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Half-Blood Prince
Fan Submitted Reviews
By Julia Darcey
Positive/Negative: Negative
Wow...I have just finished frantically devouring the sixth book, and am left, for the most part, disappointed. Perhaps I did not get enough sleep while reading this book, or perhaps I read it too quickly or anticipated it too much. For whatever reason, I can't help but feel that this book distinctly lacked the "magic touch" that has infused J.K. Rowling's previous books.
The sixth book is like the others with its semi-formulaic plot that makes “Harry Potter” so easy to read and so endearing to those of us still in school who can relate to that unique feeling of changing routine. Harry is now captain of the Quidditch team, has started taking Apparating lessons, and has more romantic hijinx on his hands than ever before. Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy is clearly up to no good, and Dumbledore and Harry delve into memories in the Pensieve in an attempt to learn how to fight Voldemort. Unfortunately, both of these plot lines are quite a bit more transparent than usual, and this book lacks the series’ usual distinction of being part mystery novel.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
I have liked the books more and more as each came out, until I had reached a point of near-ecstasy with "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", which I found to be pretty much perfect. And then I come to the sixth book, which, while still great by normal book standards, completely loses the momentum generated by the fifth book. It feels overly short, and yet does not seem to have the same manic energy driving it forward that all the other books had. I spent much of the middle of the book wondering what the point of it all was, unable to pick up the thread of the plot and sensing that the mystery and complexity of the twist and turns of the previous books were not present. Though by all rights the wizarding world should be at its scariest ever, the book lacks the sense of foreboding and darkness that was so strongly present in the fifth. That sense of dread seems to have been unnaturally forgotten in favor of a rash of silly and, quite frankly, annoying love connections being made throughout Hogwarts. Now don't get me wrong, I'm just as big a "shipper" as the next female Harry Potter fan, but the relationships that finally crop up in this book seem hollow and forced, especially after the long wait. Ron and Lavender's dating stint especially is completely uncalled for and really makes no sense. The Ron/Hermione payoff was disappointing. Although I approved of Ginny being Harry’s love interest, his newfound feelings seemed sudden and unbelievable. Actually, the whole Harry/Ginny thing made me want to puke after a while. Please don’t kill me…
This year’s new teacher, Horace Slughorn, seems uninspired and unnecessary, and I wondered through much of the book why he was even there, other than to be the required new teacher. He does not really do anything particularly important or interesting, and almost seems like a plot device. Speaking of plot devices, the whole Half-Blood Prince subplot really didn't seem to fit in anywhere either, and I'm curious as to why it was put in at all, other than to be an alias used to put a well-known character (Snape) in the title without tipping off the reader. I felt like these plot lines were just there to fill a few gaps, which is very uncommon in the writing of J.K. Rowling, which is usually filled with layer upon layer of connections as intricate and well planned as a spider web.
And what about Sirius, anyway? They talk about him, like, two times.
The book only seems to come alive in the scenes that deal with the bad guys. We see lots of new material on Voldemort, all of which is interesting and important. Draco and Snape are immensely important to the plot, and I found myself, for the first time ever, wondering much more what was going through their heads than through the heads of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Both have come into their own as intriguing characters poised precariously on the boundary between good and evil, and I am thrilled to see what becomes of them in the end, especially Draco.
The book really does get better at the end, with some good old-fashioned Harry Potter fighting, excitement and tragedy. The last 100 pages are pretty good, and make some progress towards making up for the rest of the book. The end sets the stage excellently for the seventh book, and made me very eager for it, as it sounds like Harry's life will change dramatically in the future. Dumbledore’s death is emotional and very well done and gives the story a much-needed boost to get it rolling towards the finale. The Horcruxes were also great additions to the overall plot, and should give the seventh book a good structure.
In all, the book feels like a bit of a waste until the end, since not much happens in terms of plot and most of the book is spent on developing character relationships, which would be fine if our favorite Hogwarts denizens didn't seem so oddly stiff and out of character. The important stuff probably could have been boiled down to a couple hundred pages. I felt an annoyance with and detachment from the main characters that I have never felt before. The energy of Sirius, Fred and George is sorely missed, let me tell you. In the end, I almost felt like Draco and Snape were my two new favorite characters, since they were by far the most psychologically interesting in this book. Still, it ended on a very high-note (in terms of writing; a low note emotionally), and I will certainly be picking up the seventh as soon as I can, hoping to see everything wrap up like clockwork the way that J.K. Rowling has always planned.
Sorry so long and well...harsh.
Julia Darcey
 
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