(Warning. MAJOR MAJOR spoilers ahead. Not that I never spoil anything in my reviews, but this time I'm providing spoilers for a book with a fanbase so big that I won't be surprised if I get injured for not putting this warning beforehand)
I still remember how I was first introduced to Harry Potter. I was in Form One, then, and a friend named Adileen lent me the book, saying that it was really good. Being naive as I was back then, I judged the book by its cover, and jumped to the conclusion that the book was 'too childish' for me. I returned it without ever getting past the first chapter. Imagine my surprise then, when my father came home from work a few days later, handing me the very same book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone before he simply said, "Here, read this and let me know what the whole fuss is about." Intrigued, I did as I was told. Back then my dad dictated my reading list, since he was still the one paying for the books. I found the first chapter as boring as I did the first time around, but this time I went just a little bit further, touching the parts where Harry went to Diagon Alley...
And then I was sucked in. Forever destined to be a loyal fan to the series regardless of how much time has passed since then. Upon finishing the first book, I then quickly started demanding Books 2, 3 (which until now remains my favourite), and 4. Book Five I bought on my own when I was in Form Four, and now only recently, I have acquired the sixth book in the series for a whopping RM99.90. Unlike the first four books, I didn't immediately sink into the book upon acquiring it, due to the fact that my friends were over at my house that very night, and I had other matters to attend to. I only really locked on to it the moment I got back here, to KYUEM.
Now, where to begin? Book Six has been receiving a series of mixed reviews from everyone. Some say that it's good, some say that it's not, but what everyone can agree on is that it didn't suck as much as Book Five, which until now remains the only Harry Potter book that I haven't re-read more than ten times. It is good to see that JK Rowling has ditched the whole 'angry teen' phase and started moving on, and her style hasn't deteriorated at all. She's still capable of gluing her readers to her book, keeping them turning pages until the very end. For that, I'm glad. Overall, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HBP) provides a good read, and wasn't nearly as irritating as Book Five, which was more of a chore to read. But being the second-last book in the series, Rowling still leaves much to be desired, and here's where the complaints start.
A newspaper review that slammed HBP was titled 'Harry Potter and the Half-Baked Plot'. I find myself in a position where I have no choice but to agree with the journalist who wrote the said article. Book Six opens with so much promise, and builds up so much that you feel like you're in Book Two all over again, due to the darker atmosphere. This is of course, a good thing. Chamber of Secrets was damn good. After the disappointment that was Book Five, you'll probably start thinking 'She's back. She's doing her thing again. Yes! RM99.90 well spent!' It is at the final half of the book that you'll start noticing that something's missing. It's as though Rowling got impatient and just wanted to wrap things up quickly so that the cash would just roll in. And so you get an opening that compares to Chamber of Secrets but a closing that almost brought this book down to Order of the Phoenix's standards. Not even Dumbledore's death was as dramatic as it could have been. But then that just could have been me, because to me the guy had a 'I'm going to die' label on him since Book One. That's what you get for being the fatherly, protective figure for the main character. Other examples that fall into this category are Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars), John Thornton (Call of the Wild), Tsinga (The Sight), Prince Verity (The Farseer Trilogy), Gandalf...the Gray (Lord of the Rings), Joyce Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)... and well, others. Lots of others whose names just don't seem to come to mind right now. But you get the idea.
I'm just glad that Lupin's alive ^^.
Book Six also sees the coupling of some characters. Too much coupling, in my opinion, that at some points the book seems more like a fanfic than the actual story. Let's see, Cho's so far off Harry's radar that she's barely mentioned in this story, so now we have (not in chronological order) Harry/Ginny, Ginny/Dean, Lavender Brown/Ron, Hermione/Cormac McLaggen, Lupin/Tonks and Bill/Fleur. See what I mean? I'm just glad that Hermione and Ron haven't confessed their feelings to each other yet. I'm not quite ready to see them stop bickering yet, though personally it was much more fun watching them bicker when the fact that they liked each other wasn't too obvious.
And in the end, after the good opening, there are just one too many loose ends, and ends that were tied up too quickly that they leave much to be desired.
But that aside, overall Book Six was a good read. Looks like Prisoner of Azkaban will remain my favourite for a while longer...
A 7 out of 10. Sad fact is that Rowling missed her chance to score an 11.
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