Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2005-07-19 07:36 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2005-07-19 07:36 am
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Finished the book last night, and so it's time for completely random thoughts on the Half-Blood Prince, both positive and negative. And, um, neutral. Would that be 'zero'? Or modulus?
-REGULUS BLACK, STUPID.
-Phineas Nigellus was in it. This makes me very happy indeed.
-Phineas Nigellus was not in it nearly enough. He was in maybe three chapters, and in one of those chapters he does nothing more than snort. Harry was in Dumbledore's office at least seven times during the book. Why did Phineas not appear more often? This is utterly inexcusable. I was rather keen on seeing his reaction to That Death, and we had the perfect opportunity to do so when Harry went up to the now-McGonagall's office. Yet he didn't speak. Why not? I wouldn't have minded sacrificing some of that OMG Voldemort's Youth stuff for some good Phineas dialogue.
...Perhaps I shouldn't go for favourite characters who are astonishingly minor.
-I found Dumbledore a more interesting and likeable character in this book than I had previously.
-...and then, uh, he died.
And it felt so hollow and pointless. I mean, I know it was supposed to, but... Rowling, you're mean.
-A well-meaning Slytherin!
Who is also fat!
Two of Rowling's 'teh EEVOL' stereotypes broken in one character! Fantastic!
-But Snape is evil after all. Boo. Although I think it's probably still more complicated than that.
-The entire book felt like setup for Book Seven. I can't put my finger on why, really. By the end, it doesn't feel as if some great storyline has been resolved. It's just 'oh, the year's over, so I guess the book is too. Buy my next book to find out what happens!'
Perhaps because of this, the book felt longer than it needed to be.
-The identity of the Half-Blood Prince was marvellously ironic. (AND I GUESSED IT AS SOON AS HE READ THE BOOK WORSHIP ME.)
-The pairings! Oh dear God, the pairings! It was as if Rowling had suddenly turned into one of those fanfiction authors who pair up everyone just for the sake of it. It seemed to me that someone had doused whatever she uses to write with liberally in love potion. I mean, Remus and Tonks? Don't get me wrong, I like both the characters, but the pairing just makes me go '...what?'
I've just realised that Harry Potter is one of those fandoms where romance in fanfiction is fine, but I'd rather it stayed out of the canon if at all possible. Not least because I simply don't think Rowling is very good at writing romance.
-Draco couldn't do it. And he and his family had been threatened, so it wasn't all his fault. And he was crying. I'm just glad to see he hasn't been painted completely black.
-Granted, Blaise Zabini doesn't appear much, but he is kind of cool. The line in which he smashes the door repeatedly into Harry's foot while snarling "What is wrong with this door?" rather endeared him to me.
-WHERE ARE RAVENCLAW? I mean, my favourite character not appearing much is kind of understandable, as there are only two places in which he ever is and one of them isn't visited in this book (although I'm still not happy about his having so few lines), but why is my favourite House so conspicuously absent?
-Harry really is unnervingly obsessed with Draco, isn't he? He stalks him six times or so (Draco was perfectly justified in stamping on his face, methinks) and talks about him near-constantly. I wonder what sort of fanfic this will spawn.
-Phineas had better be in Book Seven. A lot. Or I will hurt someone.
-The scene in the toilets was really kind of interesting. I'd have loved to see Harry's reaction if he actually had unintentionally killed Draco, as indeed I thought he had at first. It's a pity we were denied that.
AS WE WERE DENIED A CERTAIN EX-HEADMASTER'S OPINION ON A CERTAIN DEATH. ARE YOU LISTENING, ROWLING?
(Although we did get to hear him hiss softly! *dies of Phineas-fangirlish GLEE*)
-REGULUS BLACK, STUPID.
-Phineas Nigellus was in it. This makes me very happy indeed.
-Phineas Nigellus was not in it nearly enough. He was in maybe three chapters, and in one of those chapters he does nothing more than snort. Harry was in Dumbledore's office at least seven times during the book. Why did Phineas not appear more often? This is utterly inexcusable. I was rather keen on seeing his reaction to That Death, and we had the perfect opportunity to do so when Harry went up to the now-McGonagall's office. Yet he didn't speak. Why not? I wouldn't have minded sacrificing some of that OMG Voldemort's Youth stuff for some good Phineas dialogue.
...Perhaps I shouldn't go for favourite characters who are astonishingly minor.
-I found Dumbledore a more interesting and likeable character in this book than I had previously.
-...and then, uh, he died.
And it felt so hollow and pointless. I mean, I know it was supposed to, but... Rowling, you're mean.
-A well-meaning Slytherin!
Who is also fat!
Two of Rowling's 'teh EEVOL' stereotypes broken in one character! Fantastic!
-But Snape is evil after all. Boo. Although I think it's probably still more complicated than that.
-The entire book felt like setup for Book Seven. I can't put my finger on why, really. By the end, it doesn't feel as if some great storyline has been resolved. It's just 'oh, the year's over, so I guess the book is too. Buy my next book to find out what happens!'
Perhaps because of this, the book felt longer than it needed to be.
-The identity of the Half-Blood Prince was marvellously ironic. (AND I GUESSED IT AS SOON AS HE READ THE BOOK WORSHIP ME.)
-The pairings! Oh dear God, the pairings! It was as if Rowling had suddenly turned into one of those fanfiction authors who pair up everyone just for the sake of it. It seemed to me that someone had doused whatever she uses to write with liberally in love potion. I mean, Remus and Tonks? Don't get me wrong, I like both the characters, but the pairing just makes me go '...what?'
I've just realised that Harry Potter is one of those fandoms where romance in fanfiction is fine, but I'd rather it stayed out of the canon if at all possible. Not least because I simply don't think Rowling is very good at writing romance.
-Draco couldn't do it. And he and his family had been threatened, so it wasn't all his fault. And he was crying. I'm just glad to see he hasn't been painted completely black.
-Granted, Blaise Zabini doesn't appear much, but he is kind of cool. The line in which he smashes the door repeatedly into Harry's foot while snarling "What is wrong with this door?" rather endeared him to me.
-WHERE ARE RAVENCLAW? I mean, my favourite character not appearing much is kind of understandable, as there are only two places in which he ever is and one of them isn't visited in this book (although I'm still not happy about his having so few lines), but why is my favourite House so conspicuously absent?
-Harry really is unnervingly obsessed with Draco, isn't he? He stalks him six times or so (Draco was perfectly justified in stamping on his face, methinks) and talks about him near-constantly. I wonder what sort of fanfic this will spawn.
-Phineas had better be in Book Seven. A lot. Or I will hurt someone.
-The scene in the toilets was really kind of interesting. I'd have loved to see Harry's reaction if he actually had unintentionally killed Draco, as indeed I thought he had at first. It's a pity we were denied that.
AS WE WERE DENIED A CERTAIN EX-HEADMASTER'S OPINION ON A CERTAIN DEATH. ARE YOU LISTENING, ROWLING?
(Although we did get to hear him hiss softly! *dies of Phineas-fangirlish GLEE*)
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But rather, saw Snape about to waver, and begged him to go through with it because hey, he would have died if he hadn't.
Dumbledore's a man who doesn't fear death, remember? We've been told this many, many times.
Oh, and Horcruxes? Either Harry's one, or his scar is. Totally.
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...That is brilliant, and I hate you for thinking of it before I did.
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My mind suddenly went "....Harry's one." And it just fits things together that have been poorly explained all this time.
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I love you. Exactly what I was screaming in my head at them. XP
Harry really is unnervingly obsessed with Draco, isn't he? He stalks him six times or so (Draco was perfectly justified in stamping on his face, methinks) and talks about him near-constantly. I wonder what sort of fanfic this will spawn.
*nods* I was like... O_O Watch the fangirls take this and RUN. Like, whee, there they go. ^^; Though there was also that bit where Remus was staring moodily into the fire before Rowling introduced the whole Tonks thing, and I was like "OMG PINING AWWW!" ^^; Sirius/Remus is one of the few HP pairings I really love, and is, in fact, the only HP slash pairing I appreciate. *angsts*
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Agree with all of this. However, am only commenting on the ABSOLUTE CANONICITY OF H/D RIGHT NOW because I just want to keep happy, yes.... *has re-found old otp!*