Rating:  Summary: One of the best in the series!! Review: This book is so sad for Harry, yet it's the best book in the series. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry gets punished severly by the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Doloris Umbridge, has his first kiss from Cho Chang, and realizes the actual reason why Voldemort wants to kill him. Someone very important even gets killed! I don't know how J.K. Rowling is going to top this book.
Rating:  Summary: Was it worth the wait? Review: Rowling does it once again ... another great HP book. Like the other books in this series the imagery is fantastic, the spells are original and the plot keeps the reader reading. ****Beware**** unlike the previous HP books Order of the Phoenix is missing something although no one seems to be able to pin point it. it may be that readers have had to wait a little longer to receive this book but good writing takes time. while the ending of this book may not give you that same feeling of anticipation as the last four books, it is still a great read! P.S. to those who comment on the length of the book - you are getting your money's worth and more detail of the HP world
Rating:  Summary: First 500 pages a bit of a slog Review: Though this eventually gets to some fast-paced action (not that Hollywood-style action has been the best thing this series has offered in the past), the first 500 pages could easily have been reduced to 200. If anything happens, it happens a good five times-- Harry has a halting meeting with Cho, Umbridge harasses a Hogwarts teacher, Sirius complains about being cooped up, Fred and George show off their latest practical joke, Harry sulks, repeat. The formation of Dumbledore's Army, which is where the characters and book get going, should have happened hundreds of pages earlier.But also, part of the problem is this Harry sulking business. It is hard to avoid the feeling that the format of following Harry's whole life through each year of school has forced Rowling into depicting a whole lot of everyday stuff that would have been better left offstage. It was more interesting to imagine how Darth Vader became that way than to get painfully stilted movies about his childhood and adolescence, it was more interesting to see Neo and Trinity fall in love than to see them as just another boring couple, and 800 pages of a sullen, resentful teenaged Harry Potter is too much like real life for fantasy fiction. Here's hoping the last two are shorter and more fun, like the first four were.
Rating:  Summary: The other books are better Review: Painfully slow beginning. I agree with the other person that wrote that the book basically goes on and on and we know nothing more than 'Voldemort is back'. Some parts are very good, but I think that easily 300 pages could have been cut and made a better book. Not bad, but not her best work. The good stuff doesn't come till the middle of the book, toward the end. At the prices out there for this book, it is worth picking up and reading at any rate. Just didn't 'suck me in' until toward the middle/end.
Rating:  Summary: It may be long, but... Review: ...so what? No, I won't give it 5 stars for the mere fact that I know it could be shorter. Everyone who says that there is a lot of useless details, maybe you're right, but haven't we always praised Rowling for her rich attention to detail? Weren't the things you loved in the first book the crazy characters and environments so beautifuly described? You can't fault her for trying to provide the readers with something that we've said we loved. In case you didn't know, that's hypocritical. To address the other issues that people have had with the book, namely Harry's new more whiny character: he's a teenager now, for crying out loud! Maybe many of the people who read these books aren't old enough to know what it's like to be a teenager, but for us adult readers, we know. We were probably exactly like that. One of the best parts of Rowling's work is her ability to show the coming of age of her characters in this series (an excellent example of the bildungsroman). If the characters were to retain the same qualities that they posessed at the start of the series without developing at all, she would have failed as a writer. I have only one other quibble with her, and that was the death at the end. It was not as predictable as some people may believe; however, I still am left wondeing exactly why it had to occur. Despite this, I am more willing to take it with a grain of salt and hope that it will be explained in future installments. I am willing to withold my judgement on this point until I see where it leads, we must remember that this is a *series* and as such, not every thing will be wrapped up neatly at the end of each installment. While this particular installment does not have quite the same level of adventure in it, Rowling still does an excellent job keeping the reader hooked, wanting to find out more. She also, as in the previous installments, manages to inject important themes into her work (racism, government controlled education...the Inquisition, anyone?) along with the classic theme of good versus evil. While this is not my favorite in the series (Prisoner of Azkaban, holds that place) it is still a fun read and better written than most adult fiction you will ever find.
Rating:  Summary: Huge Disappointment Review: NOTE: I would have given it 2 1/2 stars, but we all know Amazon won't allow fractions. Contains mild spoilers. First, I'm as big an HP fan as anyone else, but this big has such significant problems, it's *almost* irrideemable. We'll do the bad first: 1. THE PLOT: There's barely any plot AT ALL. Plus the little bit of plot there is doesn't present itself until p.500 some! Yes, I'm completely serious, p.500 some. 2. THE PROPHECY: At the end, Dumbledore tells Harry the supposed reason why Voldemort tried to kill him. It's a prophecy. The problem with this prophecy is that it doesn't tell us anything new! WE ALREADY KNEW ALL THAT! WE WAIT 800 SOME PAGES (not to mention 4 other books) TO HEAR A "REVALATION" THAT'LL SHAKE THE FOUNDATION OF THESE BOOKS TREMENDOUSLY, and we get, ta-da!, something we basically already knew! Also, this prophecy is very predictable and archetypal. (Did I spell that right?) Not what you'd expect from HP. It seems like J.K. put practically no ambition int the invention of this prophecy. 3. THE DEATH: Like another customer said, there was absolutely no reason this character died. One gets the feeling that Rowling felt some sort of urge to put a death in solely to create a sense of tragedy, which she failed at horribly. So she kills a well-loved character for no reason at all, and then doesn't give us any closure on the death either! Horrible! (Not as bad as the prophecy though.) 4. OTHER QUIBBLES: A. The book is over-stuffed with uselsess details that, undoubtedly, are the reason the book made it to the number of pages it is. With barely any plot to work with, there had to be 600 page filler! I seriously think that if you shaved the book down to only the plot, there only be about 100 or 200 pages. B. Although I don't feel as strongly about this as others, I do somewhat agree there's too much angst and sadness. It's sad/angry event after sad/angry event with Harry getting in deep trouble with Umbridge or the Ministry, and then getting barely saved by Dumbledore. I understand that Harry's 15 and also he's gone through some tough times but you think some happiness could have been stuck in there somewhere. C. Subplots that didn't go anywhere. Like Hermione's elf clothes and Grawp. D. It seems our old favorite characters, like Lupin, are also put in for filler. They hardly resemble their old personalities. They are just there. Now let's get on with the good: 1. THE TWINS: Yes, Fred and George were great in this book. They had a lot of funny shenanigans and played a bigger role. Their fairwell was fantastic. (The stuff Hogwarts legend is made of. It would've made the Marauders proud.) 2. UMBRIDGE: Yes, Dolores Umbridge was the cause of much of the angst I complained about earlier, but her characterization is wonderful. She is SO HATE-WORTHY, you wanna strangle her. She's the most despised character in the whole series. (Yes, more than Voldemort and Malfoy.) If Rowling can write characterizations that make you feel that strongly, you have to give her credit. A lot. 3. THE VEIL AND THE ARCH are quite interesting and mysterious. Hints are given as to what it is, which makes it all the more mysterious and enticing to find out what exactly what it is in later books. (People who have read the book, you know the feeling. You know what I'm talking about.) OVERALL: I'm hugely disappointed, and if Rowling doesn't improve, well, you know. Heck, if you're not that big of a fan, you probably want to quit the series right here.
Rating:  Summary: Another riveting volume Review: J.K. Rowling has struck gold once again with the latest installment of her insanely popular Harry Potter series. This book lived up to every ounce of hype, satisfying every child and adult reader alike. In year five, Harry begins to buckle under the pressure of being the object of Dark Lord Voldemort's destructive desires. He becomes increasingly angry at his family (if you can call the evil Dursleys THAT) and his friends, who have no idea what it's like being confined to Privet Drive and later Hogwarts when he so badly wants to join the Order of the Phoenix (a group of Dumbledore supporters) in the impending battle against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his legion of Death Eaters. To make matters worse, the corrupt Ministry of Magic is changing the rules at Hogwarts, making life for Harry and his cohorts miserable. The new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, is quite possibly the most evil character (aside from Voldemort) to appear in the series. Every time something seems to resolve itself in the story, she comes along to add yet another complication. The woman is so poisonous that she makes Snape look cuddly! I also think the exploration into Harry's frustration with being famous is interesting. I think this is a reflection of Rowling's own feelings about celebrity, as she knows all too well about how tabloids can make up stories about someone. In the book, Harry is the subject of scrutiny in the Daily Prophet, as many Ministry members do not believe Voldemort has returned. In conclusion, expect some suspense, some emotion, some sadness (as a major character dies), and a few explanations in "Order of the Phoenix." But don't expect to have every question answered! That's what the final two books will be for. This installment may not have been as epic as "Goblet of Fire," but it does provide a great lead-in for Book 6. It certainly makes you long for the next episode, which we will unfortunately have to wait quite a while for.
Rating:  Summary: Thoughts on Harry Potter Review: I thought this is one of the best books in the series. It exceeded my expectations! I had been waiting for this book ever since I read the 4th one. I still can't believe that ? actually died! It was a very exciting book! Great Plot and wonderful writing. I read a ton of rumors but none of them could have prepared me for how wonderful Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix is! I am anxiosly awaiting the 6th one and I am back to reading rumors. No matter how good OotP is Prisoner of Azkaban still holds the spot of my favorite! Blessed Be.
Rating:  Summary: ????? Review: I think the book was awesome. everything fit together perfectly but the end was horrible. Harry has been through so much already and cant go through the death of the only person he had left. The only person that has been like a father to him and i dont think that he should have died!
Rating:  Summary: 1,000,000,000 stars-INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!! Review: I can't even describe this book. It's so amazing that right when you touch the book, it's like a miracle just happened. It's funny because when you read it all, you wish there was more, but you need to wait like another 3-5 years. I know I'm sort a huge bragger, but I'll try not to say so much to people who's reading my review and/or haven't read the 5th book yet: One person dies(here's a hint, HE'S an animagus), Harry and Cho Chang go out on a date, Harry, Fred and George get banned from Quidditch, dementors attack Harry and Dudley, Hermione and Ron are prefects, and Fred and George get famous. Well, there's some things that will happen in the book. I would say more, but then my review will go down(probably off) the charts(plus, people who haven't read the 5th book yet wouldn't want to read it).
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