Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

• by: J. K. Rowling
• pages: 652
• read: 20051225

I'm surprised I didn't hear anything in the press about someone dying in this one. They made a big deal about it in the last book, but I didn't hear anyone mention it in this one.

That said, I have a feeling he's going to pull a Gandalf in the last book. (After all, he's been associated with the pheonix ever since the beginning.)

I was caught unexpectedly by the identity of the Half-Blood Prince, although in retrospect it was fairly obvious. I think Rowling did a good job with the misdirection, constantly reminding us that Voldemort was half-blood.

So... is Snape a death-eater or isn't he? I think that's the one resolution I'm most interested in in the final book.

Overall, I enjoyed the read, but I think some of the others in the series have been better. The misdirection was good, but the pensive scenes felt a little artificial. (There should have been a better way to have the Exposition without breaking the main story flow.)

Rating: 8/10

--Tometheus 5 January 2006