Latest Harry Potter is a DisapointmentDespite the millions of sales already, I assume most people have not yet read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so there are no spoilers here, indeed I won’t go into plot at all.
I must say, however, the book is a disappointment (in comparison to the others). Moreover, it seemed amateurish at times. Some of the problems:
1. This one never achieves the “I can’t put it down” page turner status the others do.
2. Any basic writing class will tell you “show, don’t tell.” This book spends a lot of time telling, and not showing. There should have been a lot more in scene action and a lot less exposition.
3. The book makes an attempt at being more serious, as the series has successively done. I applaud the effort. However, this one only hints at geting serious it and rarely delves deeper than lots of “snogging.” A real opportunity lost, especially when it keeps teasing you to think it might be digging deeper into the characters as the story goes on, but does not.
4. It is blindingly obvious J.K. Rowling has watched Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars.
5. The themes are muddled and confused, and I don’t think it is just set-up for a grand finale. This is no longer a light hearted, fun, childrens book that adults can appreciate; however, neither has it crossed over into a serious drama. It is in limbo and limbo isn’t working. There are many other things I could say on muddled and confused themes, but I’d need to go into plot discussions, so I’ll refrain.
6. Additionally, as the book gets more “serious” the inconsistencies become more glaring. Anyone with half a critical eye knows that there are more holes in the Harry Potter universe than even the Matrix, but that is easy to push aside and not think about when it is more of a light hearted, children’s, Wizard of Oz type adventure. When it becomes about a “war” and involves the politics of the Muggle (i.e., real world), it is harder to ignore the many things that don’t make logical sense about the universe.*
Don’t get me wrong, it is still an enjoyable book. Especially since it is such an easy reads, one hardly gets bored. But it is a big step back from book 5 (which was itself a bit of a step back from books 3 & 4). I honestly have no idea what process J.K. Rowling goes through in writing these; however, I came away with the feeling that this book was in need of being workshopped. It seems like an admirable second draft, that is far from a final draft.
