HBP thoughts three months later.

[amanuensis1]

What will my reaction be to Half-Blood Prince after the last book?

I still feel like the series peaked at OotP for me. Every volume has felt better than the last except for this last one--I'm still wigged that anyone, Rowling included, believes that Snape's motives are ambiguous, justifying leaving Harry in suspense at the conclusion of this book. I found Harry and Dumbledore's pensieve jaunts puzzlingly expository, and was waiting--am still waiting--to find out what was going on during those. Tom Riddle's history could have been related in two pages; what the heck happened in those pensieve jaunts that made them so crucial? I want there to have been more motivation on Dumbledore's part than exposition, or the idea that Harry had to see those moments for himself to gain understanding of Voldemort and of himself. It's not enough.

I loved the main plot of the book, the main plot being the Half-Blood Prince. Did I know who it was? Hell, no. The concept that "Prince" was a last name never crossed my mind--even when Hermione brought it up I couldn't see how that fit in. I didn't get it until I saw the chapter title "Flight of the Prince."

But I still believed that Slughorn gave him that book deliberately. Bah.

Will the last book draw it all back together for me? Will those unanswered questions finally fall into place? Or will I be happier admitting that HBP was the weak moment in the series for me and let it be?

Comments

[silverhielm.livejournal.com]

My opinions about this book are very similar to yours; it was the first time I couldn's say aloud "this book is the best of the series", wich I used to say of every book after finishing them!
The main feeling is that this was meant to be a 'postOtTp' and 'pre-7th book' book, with no real "personality" on its own. A lot of things happened of course, but more things remained held over. I hope the last book will make up for this!

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Personally I could not stand Slughorn - ambitious, cunning, and damn near a child molestor IMHO. I hope the Death Eaters turn him into Cheez Whiz.

And as for Snape...we'll see. I hope you're right!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It could be--I've seen that happen, with an unsatisfying volume or episode suddenly having all its "huh?"s justified by what follows in the next. I'd like to see it happen here, obviously.

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

I see it differently, because I hated OotP. I found OotP very disappointing, in many levels. The plot had started to make no sense at all. So I had already given up hope that the series would have a satisfactory ending. Surprisingly, I liked HBP, precisely because of the ambiguity JKR could keep from beginning to end. I didn't like the romance plot or the expository parts, but the mystery part was good enough to make me want to read the seventh book. I still don't expect JKR will be able to tie all the loose ends in a neat bow, but at least now I'm looking forward to see what she will do.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

The only way it will prove otherwise about Snape is if there is a sort of triple-twist going on here, on Rowling's part: "Aha! You thought it was obvious that Snape was acting on Dumbledore's orders and that I'd left that there strangely, but I've gone even deeper with the twist!" That seems to me less likely though.

[anansay.livejournal.com]

Wow. You've just stated everything I've felt. Had I taken the time to really solidify my thoughts, it would have sounded just like this.

In truth I am quite worried about the next book. She's created quite a complex story, even it started as a 'children's' and I only wish that she has the ability to wrap it up good and solid in the last book.

[anansay.livejournal.com]

There are good intelligent triple-twists (the movie Saw, I'm there are others...) and then there are those created only to further the illusion of grandiosity. It had better be the former with Harry Potter.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I thought OotP tied itself together in very much the same way the previous books had--teensy things planted here and there that just made the reader scratch her head and say, "Huh. Wonder what that's about?" all were strung together at the end. I'm thinking of, for example, in GoF, how the Quidditch World Cup is this big chunk of the book and it's there for two particular things: to introduce portkeys and to have Winky sitting there all by herself. Which all fall into place at the end, and which you can't really "get" until they're explained, they're so subtle. OotP did that for me as well. HBP had it in places--the main plot of the Half-Blood Prince's identity, for example--but I had the Snape-Dumbledore-Draco plot semi-sussed almost right away, and still can't figure where the pensieve jaunts were going.

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Poor love - in a perfect world, each of those pensieve visits will contain clues to the horcruxes... in some way, and then it will all be justified - Maybe?

I only read HBP once, and I'm going to keep it that way for now - partly because like yourself, I had a lot of questions and part where I went WTF?!, but I want to let my 'feel' for it settle before I go back and start picking. Mostly - well, remember that chapter you looked over a long time ago? My poor little fic is way AU now, and I want to finish it before reading HBP again.

I bring this up, only to say that I finally went and started doing a final rewrite and edit, and read over all your notes again. It will never be outstanding, but your insights and suggestions sit well with the months of reading and writing HP slash I now have under my belt, and I'm finding it interesting to rework it into something I may not be too ashamed to publish.

Long winded as I always am, I guess what I'm saying is - Thanks!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I think she does; I've lost some faith because I believed she could sell me on anything but the Harry/Ginny in HBP failed to get me. (I admit she may not be trying to "get" the reader beyond what she did because she does have Harry and Ginny part, and may plan for them to stay apart, it having been a sweet little teen romance and not a lifelong love. Note how she never tries to make the trio into a quartet.) I believe the last book will be a good read but accept that expectations may be so high it might never completely measure up.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Why is this story not up already?! Post it post it post it! ^_^

I cling to your theory about the clues to the horcruxes. Please please please. (Of course, then I will have to say, "But why didn't Dumbledore just TELL him about the clues?" And hope that can be answered too.)

[kellyfaboo.livejournal.com]

I thought the pensieve scenes were, by far, the weakest part of the book. If it weren't for the Snape details, and the sneaky way Harry started listening to him (in a way), I probably wouldn't like this books as much. In fact I felt the character details felt like Jo was just moving them about to suit her plot.

The bad thing about fanfiction is that it gives you a thirst for character driven plots and a distaste for plot driven characters.

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

Actually, I thought that OoP was a huge, rambling, under-edited mess, for which I partly blame the fact that she is so famous. (Ever notice that editors don't dare touch books by their biggest cash cows, once cash-cow status is achieved? Patrick O'Brian was another one whose manuscripts apparently never felt a red pencil once he started hitting the New York Times best-seller list.)

But I mostly blame the increased number and seriousness of the distractions that have piled up in her life since PoA came out: Movie deals, new spouse/babies, and most of all the horrible and prolonged nuisance lawsuit by Nancy Stouffer, which got zapped only after it was proved that Stouffer forged her "evidence". (It was no coincidence that JKR announced that she'd finally finished OoP a few weeks after Stouffer's suit was laughed out of court for good.)

As for HBP -- silly title and plot revelations aside -- I think that it's nearly up there with PoA, the best book of the series to date. There's none of the "oh, I'm just writing this because I felt I had to write something" vibe that is all over OoP. It was much, much tighter, and had scenes of sheer beauty. (The whole of Chapter Two, for instance.)

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

Oh, and would someone please kill off Grawp? Thank you.

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

Heh! You said what I wanted to say, except you did it far more effectively and concisely.

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

My main disappointment was that Dumbledore refused -- again -- to teach Harry Occlumency, even though they both knew that Draco was learning it. But I figure that if he had, then there wouldn't be a Book Seven, and Bloomsbury and Scholastic's shareholders would be upset. ;-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

For some reason, I think HBP made me appreciate OOtP more than I had in the past. I also was hoping that there might be some more dramatic tie-in with all the pensieve scenes, especially since we never actually see what Voldemort is up to except for the first few chapters. But, I also think the book has spawned some truly wonderful fanfic, which in my eyes always makes the book feel that much better. Even if HBP might have failed me on many accounts, there are certainly scenes and aspects that I'm glad I know have.

That being said, it's also difficult to look at HBP with what I wish had been in there (Harry and company dealing with Sirius's death).

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you agree with me :)

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

I hate him too. Well, JKR has more or less brushed him under the carpet in HBP.

[logospilgrim.livejournal.com]

~I'm still wigged that anyone, Rowling included, believes that Snape's motives are ambiguous~

That is precisely what I shall be arguing during the Snape panel at Witching Hour. And I have excellent reasons for drawing such a conclusion... For the most part, metaphysical ones. He is not an ambiguous character, anymore than say, Harry Potter (for instance, why does Harry find it odd that Snape is not "upset" by Mundungus Fletcher's arrest? Why does this make Snape "ambiguous?" re: "Mundungus and Snape are supposed to be on the same side." This is the very same Harry Potter who was quite willing to rip Fletcher's head off earlier in the book, and for the same exact reasons that Snape condemns him. Yet no one asks themselves, "Wait... Could Harry be a traitor to the cause?"

But I am getting ahead of myself, as usual ;-) I shall post my little text on my journal after the convention is over.

Wish me luck, most beloved. I am hoping that the fact I shall be sitting there in the robes will make my arguments even more convincing ;-)

[ariadneelda.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way about HBP. I liked it but I didn't love it -- with the exception of certain chapters and scenes. The Pensieve scenes and all the teenage romance didn't manage to captivate me. I could even say that I found them almost-boring. Like you, I don't get why the Pensieve memories should stretch to so many pages. I just hope it will all become clear in Book 7. I haven't lost my faith in Rowling's plot writing skills. Although I really can't see how she'll manage to tie all the loose ends in one book. I fear there will still remain a few questions unanswered.

[mctabby.livejournal.com]

I'm with ptyx on this one: I like HBP more than OotP.

1. Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore all become less annoying in HBP. Yay!

2. The "Draco lets in the Death Eaters via Vanishing Cabinet" plot, while rather convoluted, wasn't nearly as lame as the Prophecy. Yay!

3. Dark Lord backstory! Yay! (You might want the Pensieve jaunts condensed to two pages, but some Riddlefans are wishing there were even more flashbacks. Really.)

4. Almost no Grawp. Yay!

5. Blaise Zabini speaks! Aragog dies! Slughorn gives us another sub-genre of Slytherin! Yay!

6. Inferi! Non-verbal spells! Horcruxes! Probity Probes! Yay!

7. H/G and R/Hr are mercifully brief, and cause vast amounts of entertaining kerfuffles all over the fandom. *passes popcorn* Yay!

Yes, lack of Sirius discussion is disappointing, the Remus/Tonks is a total facepalm, and there are hundreds of FF.net writers hurling abuse at "Snape, the filthy traitor!" But that doesn't make HBP feel worse than OotP for me. I enjoyed HBP a lot on the first read, and still do.

Snapefan though I am... It's not All About Snape. It's about Harry. Main conflict between Harry and Voldemort, not Harry and Snape. IMHO, that's explanation enough for devoting time to Dark Lord history exposition. This book is about Albus passing the Evil-Fighting baton to Harry. Snape is merely a means to an end, and that goes for Draco too.

P.S. Hey JKR, how's Lucius doing? *peers curiously at Azkaban*

[femmequixotic]

Ooh, for me HBP is my favourite of all the HP books now.

Of course a good portion of that could because of the hothothot Snape/Draco--*coughcoughcough*--er I mean the strengthening and multi-dimensionality of the Dynamic Slytherin Duo's characters and personalities. *nods sagely*

Seriously, I liked the developments; I was drawn in by the plot and the backstories and the new characters; I loved the ending; I scoff at the very idea that anyone would think my darlings are Teh Ebil.

Plus, as I was predicting Snape as the HBP for six months prior to the book's release and people sniggered at me, I feel vindicated. VINDICATED, I tell you. *grin*

[mctabby.livejournal.com]

Bwaha. I didn't read your responses before posting mine, but... what she said! :D

[melpemone.livejournal.com]

Let me see if I can actually explain this...

The trouble with me is that I relate to the books too emotionally. I have trouble judging the strength of the writing when I'm so involved in the story - in that sense, I'm probably JKR's ideal reader. :) I'd say that I love both books, but I thought HBP was the stronger of the two. I came out of HBP declaring it my favourite yet (well, after the crying), and I think that first reaction holds. However, I haven't been able to bring myself to re-read OotP in its entirety yet, and I'm going to need to do that in order to be able to judge it properly as a part of the whole. I love it, but it was just SO bleak, and I spent two days afterwards all numb and shellshocked. HBP felt positively cathartic in comparision.

In short, I agree with everything mctabby said above about HBP's high points, and those make it my favourite book, but that doesn't cancel out my appreciation for OotP. Most people I've read seem to consider it an either/or thing.