And the book finally showed up...

[lareinenoire]

Order of the Phoenix took me five-and-a-half hours, give or take. Half-Blood Prince took me less than four. Started around 12:30, finished around 4:00.

My first reaction: Screaming

My second reaction: Dear sweet God, that book was good.

Most of my theories were, as expected, shot to hell, but some emerged unscathed, much to my surprise.



Amelia Bones killed off within three pages. And I'd been rooting for her to take Fudge's place. Le sigh. Scrimgeour, however, was the perfect politician.

'Phlegm'. ::snerk:: Also Fleur as Bridezilla. I am probably far more amused than I ought to be. The scene with her and Bill at the end, however, was adorable.

I'd have liked to see more Remus, but such is life. As for Remus/Tonks, I have no problem with the ship as it stands. I do wish Tonks hadn't spent the book moping about--I suspected Remus might have had something to do with that--and I wish there had been something to back it up more than my obsessive Remus-reading.

'There's no need to call me "sir", Professor'. Best. Line. Ever. I nearly fell off the couch.

The shippiness surprised me, but not in a particularly bad way. It seemed...well...realistic, based on my memories of being that age. Date, break up, find someone else. That, and Harry suddenly becoming something of a wanted commodity was rather amusing. I've got no particular ship-leanings where the younger generation is concerned, so I wasn't altogether bothered.

The Voldemort backstory--loved it. I'm not sure how many Pensieves it required, but the story itself was absolutely chilling. And the House of Gaunt? ::shudders:: Ugh. Poor Merope. Don't mess with love potions.

SNAPE! I guessed what was going to happen after the Unbreakable Vow (loved that scene, by the way), and was dreading the final denouement. Although I'm completely convinced that he and Dumbledore planned it. You don't have extended eye contact between two Legilimens without *something* happening.

And on to Dumbledore. Brilliantly done. I don't believe he's evil, nor do I believe he's a saint. He's just a wizard--albeit a very powerful one--trying to do the right thing. His treatment of young Tom did strike me as a bit disturbing, but the general attitudes toward Muggles in this book did as well. Not sure what to make of them. I did love his scenes with Harry; and the AK scene just...wow. It was powerful.

The ending was...so sad. Truly. The mixture of Dumbledore's funeral, everyone's reactions, and Harry's simple, unadorned acceptance of it all was just wrenching, really.


I suspect I'll reread sometime very soon, and come up with slightly more coherent thoughts. The only coherency I can currently muster is very specific.

Comments

[hannahmarder.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear your reaction, La Reine! I wanted to post a commiseration on your 'haven't got my book yet' entry but I didn't want my avatar to give anything away. Like lazy_neutrino, I agree with all your thoughts - especially Amelia Bones, and the shippiness. It was a surprise, but not in a bad way because JKR wrote it so well. And of course Snapeikins is innocent, the poor heroic darling! He and DD planned it all. Yeah, my avatar really does say it all, but I actually am convinced that that is correct. I loved the 'call me sir' line as well, though Luna and McGonagall's Quidditch commentary was pretty hilarious too. The Fleur bit wasn't so great for me, I was in a cold sweat thinking that her characterisation was miles off in Fraternisation, but the end scene with her and Bill sorted it all out. Phew.
Hannah

[lareinenoire.livejournal.com]

Aww! I assumed that everyone was simply reading Fleur the wrong way, given what I'd seen in GoF. After all, having a part-veela living in your house can't be easy, especially if you're female, and even moreso if your eldest son is to marry aforementioned part-veela. ;)

Oh goodness, the Quidditch commentary--I loved it! Forgot to mention it, with everything else, but I adored. And I wanted to hug Luna.