Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Published October 24, 2003
Say what you like about J.K. Rowling: at this point, she could pretty much scribble a crayon drawing of a bespectacled boy onto cardboard and it would still sell a gazillion copies. Instead she churned out 870 pages in this latest installment of the Harry Potter season.
I stress the word "churned" because Harry Potter 5 lacks a lot of the fun and wonderment of the previous books. Remember the thrill when Harry kicked off his Firebolt in pursuit of the Golden Snitch? For reasons I won't fully reveal, that's largely missing from this book. Harry the 15-year-old is moody and sullen most of the time and hopeless with his potential girlfriend Cho. Rowling tries too hard to give the characters further dimension, but at the same time we're served a formula Harry Potter story. (Mystery, peril, conflict, victory).
Harry Potter 5 is a good but if you've read the previous stories, it's a book of obligation rather than pure enjoyment.
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Published: October 24, 2003
- Type:
- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Books: Children, Books: Fantasy, Books: Original Fiction
- Writer: Eric Lindholm
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Comments on this articleComments
I would agree with your review. I really liked books three and four. I was still left looking forward to book six, so J.K has not lost me yet.
In Book 5 I did not quite understand the need for Harry Potter to explode the way he does. At the end there is mention that Potter and Voldemort share characteristics and it would appear that JK Rowling is setting up some sort of battle psychological between V and Harry, but it is dome with too heavy a hand. The character change of Harry, from a courageous force of good to a somewhat nasty adolescent is too much too fast and may, in the end, backfire, by dousing the general likeability of Our Harry.
I actually liked book 5 (I've read about 3 times already) but the review does have a fair point. My favorite books are:
1. The Prisioner of Azkaban
2. The Goblet of Fire
Although, the change of Harry being so obnoxious at times gives it a sense of realism (to my opinion, at least). "They're 15 years old..." like J.K. Rowling once said, meaning that they would have to face stuff that may seem irrelevant but obvious (I dont if I made myself clear). Anyway, I do agree in part with the review, I mean, book 3 is my fav. because its the book where everything starts, Hermione being more rebelious (hitting Malfoy) new allies, the arrival of a suitable DADA profesor, and NO Voldemort fighthin (not directly, at least, like the other books).
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I don't know... I've loved each Harry Potter book better than the previous, and number 5 was no exception. I thought it was absolutely fantastic.