06-29-2003, 09:12 PM
My 2 cents:
I tore through Order of the Pheonix in record time and enjoyed myself doing it. On that level, the fifth book of the Harry Potter series passed the litmus test of entertainment literature. That having been said, I do not really feel that it was JK Rowling's best work to date; unlike the previous three sequels which I felt raised the bar a little bit with each iteration.
Occhi makes quite a few good points about where the fifth book was weak. The sheer length of the book is surely at the top of my list. I don't mind a long book, provided that the content is uniformly relevant and important. Quite a bit of the fifth book was excess verbage. It could have easily been 650 pages rather than 800.
I think some of this can be attributed to Rowling's efforts to flesh out and expand upon the world she has created. Similarily, the lack of violent deaths at the end can also be attributed to Rowling's desire to write intelligently about young people and real life issues without being too grim or harsh - something I've always regarded as a tough balancing act.
Ultimately, I don't think that any of the book's flaws are damning and I will most certainly be picking up the next one. I think I'll be a little bit worried if book 6 turns out to be 1000 pages though.
I tore through Order of the Pheonix in record time and enjoyed myself doing it. On that level, the fifth book of the Harry Potter series passed the litmus test of entertainment literature. That having been said, I do not really feel that it was JK Rowling's best work to date; unlike the previous three sequels which I felt raised the bar a little bit with each iteration.
Occhi makes quite a few good points about where the fifth book was weak. The sheer length of the book is surely at the top of my list. I don't mind a long book, provided that the content is uniformly relevant and important. Quite a bit of the fifth book was excess verbage. It could have easily been 650 pages rather than 800.
I think some of this can be attributed to Rowling's efforts to flesh out and expand upon the world she has created. Similarily, the lack of violent deaths at the end can also be attributed to Rowling's desire to write intelligently about young people and real life issues without being too grim or harsh - something I've always regarded as a tough balancing act.
Ultimately, I don't think that any of the book's flaws are damning and I will most certainly be picking up the next one. I think I'll be a little bit worried if book 6 turns out to be 1000 pages though.