwarts being among them. Even though the competition is limited to students over 17, Harry somehow gets picked by the Goblet of Fire. This comes as a surprise to Harry, considering he didn't try to enter the tournament. So, in addition to all of his troubles with mastering magic, Harry now must compete in a tournament that requires him to complete tasks that are quite advanced for any wizard, much less a fourth year student at Hogwarts, and figure out who entered him in the tournament, as he has a feeling that once again, somebody wants Harry dead. All that, and more, can be found in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A few notes about this book, and there are SPOLIERS ahead, so proceed with caution.
- The first thing I noticed about this book is that it is a lot longer than the previous three. At 754 pages, this book is nearly as lengthy as the previous two books in the series combined. However, like the previous three books, this book only covers one year in time. It just so happens that a lot more seems to happen this year than in the other three years.
- In the Goblet of Fire, there are many other subplots going on along with the main narrative (which is basically Harry vs. Voldemort) which expand the Harry Potter universe. For example, there's the Quidditch World Cup, which is pretty much like soccer's World Cup only without vuvuzuelas and concealed to most of the public by an insane amount of magic. Plus, there's the introduction of two new wizardry schools, Beauxbatons, which seems to be a French school, and Durmstrung, which seems to be a Russian or Eastern European school. This, I felt, was a welcome change to the story, as it showed that the world of magic is not just merely confined to Hogwarts. If anything, I would have liked a bit more information about these two schools, particularly Beauxbatons and their competitor in the Triwizard tournament, Fleur Delacour, as there really wasn't any depth to her character.
- There are many new characters in The Goblet of Fire. One of which is a nosy newspaper report for the Daily Prophet named Rita Skeeter. Skeeter is the worst kind of journalist, one that isn't above bending the truth or using espionage in order to write a more compelling story. Skeeter causes a lot of problems for Potter, particularly when Draco and his fellow Slytherins start feeding her information. If I were an ameteur psychologist, I'd say that the creation of Skeeter was the result of the author's frustration over her coverage by the media, but I'm not and besides, Rowling denied that notion. Still, I do wonder.
- Also, Hogwarts once again has a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. This time it's a former auror (basically, an investigator and capturer of dark wizards) named Mad-Eye Moody. Why do they call him Mad-Eye, you ask? Well, it's because he lost an eye during his career as an auror, and decided to replace it with a magically enhanced eyes that can rotate 360 degrees and see through anything, walls, invisibility cloaks, a dragon's belly, whatever. Perhaps an airport should hire Mad-Eye Moody as their security officer so they don't have to violently pat down passengers anymore.
- This book not only takes a turn in the length of the book, but also seems to take a more adult turn in general. For the first times, relationships and romance become a theme in the book, particularly with Hermoine and Ron. Harry and his cohorts act more like teenagers in this book rather than kids, and there are times where Harry feels uneasy about being so heavily protected, as if he thinks he knows all the answers like any other teenager. Also, there are more disturbing scenes in this one, such as, well basically everything that happens after the third stage of the tournament begins. Also, this was really the first Potter book that ended on a definite down note.
- One thing that kind of annoys me about the Harry Potter books is that most of the student body at Hogwarts seem to have a short memory. Once again, Harry finds himself in a perilous situation not of his doing, and once again, most of the school hates him for it. Never mind that Harry's saved their sorry butts on more than one occasion. This time, even Ron gets into the spirit, as his jealousy over Harry rears its ugly head after Harry is announced as the fourth member of the tournament. Sure, Harry could have handled himself better in their mini-feud, but is it too much to ask for a little understanding, Ron? In fact, even when they were getting along, Ron grated on my nerves for most of the book, as his new favorite hobby seemed to be complaining.
Overall, this wasn't too bad of a story, although I did find a couple of plotholes, and everything just seemed to wrap up a little too conveniently, if you will. Nevertheless, the story itself was very suspenseful, and kept me wanting more. Overall, I'll give Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a 7.02950 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Now that that's out of way, today's review is actually of the fourth novel in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In this novel, Harry Potter doesn't actually touch the Goblet of Fire, but it dramatically changes his life and nearly gets him killed anyway. Yes, once again, poor Harry tries to go through another year at Hogwarts, a school for wizards, without causing too much trouble, but trouble has a funny way of finding Harry Potter and his friends. For one, his wand gets jacked at the Quidditch World Cup, and is later used to summon the Dark Mark of Voldemort, the most evil wizard in the world and the man that killed Harry's parents. Also, this year at Hogwarts, an old tradition is restarted with the revival of the Triwizard Cup, a competition between a wizard or witch from three rival schools, Hogwarts being among them. Even though the competition is limited to students over 17, Harry somehow gets picked by the Goblet of Fire. This comes as a surprise to Harry, considering he didn't try to enter the tournament. So, in addition to all of his troubles with mastering magic, Harry now must compete in a tournament that requires him to complete tasks that are quite advanced for any wizard, much less a fourth year student at Hogwarts, and figure out who entered him in the tournament, as he has a feeling that once again, somebody wants Harry dead. All that, and more, can be found in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A few notes about this book, and there are SPOLIERS ahead, so proceed with caution.
- The first thing I noticed about this book is that it is a lot longer than the previous three. At 754 pages, this book is nearly as lengthy as the previous two books in the series combined. However, like the previous three books, this book only covers one year in time. It just so happens that a lot more seems to happen this year than in the other three years.
- In the Goblet of Fire, there are many other subplots going on along with the main narrative (which is basically Harry vs. Voldemort) which expand the Harry Potter universe. For example, there's the Quidditch World Cup, which is pretty much like soccer's World Cup only without vuvuzuelas and concealed to most of the public by an insane amount of magic. Plus, there's the introduction of two new wizardry schools, Beauxbatons, which seems to be a French school, and Durmstrung, which seems to be a Russian or Eastern European school. This, I felt, was a welcome change to the story, as it showed that the world of magic is not just merely confined to Hogwarts. If anything, I would have liked a bit more information about these two schools, particularly Beauxbatons and their competitor in the Triwizard tournament, Fleur Delacour, as there really wasn't any depth to her character.
- There are many new characters in The Goblet of Fire. One of which is a nosy newspaper report for the Daily Prophet named Rita Skeeter. Skeeter is the worst kind of journalist, one that isn't above bending the truth or using espionage in order to write a more compelling story. Skeeter causes a lot of problems for Potter, particularly when Draco and his fellow Slytherins start feeding her information. If I were an ameteur psychologist, I'd say that the creation of Skeeter was the result of the author's frustration over her coverage by the media, but I'm not and besides, Rowling denied that notion. Still, I do wonder.
- Also, Hogwarts once again has a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. This time it's a former auror (basically, an investigator and capturer of dark wizards) named Mad-Eye Moody. Why do they call him Mad-Eye, you ask? Well, it's because he lost an eye during his career as an auror, and decided to replace it with a magically enhanced eyes that can rotate 360 degrees and see through anything, walls, invisibility cloaks, a dragon's belly, whatever. Perhaps an airport should hire Mad-Eye Moody as their security officer so they don't have to violently pat down passengers anymore.
- This book not only takes a turn in the length of the book, but also seems to take a more adult turn in general. For the first times, relationships and romance become a theme in the book, particularly with Hermoine and Ron. Harry and his cohorts act more like teenagers in this book rather than kids, and there are times where Harry feels uneasy about being so heavily protected, as if he thinks he knows all the answers like any other teenager. Also, there are more disturbing scenes in this one, such as, well basically everything that happens after the third stage of the tournament begins. Also, this was really the first Potter book that ended on a definite down note.
- One thing that kind of annoys me about the Harry Potter books is that most of the student body at Hogwarts seem to have a short memory. Once again, Harry finds himself in a perilous situation not of his doing, and once again, most of the school hates him for it. Never mind that Harry's saved their sorry butts on more than one occasion. This time, even Ron gets into the spirit, as his jealousy over Harry rears its ugly head after Harry is announced as the fourth member of the tournament. Sure, Harry could have handled himself better in their mini-feud, but is it too much to ask for a little understanding, Ron? In fact, even when they were getting along, Ron grated on my nerves for most of the book, as his new favorite hobby seemed to be complaining.
Overall, this wasn't too bad of a story, although I did find a couple of plotholes, and everything just seemed to wrap up a little too conveniently, if you will. Nevertheless, the story itself was very suspenseful, and kept me wanting more. Overall, I'll give Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a 7.02950 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Canon Book Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Today I continue with the review of the Harry Potter series as suggested by reading Maggie W. by reviewing the third book of the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In Harry Potter in the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is back for his third season at the famous wizardry school Hogwarts. Once again, things just can't go smoothly for Harry, as a man named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, the prison where wizards that have committed crimes go. Azkaban is a dark place run by dementors who prey on human happiness, and up until now, no one had ever escaped. To make matters worse, it is believed that Black, a supporter of Voldemort, has escaped for one reason and one reason only, to kill Harry Potter. A few notes about this book, and yes there are SPOILERS.
- It seems that as in the real world, the subject of fortune telling is also regarded as little more than a joke in the world of Harry Potter, as the divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, is not taken very seriously, even as she repeatedly predicts the demise of Harry Potter. Even Hermoine, whose thirst for knowledge has seemed to take an obsessive turn for the worst, by the way, starts to question Trelawney's credibility and eventually snaps after yet another prediction of Harry's impending doom. Come to think of it, Hermoine changed a good bit during the events of this book, becoming more aggressive (smacking Draco, for one) and more willing to rebel against authority when need be.
- There are a few new characters in this book, the most interesting being the new Professor of Defense of the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin. At first, Lupin is presented as just another teacher, although one that is quite a favorite with the students and with a mysterious illness. As it turns out, Lupin ends up taking a huge role in the main narrative involving Sirius Black, and it's interesting how Rowling works Lupin in and out of the main story and adding to the depth of his character.
- One of the more interesting aspects of this book is that we learn what type of person Harry's father was before meeting his demise. As it turns out, James Potter and his crew were masters of mischief. As it turns out, Harry becomes even more willing to bend and break the rules to fit his needs, an attitude that gets him in trouble with Professor Snape, and their feud deepens. For the most part, Snape takes over Draco's role as Potter's main nemesis, as Draco is little more than a harmless foil whom Potter is able to best easily on multiple occasions, especially on the Quidditch field. Anyway, back to Snape, even though he seems to despise Potter, Rowling does not portray him as an evil madmen. Rather, every action Snape takes against Potter and anyone else seems to be done for the best of Hogwarts, at least in his mind. After reading more about Snape's problems with James Potter while both were at Hogwarts, and the events of this book, I must say that I am interested in what role he will play in the next few books, and besides Potter and Dumbledore, I find Snape to be the most compelling character in the first three books of the Potter saga.
- If there is one fault that I have with the book, it is with the pacing. The book started out with a bang, but seemed to drag for the next 200 or so pages until finally the book reaches the climax. It seems as if some scenes, such as Harry hiding under the table at the bar in Hogsmeade, just took forever to go through. Also, although the final part of the book was filled with tremendous plot twists and suspense, the ending itself did seem to be too perfect, if you will. Then again, it is a book meant for younger readers, so I guess I can see why Rowling decided to give the book a mostly happy ending where the good guys prevail over impossible odds.
Overall, even though I heard more good things about this book than the first two, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was probably the least favorite of the three so far. The story took a while to get going, and too much time was focused on silly plots such as the fighting between Ron and Hermoine and the whole professor Trelawney story. However, the book was still more good than bad, and for the most part I found the book to be an entertaining read. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a 6.739 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
- It seems that as in the real world, the subject of fortune telling is also regarded as little more than a joke in the world of Harry Potter, as the divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, is not taken very seriously, even as she repeatedly predicts the demise of Harry Potter. Even Hermoine, whose thirst for knowledge has seemed to take an obsessive turn for the worst, by the way, starts to question Trelawney's credibility and eventually snaps after yet another prediction of Harry's impending doom. Come to think of it, Hermoine changed a good bit during the events of this book, becoming more aggressive (smacking Draco, for one) and more willing to rebel against authority when need be.
- There are a few new characters in this book, the most interesting being the new Professor of Defense of the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin. At first, Lupin is presented as just another teacher, although one that is quite a favorite with the students and with a mysterious illness. As it turns out, Lupin ends up taking a huge role in the main narrative involving Sirius Black, and it's interesting how Rowling works Lupin in and out of the main story and adding to the depth of his character.
- One of the more interesting aspects of this book is that we learn what type of person Harry's father was before meeting his demise. As it turns out, James Potter and his crew were masters of mischief. As it turns out, Harry becomes even more willing to bend and break the rules to fit his needs, an attitude that gets him in trouble with Professor Snape, and their feud deepens. For the most part, Snape takes over Draco's role as Potter's main nemesis, as Draco is little more than a harmless foil whom Potter is able to best easily on multiple occasions, especially on the Quidditch field. Anyway, back to Snape, even though he seems to despise Potter, Rowling does not portray him as an evil madmen. Rather, every action Snape takes against Potter and anyone else seems to be done for the best of Hogwarts, at least in his mind. After reading more about Snape's problems with James Potter while both were at Hogwarts, and the events of this book, I must say that I am interested in what role he will play in the next few books, and besides Potter and Dumbledore, I find Snape to be the most compelling character in the first three books of the Potter saga.
- If there is one fault that I have with the book, it is with the pacing. The book started out with a bang, but seemed to drag for the next 200 or so pages until finally the book reaches the climax. It seems as if some scenes, such as Harry hiding under the table at the bar in Hogsmeade, just took forever to go through. Also, although the final part of the book was filled with tremendous plot twists and suspense, the ending itself did seem to be too perfect, if you will. Then again, it is a book meant for younger readers, so I guess I can see why Rowling decided to give the book a mostly happy ending where the good guys prevail over impossible odds.
Overall, even though I heard more good things about this book than the first two, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was probably the least favorite of the three so far. The story took a while to get going, and too much time was focused on silly plots such as the fighting between Ron and Hermoine and the whole professor Trelawney story. However, the book was still more good than bad, and for the most part I found the book to be an entertaining read. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a 6.739 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Canon Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This book review comes from a request from Canon Review reader Maggie W. A couple of months before this, Maggie had asked me to read and review the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which you can find right here. Well, after that, Maggie requested that I review the second book, and some two months later, here we are. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the tale of Harry's second year at the wizardry school Hogwarts. Just like his first year, there's a terrible evil that is on the verge of being released and possibly destroying Hogwarts forever, and once again, it's up to Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to save the whole world from that terrible evil. A few thoughts about this book, and yes there will be SPOILERS, so be careful.
- This book is actually a little darker than the first one. You have key characters turned into stone, Draco Malfoy openly wishing for Hermoine's death, which was kind of a shock to me, as in the first book Draco's not much more than a jealous twit. In this book, both he and his father are dang near evil. Also, Harry's adopted family, the Dursleys, seem a lot more violent in this book than in the first book. Not to mention the whole underlying tone of discrimination, as pure-bloods tend to look down upon those with any 'muggle' blood in their family. Yes, this is a kid's book, but I do wonder about how kids younger than 9 or 10 would handle this book.
- Speaking of Draco, he seems to have some serious jealously issues with Potter. It seems as if Malfoy spends every waking second trying to get rid of Potter or show him up or something. This constant pestering of Potter and his friends backfires on Malfoy on more than one occasion, which is all in all just, but part of me actually kind of feels for Malfoy, as despite all of his wealth and the respect of his Slytherin housemates, he still obsesses over Potter to the point where any reader can tell he has serious issues of feeling inadequate compared to the famous wizard. Then again, it is only fiction, and perhaps I'm wasting my time by playing amateur psychologist.
- There are a few new characters introduced in the story, such as Dobby the House Elf, who's constant attempts to save Harry Potter usually involve getting Harry badly injured. Also, there's a new defense of dark arts teacher, one Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart is the stereotypical overbearing man who insists on telling everyone around him how he did this or fought off that or whatever. For some reason, Lockhart is kind of a big deal in the wizard world, authoring many books and having legions of fans. At more than one point, Lockhart uses his tutelage of Harry Potter as another way of making himself look more famous. At first, it was kind of entertaining, but after a while you just started to wish that Lockhart would fall into a giant well or get eaten by a snake or something. At least he got some sort of comeuppance at the end, as he turned out to be quite a nasty fellow.
- You know, for a bunch of wizards in an enchanted world, the people around Harry seem awfully close-minded and judgmental. When people start turning into stone, everybody's first reaction seems to be blame it on Harry Potter because he defeated Voldemort and therefore, he must be evil or something. When Harry shows the talent to talk to snakes, everybody continues to freak out even though he saved their butts from getting snakebit. Yet at the end of the day, it's Potter that once again saves their sorry selves from getting killed by the stare of a giant snake. I'm sure in the next book something will happen and everyone will call Harry evil again and all of that. You kind of feel for Harry, as in one world, he's treated like the proverbial red-headed step child, while in the other, with the exception of a few people, he's either regarded as a quasi-celebrity or the cause for everyone's faults, depending on the collective view of Hogwarts at the time.
- Then again, Harry kind of treated his new admirer, a first year student named Colin Creevey, like an irritating gnat. Sure, Colin seemed to be a bit overbearing, but Harry seemed to be a little cruel towards Colin, if you ask me.
Overall, I must say that unlike most sequals, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets lives up to the excellence of the first book. Sure, I would have liked a little more focus on some of the ancillary characters like Neville and Sheamus, and the reveal of Slytheren's heir was kind of disappointing, as it basically was the same deal as the first book. But nevertheless, this was quite an entertaining read that I had no trouble zipping through, as I couldn't put the book down. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a 7.35 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
- This book is actually a little darker than the first one. You have key characters turned into stone, Draco Malfoy openly wishing for Hermoine's death, which was kind of a shock to me, as in the first book Draco's not much more than a jealous twit. In this book, both he and his father are dang near evil. Also, Harry's adopted family, the Dursleys, seem a lot more violent in this book than in the first book. Not to mention the whole underlying tone of discrimination, as pure-bloods tend to look down upon those with any 'muggle' blood in their family. Yes, this is a kid's book, but I do wonder about how kids younger than 9 or 10 would handle this book.
- Speaking of Draco, he seems to have some serious jealously issues with Potter. It seems as if Malfoy spends every waking second trying to get rid of Potter or show him up or something. This constant pestering of Potter and his friends backfires on Malfoy on more than one occasion, which is all in all just, but part of me actually kind of feels for Malfoy, as despite all of his wealth and the respect of his Slytherin housemates, he still obsesses over Potter to the point where any reader can tell he has serious issues of feeling inadequate compared to the famous wizard. Then again, it is only fiction, and perhaps I'm wasting my time by playing amateur psychologist.
- There are a few new characters introduced in the story, such as Dobby the House Elf, who's constant attempts to save Harry Potter usually involve getting Harry badly injured. Also, there's a new defense of dark arts teacher, one Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart is the stereotypical overbearing man who insists on telling everyone around him how he did this or fought off that or whatever. For some reason, Lockhart is kind of a big deal in the wizard world, authoring many books and having legions of fans. At more than one point, Lockhart uses his tutelage of Harry Potter as another way of making himself look more famous. At first, it was kind of entertaining, but after a while you just started to wish that Lockhart would fall into a giant well or get eaten by a snake or something. At least he got some sort of comeuppance at the end, as he turned out to be quite a nasty fellow.
- You know, for a bunch of wizards in an enchanted world, the people around Harry seem awfully close-minded and judgmental. When people start turning into stone, everybody's first reaction seems to be blame it on Harry Potter because he defeated Voldemort and therefore, he must be evil or something. When Harry shows the talent to talk to snakes, everybody continues to freak out even though he saved their butts from getting snakebit. Yet at the end of the day, it's Potter that once again saves their sorry selves from getting killed by the stare of a giant snake. I'm sure in the next book something will happen and everyone will call Harry evil again and all of that. You kind of feel for Harry, as in one world, he's treated like the proverbial red-headed step child, while in the other, with the exception of a few people, he's either regarded as a quasi-celebrity or the cause for everyone's faults, depending on the collective view of Hogwarts at the time.
- Then again, Harry kind of treated his new admirer, a first year student named Colin Creevey, like an irritating gnat. Sure, Colin seemed to be a bit overbearing, but Harry seemed to be a little cruel towards Colin, if you ask me.
Overall, I must say that unlike most sequals, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets lives up to the excellence of the first book. Sure, I would have liked a little more focus on some of the ancillary characters like Neville and Sheamus, and the reveal of Slytheren's heir was kind of disappointing, as it basically was the same deal as the first book. But nevertheless, this was quite an entertaining read that I had no trouble zipping through, as I couldn't put the book down. Overall, I'd give Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a 7.35 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments about this or previous posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
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