Half Blood Prince Review (Major Spoilers)

I wrote this the day after I read HBP. Some of my opinions/thoughts have expanded and changed since then, but I don't currently feel like rewriting this at the moment. Perhaps later I will write a revised version.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Thoughts

(I might repeat myself several times, I’m figuring things out as I go :)

I will first say that I did enjoy reading this book. I don’t agree with all her plot decisions but that’s what fan-fiction is for :) I don’t like that she killed Dumbledore but I won’t complain about the way it was done (although I still haven’t decided what was going on there). When I write my version of book five and beyond, Dumbledore will probably live (so will Sirius, but that is another matter entirely).

There were a lot of my questions that were answered by her (I’m not saying I liked the answers, but they were answers). Most of them were related to Voldemort’s early life (which I find fasinating and is probably why I liked the book). That (and what Draco was doing) seemed to be the focus of the book, almost to the exclusion of everything else.

Draco’s plot and Voldemort’s early history were everything in this book. It seemed like everything else was put in the background to the point that it almost fades from memory. If they didn’t make occasional mention of people dying in the outside world, you can almost forget that Voldemort has returned. It is very strange when you start to think about it. It feels like with the exception of Harry, Dumbledore, the past Voldemort (and the other memories), the new potions teacher, and maybe one or two others, you are seeing everything through a tunnel. You aren’t really connecting with the other characters as persons, you are just connecting with what they are doing (if even that). They just kind of fade into the background.

It seemed like, to me at least, that the war was too easily forgotten, or brushed off. The death of classmate’s parents or other relatives are mentioned almost as an afterthought and then forgotten. None of this is really dealt with. It feels like the mentions of the war are put there because that is what’s expected but that it’s kept to a minimum because there are other things to be concerned with. The only things that don’t seem slightly forced are the lesson’s with Dumbledore and potions (with everything surrounding that). (Well, maybe Quidditch too.)

Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Snape, Slughorn, and young Voldemort are the main characters and the ones who stand out most clearly in my mind after reading it. It seems like everyone else was forgotten (I’m sorry I keep saying this). What happened to all the cool characters she introduced in the past? Where are Neville, Luna (well, she seems to get some good parts), Tonks, Remus, Mad-Eye, the Order of the Phoenix, the Teachers, the Death Eaters? Some of them get some walk on parts that don’t last long and are never heard from again. It just seems very strange to me. What did she do, give into a really strong desire to edit most of the story away? I needed more character interaction!!!!!!

Anyway, I think I stated that I found some things strange enough. I’ll move on :)

I’m not quite sure about the Horcruxes. They remind me far too much of the ring of power (at least certain aspects of it). I wonder if she watched LOTRs too much as she was writing the book. Actually, I wonder if she watched LOTRs and the Star Wars prequels too much. The “Chosen One”????? Is Harry going to join the dark side, kill off all the light side wizards, and later be redeemed by his son?

I thing that although she answered quite a few questions, she also raised tons more. I can’t see how she can resolve all the unresolved things in the next book.

I never liked the prophecy. I don’t think I like what she did with it in this one either. I mean, if you’re going to have a prophecy, at least have one. Don’t introduce it in one book and, pretty much, make it unimportant in the next. That is basically what she did. By hearing the prophecy and taking it seriously Voldemort created it (at least that is what it sounded like). Perhaps my problem is that I have a different idea of what prophecy is then she does (and I do, kind of, know that it all depends on how you use the term). I think of prophecy as a spotlight on events. The events would have happened no matter what, prophecy just draws your attentions to the events and explains where they fit in the grand scheme of things. It puts events into perspective and gives insight into what’s going on. Her version is more like self-fulfilling prophecy. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that, I just happen to prefer the other way.

Remus needed to be in it more. He is one of my favorite characters. I’m still not sure what I think about him and Tonks. I will really have to think about that one. I like Tonks, I really do. It’s just that she’s what, 13 years younger then him? I know that shouldn’t bother me but it does. (Note: on further reflection, I don’t really like the Remus/Tonks pairing. I don’t feel like their personalities match in that way.)

On the other hand, I kind of liked that he (and the other marauders) weren’t mentioned much because I really don’t like what she did with them in the last book.

I really liked the first few chapters. The first was great. I found it extremely funny. The second chapter with Snape, Bellatrix, and Narcissa was very interesting. I would never have considered Bellatrix being something even remotely resembling a sister (in mindset that is, I knew they were related). Dumbledore picking up Harry was great. I really do think he (Dumbledore) enjoyed playing with the Dursley’s minds (I probably would have if I was him). Actually, I can’t think of a chapter that I really disliked. The Ron/Lavender thing was a little annoying but I suppose I’ll consider almost being poisoned as adequate punishment.

Do all works of fantasy need dead armies (or zombies in this case)?

All in all, I don’t have the problems with this one that I did with the last. The characters seem to be acting like themselves (nothing like they were acting like in book five, which is interesting). The Harry in book six is the Harry I expected in book five. I can’t escape the thought, though, that Voldemort really needs to read the evil overlord’s list and take some of its advice. He is far too predictable. I mean, come on, could he have picked something less obvious then family heirlooms to put his soul into?


Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Speculation

R.A.B. -
The initials signed in the note found in the replacement locket (that was suppose to be a Horcrux). By the way, a Horcrux is a object that holds a piece of the soul, making a person, kind of, immortal. You must kill to create a Horcrux. Anyway...

To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this
but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,
you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.

Would it really be too obvious (as someone suggested) that R.A.B is Regulus Black and that the real locket is at Grimmauld Place (the locket no one could open)? Regulus was killed by Voldemort when he tried to leave the death eaters (didn’t like what he was being asked to do). I wonder if it is possible that Mundungus Fletcher (Order of the Phoenix, thief) could have stolen the locket along with the other stuff he took from Grimmauld Place. What would be the point in having him do that though? There must have been some point in having him take stuff from the house.

Snape -
I don’t think Snape is a servant of Lord Voldemort. I also don’t think what he did was right. It was a very difficult situation, and I’m not sure what other action he could have taken but he shouldn’t have killed Dumbledore.

Here is an interesting question. Did Dumbledore want Snape to kill him? What exactly was he begging for, to be spared or killed so that Draco could be spared? Could Dumbledore communicate his intentions to Snape thought his mind? She kept reminding us that Snape was good at reading minds and blocking others from his (so is Dumbledore). I really don’t know. It seems like something Dumbledore might do. Also, remember, that when Harry and Dumbledore were going into the cave (or at least in that chapter), Dumbledore commented that Harry was far more valuable than him. He probably didn't want Harry to get hurt. He would have rather died himself then let that happen.

One really wonders if she is going to kill Harry. It seems like she has the perfect set up for it. If Harry got his powers (speaking to snakes and such) from part of Voldemort's soul being transfured to him, then he would have to die for Voldemort to be killed. I don't want this to be the case but it seems like a real possibility.
If I remember right, Dumbledore speculated that Voldemort was going to make another Horcruxe when he killed Harry. We know that Harry gained some of Voldemorts powers.
The Diary had Voldemorts powers. So, I was just wondering based on that. We don't know how the Horcruxes are made (or the timing) so we don't really know what happened that night. That and she's never given any guarantee that Harry will live.

I’m also very interested to see what she does with Draco’s character. Is he going to become a real death eater or is he going to turn on Voldemort? He wasn’t going to kill Dumbledore. I think he was really considering taking up Dumbledore’s offer (and then the other death eaters came). It seems, though, you don't really feel sorry for Draco until the twenty-seventh chapter ("Lightning-Struck Tower"). It's when you find out he isn't all that committed to killing Dumbledore. I wonder if it would have been different if he had known Harry was there?

One of the death eaters would have killed Dumbledore. I don’t see that Snape, Draco, and Harry (if he was released from Dumbledore’s spell) could have prevented that. Would the unbreakable vow be broken if someone other then Draco or Snape killed Dumbledore? Would the vow have been broken if Draco had taken Dumbledore’s offer? There are too many questions.

Why did Snape make the unbreakable vow to begin with? Did he know what Draco’s mission was at the time? Was there a way to get out of the situation without making the vow or destroying his cover (if it was a cover)? Or is he really evil and meant to make the vow knowing full well what it would mean?
The wording goes "if it seems Draco will fail...will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform?" A question to which Snape answers yes.
Now it seems to me that it could go either way. Either Draco or Snape has to kill Dumbledore, or someone has to kill Dumbledore. If Dumbledore wasn't killed, the vow would be broken (?) and Snape would die.

Would Merope (Tom's mother) have told Tom more about his haritage if she were able? Was naming him her way of telling him who he was? How could he have found out so much if she was unable to tell him anything? Part of me says she would have had to leave him some more substantial clue for him to learn so much. I mean, he opened the chamber in fifth year. He would have had to know a great deal about slytherin and who slytherin was to him, would he not, to have done that?

--Tracy