gwynhefar | (no subject) (Reply)

I must say I very much loved this book. My only complaint is that it was too short -- there was a lot I think could have been fleshed out that wasn't. I wanted to see more of Neville and Luna and the other DA people. I very much liked the fact that Order of the Phoenix seemed to be moving past the narrow focus on the Harry-Ron-Hermione trinity. With the exception of a little more focus on Ginny, HBP seemed to go right back to it. I truly had no idea who the Half-Blood Prince was until the moment it was revealed, at which point I went "duh!". Made much sense in retrospect. I was also very sorry to see Snape revert to the Dark Side as it were. And no, that's not just because I like Alan Rickman. I've always found Snape to be one of the most interesting characters, and I very much respected Rowling's ability to make a character so thoroughly unlikeable still be one of the good guys. I had hoped that would continue.

As for Dumbledore's death -- I was expecting it to happen, but I honestly thought it wouldn't happen until the last book. I really liked the Harry-Dumbledore relationship in this book, and I'm glad to see that they reached such a deep understanding of one another before he died. The fact that Dumbledore's body burst into flames and Harry thought he saw a phoenix fly out of the smoke makes me wonder if a phoenix who is not Fawkes won't be playing a significant role in the last book. I loved the romance. Tonks with Remus is brilliant, Harry with Ginny anyone could see coming a mile away. Ditto Ron and Hermione. Bill with Fleur was better than I expected it to be.

Theories and unanswered quetions: RAB -- my guess is Sirius' brother, Regulus Black, who if I remember correctly was killed by Death Eaters after trying to escape from Voldemort's service. We're not given a middle name that I recall, but he's the only RB I can think of, and I always thought there was more to his story than we were told. The last chapter also has me worried about the fate of some of my favourite characters. Ron and Hermione's insistance that they go with Harry wherever he is going only makes me the more convinced that Harry will lose one or both of them before the end. And the fact that he is not planning on returning for his 7th year increases my suspicion that he will not survive the series. If Rowling meant for him to have a life after Voldemort, one would think he would have to finish his schooling. This upsets me, not simply because I like Harry (which of course I do), but because I wanted to see him have to build a life after Voldemort. I imagine it would be quite hard -- after all, he's been pretty much living with this one thing as his raison d'etre since he was 11. I imagine having defeated the Dark Lord he would find himself somewhat at loose ends. In some ways it would be easier for him to die in the course of fulfilling his destiny and for that very reason I wanted to see him have to learn how to have a normal life. And also because he deserves it. I always figured he would lose Ron and/or Hermione, but perhaps Ginny would still be around afterward to help him through it. But then again, I am a hopeless romantic.

Edit: It occurred to me (and yes, it did occur to me before I read that I wasn't the only one with this theory) that Dumbledore may have been pleading with Snape to kill him, not to not kill him. That Dumbledore's death (whether real or faked, and that's still up in the air as far as I'm concerned) was part of some master plan. Dumbledore was insistent that Harry get Snape when they got back, and quite frankly he doesn't strike me as the kind to plead for his life. But the idea of Snape hesitating in what must have been a difficult request and Dumbledore pleading with him to do the right thing for the greater good -- that I can believe. I'm really hoping this theory is right, because I very much want Snape to be a good guy in the end. It's too clicheed otherwise.

So those are my thoughts. Anyone else?