Did you like HBP?

[Alz]

It's a simple question folks!

We should all have read or at least nearly read Half Blood Prince by now - so initial impressions - ergo poll time!

[Buzzzz]

I just wanted to add a little comment here. I chose I loved it. It was a great book but it did lack in some areas of emotion. Although I think that it was the way the book was supposed to be.

[kashlie]

I was disappointed a lot, the first time around. It doesn't mean it won't grow on me, already I am appreciating things a bit more and I am only two chapters in. Like OotP, it might take a while for it to take its place deservingly on my Harry Potter shelf.

[Fortescue]

I was disappointed, really. We learned a lot about Voldemort - JKR answered the two questions she said we should be asking: Why didn't Voldemort die, and why didn't Dumbledore try to kill him??

But there was a lot of stuff I expected to see that wasn't there, and then there's my man Dumbledore. Um, that was just unforgiveable, so ......

I too am reading it again. The first time through I put little sticky paragraph flags on all the things I wanted to find easily; the second time through I'm filling them out and moving them around accordingly. There's over a hundred little flags sticking out of my book at this point :D

Maybe I will find more that I like the second time through, but I think Dumbledore's death was like losing a member of my family as he was always my favorite, and his manner always reminded me of my father who passed away a few years ago. So, don't know if I my vote will change or not the second time through. :(

[Sir Cadogan]

True, the book is a thriller, it does have great passages of humour and there are some interesting revelations.
On the whole, however, I found it disappointing. At least the last third of the book read as if Rowling had lost either her interest in or her grip on the book.
• This scene in the middle of the subterranean lake: Why has the liquid to be drunk, why couldn't it have been poured away? No explanation.
• DD and Harry fly smack into the most obvious trap, the greatest wizard alive is made to look ridiculous by a 16-year-old pupil.
• The Order of the Phoenix - obviously reduced to nothingness.
• The Phoenix - obviously asleep when it matters most.
• The funeral - plain ridiculous, given the importance of the dead.
I could go on ...

[Tonks]

Well, I wasn't too disappointed overall, but I wasn't completely in love with it either so I went for Yeah, it was good - :o

The whole drinking vs. pouring thing did bother me a bit, and there are several other things that I wish hadn't been completely sidestepped, but ultimately I don't have that huge of a problem with it or anything..

Well, aside from the death.. I was pretty upset at that.. - :(

I really do need to give it a month or so to sink in though and decide how i like it compared to the other books, but its definitely up towards the top - ;)

[Nimue]

I was extremely unhappy when I finished HBP. I'm not only disapointed, but also a bit depressed and I'll explain why. I agree with Fortescue about Dumbledore. He was my favorite as well, and his dying really affected me. I started crying when Harry gave the felix felicitus to R&H and pretty much didn't stop til the book was closed. But I was expecting Dumbledore to die--I was not well prepared, but I had hear rumours so......whatever. But here is the real reason I am disapointed.

1. Snape--he starts out very well. An entire scene (extraordinarily movie-like) that gives us a peek we've never seen of him before. But after this we barely see him for the rest of the book. It's like Rowling forgot he was a main character. And why didn't he give better (or worse) DADA homework?

2. Hermione--in the other books Hermione is an overachiever, but she's less pouty, more comical, and more actively involved in puzzle solving. Why didin't she bite the bullet and give Ron a hard smack for being a jack***? Why didn't ahe work a little harder at finding out the HBP's identity and even perhaps dissect some of his spells/potions as to improve her own work? Why was she no longer working with SPEW?

3. HBP--what was the purpose of giving Snape the identity of the HBP? Honestly, the entire plotline of the HBP's potions book was weak. It had no real purpose save to allow Harry to win the felix felicitus. And if Snape was really so clever about potions why didn't write his own text book? Its obvious he kknew short cuts and better ways of doing things. So why was he such a lousy teacher not to show that to his students? That has nothing to do with him being good or evil, just dumb. And if the book was so precious to him, why didn't he keep it locked away somewhere so no oe would find it? Why was it in the "share bin"?

4. The D.A.--why was there no longer any interaction between the D.A. students? Oughtn't Luna and Neville to have become better friends w/ Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Didn't they care about them anymore?

5. Neville--I was sure we would learn that he had more mystical significance.

6. The Order--um, why did Harry have any real contact with them anymore? shouldn't they still have been having meetings that included Harry?

7. The Pensieve--while this was a unique plot device to show us the history of Voldemort, I'm not really sure how it was neccesary. A lot of it we had guessed at already, as had Dumbledore. Besides which, why was Harry in charge of getting the memory about the Horcruxes. It was obvious that Dumbledore already knew almost everything about them except for their number. But he knew about the fetish collection of Voldemort and he already had the ring. So everything else could have been worked out w/out the use of the pensieve. That was basically filler.

8. Love--Why weren't we given a few more clues or build up to the relationships between Tonks and Lupin/Bill and Fluer? I realize that Harry is the main character, but we had WAY more info in OotP about other people and we were given a wide look at their interaction with each other that was a really missing from HBP. Furthermore, there was very little explanaiton as to why R&H didn't get together right away. The adding-in of Lavender was a bit off-putting. If Ron was really so in love with Hermy he wouldn't have been frenching L. And I don't really see Harry not being a little more actively invlolved in telling Ron off about him ruining their Trio. Was Harry really that obsessed with potions? I think not.


I think that's pretty much all the problems I saw with HBP. I still love HP, but the depressing nature of this one really makes me feel that I may not be re-reading the series until B7 comes out. I--and a few other people--have begun to wish we had waited to read HP at all until the final installment was out. (I only read them for the first time last year) DD dying, for me, really puts a damper on the fun-ness of reading them--as all I get to is an un-happy ending.

[Weasleyfanforever]

1. Snape--he starts out very well. An entire scene (extraordinarily movie-like) that gives us a peek we've never seen of him before. But after this we barely see him for the rest of the book. It's like Rowling forgot he was a main character. And why didn't he give better (or worse) DADA homework?

We barely see him for the rest of the book!?!? I really thought this was Snape's book, to be entirely honest. He got the DADA job, Spinner's End waswhere he lived, we find out that he was the one that told Voldemort about the Prophecy, he was trying to help Malfoy, he was the HBP, and he killed Dumbledore. True, he may not have been as present with his cruelness and smart remarks as he was in other books, but I think that was because he knew that he might have to kill Dumbledore, and how hard it would be on Harry. He may not like the kid, but he does know Harry is literally, his last chance.

2. Hermione--in the other books Hermione is an overachiever, but she's less pouty, more comical, and more actively involved in puzzle solving. Why didin't she bite the bullet and give Ron a hard smack for being a jack***? Why didn't ahe work a little harder at finding out the HBP's identity and even perhaps dissect some of his spells/potions as to improve her own work? Why was she no longer working with SPEW?

I recall Hermione sending a screeching, clawing, pecking flock of birds at Ron's head, and that didn't help, so I don't think a smack would do it. She didn't find out who the HBP was because she was jealous. She didn't care who he was because he was smarter at her than something, and great as Hermione is, she revels in being the best. Who seriously would be interested in finding the identity of someone that was better than them, when they had been the best for almost 6 years?

3. HBP--what was the purpose of giving Snape the identity of the HBP? Honestly, the entire plotline of the HBP's potions book was weak. It had no real purpose save to allow Harry to win the felix felicitus. And if Snape was really so clever about potions why didn't write his own text book? Its obvious he kknew short cuts and better ways of doing things. So why was he such a lousy teacher not to show that to his students? That has nothing to do with him being good or evil, just dumb. And if the book was so precious to him, why didn't he keep it locked away somewhere so no oe would find it? Why was it in the "share bin"?

The purpose of Snape being the HBP, in my opinion, was to show an apparent similarity to Voldemort, proud of his pureblood mother, ashamed of his muggle father. Snape didn't write his own textbook because he was too busy being a potions teacher at Hogwarts, as well as fooling the Order and the Death Eaters into believing that he was on both of their sides, I would assume that writing a textbook at the time would seem a bit much on top of all of that. Snape never said the book was precious to him, he was so angry because Harry was attempting to use his own spells, spells that he created, against him.

4. The D.A.--why was there no longer any interaction between the D.A. students? Oughtn't Luna and Neville to have become better friends w/ Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Didn't they care about them anymore?

You're right on one point, and that was that Neville was mysteriously absent in a majority of the book. Luna, however, had a part, telling, as it was often noted, uncomfortable truths. It makes me wonder why it was brought to out attention so often that she was always blatently honest when it came to people she knows. And I am sure that they still cared about them, but with everythingthey had going on, I'm sure that building social relationships was one of the last things on their mind, unless the relationship was with Lavendar, Hermione, or Ginny ;)

6. The Order--um, why did Harry have any real contact with them anymore? shouldn't they still have been having meetings that included Harry?

Harry didn't see the Order, because he was never at 12 Grimmauld Place. He said he probably won't ever go back, so he probably won't be seeing much of the Order, if it even continues without Dumbledore. And, just as in OotP, Harry wasn't 17 yet, or out of school, so they wouldn't have included him in the meetings anyway.

7. The Pensieve--while this was a unique plot device to show us the history of Voldemort, I'm not really sure how it was neccesary. A lot of it we had guessed at already, as had Dumbledore. Besides which, why was Harry in charge of getting the memory about the Horcruxes. It was obvious that Dumbledore already knew almost everything about them except for their number. But he knew about the fetish collection of Voldemort and he already had the ring. So everything else could have been worked out w/out the use of the pensieve. That was basically filler.

I think that we learned a lot about Voldemort from his past. How he was in the orphanage, his already apparent urge to torture, and his ability to manipulate so young. Many would agree that it is important to know your enemy, everything about them before facing them, if possible. It makes it easier to identify any weaknesses they may have. And Dumbledore know how Slughon was, knew that he gravitated towards the famous or the gifted, and Harry would have been the topmost prize for Slughorn, so he knew that if anyone could get it out of him, it would be Harry.

8. Love--Why weren't we given a few more clues or build up to the relationships between Tonks and Lupin/Bill and Fluer? I realize that Harry is the main character, but we had WAY more info in OotP about other people and we were given a wide look at their interaction with each other that was a really missing from HBP. Furthermore, there was very little explanaiton as to why R&H didn't get together right away. The adding-in of Lavender was a bit off-putting. If Ron was really so in love with Hermy he wouldn't have been frenching L. And I don't really see Harry not being a little more actively invlolved in telling Ron off about him ruining their Trio. Was Harry really that obsessed with potions? I think not.

Actually, re-reading HBP, there are quite a few clues about Lupin and Tonks. Tonks never agrees to come over when Remus is around, her patronus has changed, her hair is brown, Lupin avoids conversation that Tonks is the subject of. I am pretty sure that something about Bill and Fluer was mentioned in either OotP or GoF, so I was expecting that relationship. Also, Ron and Hermione couldn't have gotten together right at the beginning of the book, it would have seemed rushed. And Ron was with Lavendar to hack Hermione off, to make her jealous, he wanted to get back at Hermione for her making out with Krum. And Harry couldn't tell Ron off for the things he was doing, because then he would have to tell Hermione off as well.

[Boing]

Wow, WFF - pretty much my thoughts as I was reading as well.

The reference to Fleur and Bill is in GoF when the families come to visit the champions before the last task.

I think the pensieve was important precisely because we got to see Voldemort as a child and young adult. While some people might have guessed at the things we all saw, there are others who didn't. JKR needed to show everything so we wouldn't be confused in the last book when something comes up. And it's a much better way of teaching to have someone actually experience something rather than simply tell it to them. Harry won't forget those trips into the pensieve while he may have forgotten something if he had simply been told them outright.

Agreed about meetings with the Order - he did seem them throughout the book on several occasions, but they were in the middle of a war and had other missions to go on instead of hanging out with Harry and chatting . . . I didn't expect him to really have too much communication with them, but we were still informed what they were doing, so I didn't see that as a flaw.

Also, with Snape's book - I think he had it in his possession in the Potions classroom in the cabinet and then, when he was awarded the DADA position, he probably forgot about it. It was just chance that it was given to Harry - obviously Slughorn didn't know what was in it. But there's no way Harry would ever have gotten it from Snape as Snape would have known what it was. As for him writing his own book - those were his personal notes and, while he realized they made the potions better, I can't see him sharing that information with others . . . he wanted the glory of being a Potions Master.

I think Dumbledore either knew what was happening when he went into the trap or he was so addled by the potion still that he didn't quite realize what it could be. But my vote is for him realizing exactly what was happening.

At any rate, I really liked the book and, while it was different from the others in several ways, that's what it had to be. It couldn't be filled with jokes and things like before and while there were some lighter moments, it was supposed to be a darker novel due to the rise of Voldemort and the war going on.

[psychgirl83]

I have to agree with WFF and Boingy, Nimue. You're expecting too much out of the book. It's not the last book, so not everything is going to be wrapped up nicely. Some of the things in the story that seem unneccessary are probably going to become more important in the last book, specifically I think, the Half-Blood Prince thing.

As far as Harry and the Order, even in OotP we didn't see much of the Order except for while Harry was at Grimmauld Place and in this book he wasn't there at all. We were given LOTS of clues to the Bill and Fluer relationship, thinking specifically of OotP when we are told the Bill is give Fluer lots of "private English lessons." The Lupin-Tonks relationship was a little less alluded to, but it was meant to be a bit of a surprise.

And maybe Snape did write his own textbook that he used when he taught advanced potions. We don't really know, cause we only get to see the book that Slughorn uses. Maybe he just didn't like/know about Snape's book.


I for one loved the book, although I didn't like a lot of the things that happened in it. The one thing that bothered me was that alot of the time, all the romances seemed a bit distracting. It was very normal in a high-school sort of way, but since they are high-schoolers that makes it normal. But at time I just wanted to shout "OK, everybody stop making out with everybody and lets get back to Voldemort!" :)

Now I just have to read it about 20 more times so I can practically memorize it like I have the others. And then sit around and wait for book 7.

[Tonks]

Yeah, lol i was just about to post the same thing when i saw your post psychgirl83. Here's the quote about Fleur and Bill from OotP:
OotP - Ch. 4: Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place
"Is Bill here?" he [Harry] asked. "I thought he was working in Egypt."
"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," said Fred. "He says he misses the tombs, but," he smirked, "there are compensations. . . . "
"What d'you mean?"
"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" said George. "She's got a job at Gringotts to eemprove 'er Eeenglish - "
" - and Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons," sniggered Fred.
I really wish that Harry had kept a little bit more in contact with Lupin. Even in OotP, I wish they had exchanged letters and such.. but nope - :(

Also, as far as the whole "ruining the trio" thing - Harry knew he shouldn't get in between his best friends. He had already experienced one of their fallouts in PoA, about Crookshanks and "Scabbers", and didn't want to alienate one of them so chose to not tell either of them off and just let it run its course, no matter how annoying it was..

[Nimue]

Thanks, Weasleyfanforever, u really cleared some stuff up for me. I'm still really sad about Dumbledore and Neville, but I feel a bit better about Sname and Slughorn.

see ya in the threads!

[Padma Patil]

But there was a lot of stuff I expected to see that wasn't there, and then there's my man Dumbledore. Um, that was just unforgiveable, so ......


I'd totally have to agree with you here. Though I still chose 'I loved it!'. And there was some things that I really wanted to see in there that wasn't there, but I suppose, hopefully we'll see thime in book 7.

Ok, now can't really wait till book 7 is out. Its a little early for that isn't it? :o

[Sir]

I actually thought HBP was the best one yet - The sheer amount of new knowledge imposed really did it for me. I've read it four times since July and it seems every time I read it I pick up more that I missed the previous times. I will admit that it did have it's flaws and disappointments (*Cough* Dumbledore *Cough*) but I think overall JKR did a good job with it.

[Sirius Potter Fan]

I Liked the book very much, but I guess it just missed "loved", because the flow just didn't seem to be there as it has been with others. I felt like there was just a lot of info squeezed a little space. At the end, nearly everything was left wide open, in other books, she usualy puts closure to several things that are specific to that book. On this book, the only real closure was just what Malfoy was doing, and Ron and Hermionie getting together. On top of that, after answering only a very few questions, the book asked even more, making it seem dificult for the last book to answer everything, unless it is either very long or (hopefuly not) scantily written.

I still liked it despite a few dissapointments like not hearing from Sirius, There was still some story there, just a bit rushed. Or. . . maybe it was that I read it so much faster than the others:rolleyes:

[fiza shah]

I Really Cried In The End! It Was So Saaad!

[Snuffles]

it was ok. not too good not too bad, but sort of disappointing in a way. :(
In my opinion, the first half of the book was interesting but too dragging--you can even call it unnecessary. It did have many details and such, but nothing "big" happening. The "real" action and excitement was near the second half of the book. I was disappointed also because I've read the ending of HBP so many times on internet and spoiler sites, that I knew how the book was going to end even before I read it.

[Dumbledore]

I Really Cried In The End! It Was So Saaad!
I cried too, I never cried at even a film but HBP was just too sad. He was my fave person now he's dead.:(

[kaz]

I loved it! Really, I thought JKR has excelled herself again. Alot of questions were answered for me, and still some dangling which I am sure will be in book 7. Soppy as it is, my favorite part of the book was Harry and Ginny getting together, I predicted that years ago! Go me, go me!!

[Aeon1006]

I loved it. The ending was outstanding! It was a real tear jerker and I love the fact that Dumbledore was laid to rest at Hogwarts, It is a fitting tribute to a great character.

[Lily]

I agree, the ending was a real tear jerker - I mean, I suppose, how could it not? But when I first read the book, I was also really angry at JK for doing this to Dumbledore, but of course, on second reading.. you have to think that it happened for a reason.. and who knows.. maybe it didn't really happen... *fingers crossed*

But that apart - the book was okay.. my favourite is still PoA

[Ana C.B.Rodrigues]

Love it .. I only don't like the girl and boyfriend parts of Ron... and don't want Harry to stay with Ginny, I think it's too weird...

[Seeker615]

I voted I liked it.

It wasn't my fave. A lot of the chapters seemed to drag a bit. The last few were excellent. I couldn't put the book down when I got toward the end.

It answered a lot of questions but gave me even more questions.

[Blanche A. McFusty]

I have to say that the new questions that I have stand out the most for me after reading HBP. I liked the relationship progression between Ron and Hermione. I thought it was funny and entertaining. I did not like the new relationship between Harry and Ginny, although I expected it to happen.

I guess I am trusting JKR that Dumbledore's death is not meaningless and that he had to drink the potion in the basin for a reason. The entire cave sequence was eerie.

I cried nonstop during the funeral scene. Fawkes' singing was too much for me. I really am sad that Dumbledore is gone, obviously, but I can't help thinking that it was necessary for Harry to continue on his own.

[comonsenze]

I thought HBP was pretty good. I don't think Dumbledore's death was pointless. I think in Book 7 JKR wanted Harry to lead and figure out where all the other horcruxes are. If you noticed it was Dumbledore who told Harry and confirmed a lot of Harry's suspicians and theories about Death Eaters and Voldemort.

Maybe JKR wants Harry to be the one to confirm and figure out everything.

I also think that Harry and Ginny being together is kind of weird. I never thought it'd actually happen.

[SnarkologyMajor]

I love all the thoughts on here! It's amazing how many different takes there can be you know...I voted that I loved it, but that's only after I read it the third time. To be honest the first read-I was annoyed. The flipping back and forth between the hardcore backstory on Tom and the light-hearted fluffy stuff w/the kids drove me crazy, sorry all the shippers out there:D I was also convinced that none of it was real, my initial feeling was that Harry fell down the rabbit hole in Book 6-I'm not sure about that anymore, but try to keep that initial take in the back of my mind (sometimes it ends up being the best guess:D ). There was just something off about the whole book right from the start, yet the more I read it the more comfortable it feels...there are just so many clues hidden in there, it's becoming tough to tear myself away enough to post! Well that and an almost complete lack of time lately:eek: It seems in most of the series I've read, the book that precedes the final story always seems a little to the left, and it's not until the final book is read that whole thing clicks together and often the lead in book ends up being my fave. Wow that was convoluted so I'll think I'll quit now:D

[Alz]

I just realised I never posted in this one - but I am sure I posted somewhere about my thoughts on the book .... :o
This was a dream to me, because I was obsessed with the whole CoS events, young Riddle, time travel the whole deal - what this book delivered was many answers - and there is so many answers in there.
What I loved the most was the way JKR peeled the orange, she really did give us it all on Riddle, family, growing up, becoming what he did. I just think she did an excellent job on that whole Riddle back story and as the significance grew I realised even with my wild, speculative mind - I was nowhere near the money with the Horcrux explanation!
Things I didn't like - the shippy Harry and Ginny, Tonks and Lupin, Fleur droning on - JKR insulting our intelligence by taking the subtle clues that Ron and Hermione would eventually get together and using a sledgehammer in HBP!
I said many years ago, in fact just after OoTP Dumbledore would die - and over the past couple of years many people shouted me down - I said Snape was a double double agent - once again same scoff - and most of all - the bezoar - that is my crowing glory in HP predicting :D
But what JKR did is what she does best - she answered so, so much - but then left bigger and better questions - and also never really gave any extra info on the night of the Potters attack, Snape and Dumbledore's trust, the veil and DoM, time and space matters in magic, Lily and James - yet we all still remember these things and didn't seem to mind the lack of info on these septology running items and she added more!
It is a book you need to read, read and then read again once more before really saying if you like it or not ... because it takes that to really understand all those sub-plots and mini facts concealed in there!
And one last comment - concealing facts that come back as important - you have to admit she does it with style!!

[notposs]

Voted: Yeah it was good

Coz: Would have voted loved it but I will never forgive JK for killing off dumbledor (even tho it had to be done somehow) and a few mistakes EG drinking vs pouring ... etc ... etc (far above somwhere). Good book overall.:)

[kashlie]

I am currently up to chapter 11. I am listening to it while i do pics for ebay listings, lol

i am loving it this time around. and hearing someone reading it, means hearing things in a different context. i mean, the way i read some of the lines, is different to how they are read to me, so mean completely different things!!

[Alz]

I really do enjoy the audio books - it is ideal for me considering the drive to and from work and it really helps me frame the information. I do find reading better to absorb the information but the audio books allows a more passive enjoying experience.
I have the US version read by Jim Dale - I really do like his vocal characterisation!
I recommend the audio books for those that really want to absorb it but don't have the time to read and do other things!

[cagedcactus]

Wow. I see the comments in the begining of this thread, and I just was shocked.
But then I thought, that those must be the immediate comments coming out of the unhappy people who just read DD die.
This book is a masterpiece. Not only loved it, but there is no word out there to describe brilliancy of JKR.
I know just like any other authors she faces critics, and probably loves them too. And I also agree with most of the fans here that some points were a little confusing or maybe not explained properly. But I have read this book again and again, and must say that it could not have explained any better or any more.
This series may have started as children's books, but not now. JKR has told and shown us so much about wizarding world that we have to be able to assume a lot of stuff accurately if it is not explained word to word in the books.
If she spoon fed us through out the books, these books would be bigger than 3000 pages each.
HBP was for the children who are mature, and adults like us.
Gosh, I mean how many of us can truly swear that we havent thought about grabing a wand and give it a waive just to make sure we are not accidental wizards too? JKR has brought our wildest fantasies out of our brains.
HBP is just a frosting on the cake she has made. But a delicious one.
:D

[Alz]

Agree with your comments there - each time I read or hear HBP, I love it that much more ... for me it was just answers on answers from start to end and when you have spent all this time reading, exploring and predicting - HBP delivered it all in the way JKR had it planned!
The whole premise of the book, what JKR did in it - how she set up and then delivered those answers was just pure genius to me - it was probably one of the hardest books to write given she is so close to the end, needed to give answers on some things yet setup new questions for the big ending.
Overall, I think this is my fav to date - and that is hard because I also really like OoTP (as much as I hated it to start with!) - both these books together took the series down whole new avenues that have set my mind racing!

[kashlie]

i also agree. my first reaction was that of shock and dislike, but the more i rad, the more questions i have, but at the same time i feel things are being answered - we just haven't got those answers yet!

and no...i have not grabbed a wand before and waved it...nope, i made a wand, and waved it...it has pride of place on my bookshelf, but alas, i have no magical powers :(

[happy_hannah]

I found the book absolutely fascinating! Especially what we learnt about Merope. I have a theory, Merope was so sad and full of hatred for herself that unconsciously she wished she couldnt feel the pain of not being loved by tom riddle, so maybe she passed that on to voldemort when she gave birth to him? Voldemort is unfeeling. Also i just had a thought, perhaps what dumbledore was rambling about when he drank the potion was the death of lily and james, was he at godric's hollow, perhaps under the invisibility cloak the night voldemort came for them?, how else did it come into his posession? if so , how was it 'all his fault?'
so many questions! sorry

[cagedcactus]

Well, we all have questions? so it is just fair to ask to the people who are fans like us. :)
You do have a good point there, which could be possible.
DIE theory supporters would love your statement. ;)
But I just find it hard to believe. I am sure that night will bring more to us in book 7, but DD's involvement in it will be minimal. But then again, that is what I think.
Character of Dumbledore is shown to us in a manner that we almost can be sure to expect good deeds from him. Hiding in the house while his beloved students get hacked to death is not something he can do, even if he was forced to.
HBP was like a game changing play for JKR. And she did it magnificently. I am sure now she will hit a walk off Home run to win the game in book 7. :D

[Alz]

The great thing HBP did was help with the understanding of how Voldemort came to be - and I defy anyone not to feel like they were not on an emotional rollercoaster throughout that book ... none more so than we saw Merope and her decline and conception of the man that would become the tyrant of the series.
JKR played everyone's heart strings throughout that book - every page seemed to throw a new emotion and I think it was the most powerful book of the series to date - we were all shocked when Cedric fell - none more so than when we actually saw it on film (even I had a lump in my throat) but HBP was an exploding series of emotional timebombs and a coming of age for all readers ...
Dumbledore death came as a shock to many (not me - was calling it for like 3 years) but all the same when you read the words you see and feel all the emotions of that moment like you were there ... and that is the power of JKR!
And the DiE club fully supports happy_hannah's thinking there ;)

[nymphadora]

I absolutely LOVED this book! It is now tied with my love for PoA and is maybe starting to overpower it. Yes, we learned a lot in this book, especially about Voldemort, but also more about Harry's character and his understanding of what is to come. I believe he is really starting to show his bravery, mostly in the fact that he's accepted what he has to do. Yes, he's still terrified, but he's accepted it. That's a big step. I also loved the fact that it was so different than OotP. The Harry in that book just annoyed me. He was way too angsty (I know, I know, he's a teenager.) but I feel that him being angry and hurt and confused doesn't give him the right to take it out on his friends. I did not really care for OotP. So suffice to say, this book made a nice change. It was intellectual, intriguing and witty. All of the things I like in a good book.
And Alz, I so called DD death too, I however, was not expecting it until the 7th book. A total shocker to see it here. Overall still a great book!

[secret seeker]

Although the book did have its faults, I felt it more than made up for O.o.T.P. and loved the first and second chapter, it was great to see it from the prime ministers point of view and found it really insightful into Snapes lifestyle too, I mean, we always assumed Snape was a death eater, and this ( at the time ) seemed to prove it, in the second chapter! we still had the whole book to read and to be given this ( debatable ) revelation so early was wonderful. My favourite Harry potter yet.....till book 7 ???

[Dumbledore's man]

I liked HBP, because it was the book where we came to know more information about Voldemort's past and his Horcruxes which helped him to survive. We came to know how minister for magic were able to talk with Muggle's president, Where Pettigrew is currently living, how wizards and witches Apparate/Disapparate and many more.

[Mr_Bandman]

HBP is perfect in that it is a set up for DH (pretty cool that we can finally put initials to it and stop calling it "Book 7", eh?). It has always struck me as a bit condensed, though----almost like the last couple of movies, where the action flies by so fast it's almost hard to tell what's going on---She has said that she thought both OoTP & GoF were too long----I think she may have written HPB a little too brief in reaction to that belief. Personally, I believe OoTP is Her best writing. She was absolutely brilliant in her portrayal of Harry as the tortured, angst-ridden youth, angry at the world, inconsolable, irrational----I work with teenagers every day----she hit it right on the nose!