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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5 Audio CD)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5 Audio CD)

List Price: $75.00
Your Price: $47.25
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Once again our favorite author has done it again. I got this book delivered on the 21st and finished it the next day.
As soon as you pick it up you will be enthralled in the magical land of Harry Potter.

I realize that many people have yet to read this fantastic work of art so I will not tell you ANYTHING!!!

Trust me on this one.... you will be on the edge of your seat while you read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Magical as always...
Review: Harry Potter is a good read. Unfortunately, it wasn't 'great' -- not compared to the other books -- because of a very sullen, self-pitying angry main character. However, he is surrounded by an amazing cast of supporting characters; Ron and Hermione steal the show. ("Clip-clop!") The humour is still there, but overall it is a darker book and I probably wouldn't give it to younger kids (although they'd probably take it anyway).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another addicting book from Ms. Rowling
Review: After flipping over the first page, I just can't stop reading on and on. The plot is so masterfully written that gave you so much surprises to make that 755 pages seem too short. However, unlike Rowling's previous 4 adventures, this one has more depth, in fact, we were like growing up with Harry himself. This book is more complicated than the previous 4, including a more complex and rebellious character of Harry. Compare with Hermoine and Ron, Harry's change is more contrasting in this story. I am feeling that now Ron is trying to ever catchup with Harry's growth; while Hermoine retains her usual intelligence and wisdom in helping out Harry. Yet the format still remains : Harry's usual encounter with Voldemort at the end, and Dumbledore's final remarks at the end of the story/schoolyear. Of course, the trainride back to Pivet Drive. I think this is probably a "signature" format of Harry Potter stories.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Five Stars Is Enough...
Review: I gave it five stars, but I could have given it more (I know five is the maximum, but ^_^ well you know). It's ten times better, and darker. People of all ages would love it as much as I do. It also involves more romance. It is my favorite book in the series currently and I'm sure that it will become yours too. It would have been my favorite book except for one tiny... no, major detail in the end that shocked me, made me cry, etc. But I'm sure you all probably know what I'm talking about ;).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A book worth waiting for
Review: Isn't 15 just a year ahead of 14? Somehow, the latest installment of the J K Rowling seems to defy this simple math. In one year, Harry has changed a lot. He probably yelled more at his two pals, Ron and Hermione, in this book than the previous four books put together. In turn, he also gets yelled at by almost everyone, including Angelina Johnson, the new Gryffindor Captain. The reader may, at certain times, feel bored and exhausted by reading lines after lines in Caps.

But this is probably in sync with Harry's world undergoing a complete paradigm shift. The hint at the end of Book 4, about the emerging tension between the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore, didn't prepare me fully for this total onslaught on Hogwarts by Cornelius Fudge and his cronies, culminating in the arrest of Dumbledore and almost expulsion from Hogwarts for all of our near and dear characters. More than all the sinister maneuvers of you-know-who in the previous 4 books, I felt this graphic tussle to be only suitable for teenagers and not the 6-10 age group that devoured the other books. But this could be a sign of change in the Harry Potter readers as well, who, between the 4th and the 5th book, also went through the experience of September 11th, 2001, that changed their view of the world completely.

The Harry Potter readers have now been accustomed to certain recurring themes. It is unlikely that the Dursleys will ever improve, though at the end of book 5, Moody threatens Vernon to treat Harry nicely or face the consequence. Harry also gets to know why Dumbledore insisted on him staying with the Dursleys everywhere.

Snape also got enough chance to redeem himself but didn't seem eager to utilize them, though Harry will finally understand the reason behind Snape's intense animosity toward him.

Minerva Mcgonnagal comes true as the exemplary leader of the Gryffindor house, and gains even more respect in the readers' eye than the previous books.

Ron and Hermione, I am afraid, are relegated to second-string roles in this book. It is possible that Ginny and Cho Chang got more coverage. And some of the loathsome characters of the previous books make cameo appearences, including Professor Lockhart and Wormtail.

But most importantly, the reader will know, once and for all, why Dumbledore is the only wizard that You-know-who is afraid about. Who else can force the Dark Lord to mutter, under excruciating pain, "You are not going to kill me, are you?"

In essence, it is a very complex book that portrays Harry's coming of age in every possible way. He discovers love; he encounters death; he faces treachery, betrayal, and downright Nazi-style torture, all within the confines of the school that he reckoned to be the most secure place. Harry will never be the same again.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Preview of Books 6 and 7?
Review: Well darn it, isn't anybody going to review this thing?!

The wordcount drags the pace down just a bit too far -- there wasn't enough of the energy of Vols. 3 and 4 or the humor of the earlier volumes to give the needed "lift".

Several expected plot developments skittered across the pages like sheep being trotted past an insomniac, but were pulled out of the line-up before they had covered any ground. If Rowling was attempting to pace herself going slow on plot resolution and character development, I think she has bought time at too high a price.

However, look out for one or two promising new characters, and enjoy a little more detail on Sirius' character -- poor guy hasn't had much of a chance in previous books, what with all the plot device work he's been called on to perform! And then, sit back and hope that the sheep are about to be followed by sweeter dreams.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: Brilliant book. Get ready for new heros to love, new villians to hate! With a swish and a flick you are hurtling at the speed of light through another year at Hogwarts. The book is longer than any of the others but you can never have too much of Harry Potter and his wonderful friends. I love this series, and....can't wait for the next one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rowling Does It Again
Review: This is a great addition to the Harry Potter story. Rowling has again been able to expand on the plot and the Harry Potter world while still retaining the magic of the first books in the series. There are plenty of new problems and adventures in store for Harry in this book. Harry discovers the pitfalls of dating. There are family tensions in the Weasily home. And Lord VOldemort is up to some new tricks. This was a very good read. It concluded nicely wrapping up many of the questions in the book while still leaving plenty of story waiting to be told and making fans already pine for the next book in the series to come out.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dark yet enlightening.
Review: I have always been a bit of an avid Harry Potter fan. The books are addictive... the excitement-inevitable... the drama-moving and the characters who always seemed real in my own world. I've waited 3 years for this installment and filled with so much anticipation and high expectation. Rumours were floating everywhere and yet I think no one could be really certain until one has read the book.

I read it in less than 5 hours after I got it since I've always thought Harry Potter has always been an easy to read book even if it's incredibly long.

From the first chapter to the last, J.K didn't disappoint me. I couldn't say that this is not my favorite book from the 5... because it's NOT. However, it didn't disappoint me. It was as exciting as it is enlightening and magical. J.K. had her charms at work and her heart in all the right places.

Following Harry's "darkest year" yet has been an incredibly wonderful and moving journey. I think J.K. still caters for a younger audience even if she tries to make it more "mature". In fact there is a bunch there about Harry's adolescent struggle that will keep you laughing for hours. His confusion with (girls) is very funny. I think J.K still manages to tickle our funny bones even in the most serious cases. I'd give her props for that. It's a well-written, easy-to-understand, mind-boggling (you will always be guessing and having certain "theories" in your head) and still remains to be an incredibly imaginative work of art that makes you wonder how the hell she could come up with all the sick twists, ploys, plots and characters that add spice to a world only our hearts and minds could conjure.

More and more... you will be moved by the heart-felt sincerity of the entire story that J.K manages to create. Amidst all the dark turn of events, it will leave you weeping (I did.)... joyous... intrigue... excited and most of all - WANTING FOR MORE. :)

I can't wait for the next one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Book delights but Potter fails
Review: Like many avid Harry Potter fans, I scurried to the bookstore to purchase my reserved copy of The Order of the Phoenix. I was enthralled by the book despite a major setback; Harry himself was turning out to be quite an annoying character. Though Rowling does give some support and reasoning for why Harry gets on his soapbox from which he rants and raves, she does not give him enough support so that the reader can support him as well. He treats his friends like dirt when they have stood by his side, time and time again. Upon his arrival at Headquarters, he blasts Hermione and Ron for keeping their word to Dumbledore, though he is fully aware (or should be) that they would have told him, if they had a secure way of informing him of what had been happening. Harry himself made a promise to Dumbledore in not revealing the fates of Neville's parents, something he knew could be entrusted to his best friends, but is quick to judge his friends for acting the same. Then he really irritates the reader by demanding recognition for his enormous feats that he performed alone, which he later tries to discount and attribute to his friends when members of the yet-unformed D.A. try to convince him to teach them. He continually takes out his frustrations on Ron and Hermione, even though they eventually call him on it. Also, he selfishly thinks of only why he wasn't chosen as Prefect when both his best friends have, instead of celebrating their achievement. Again and again throughout the novel, he refuses to listen to anyone's advice, even coming from people who are continually proven right and right again, eventually leading to a character's demise. Hermione flat out points out his hero complex, but Harry's pride refuses to allow him to see the reason or logic of anything. Disheartened by knowledge that he learns about his father, he actually proves one point: he is as arrogant as his father. Harry could have been better explained, had better narration into his thoughts to make him seem not so childish and irritating, but Rowling chose not to do so. The plot itself was completely and constantly intriguing. I've never closed a Potter book feeling so satisfied. After each book, there are usually a few, "That was great, but I wish I knew what happened to/about..." but this time, there wasn't. As a reader, one knew resolutely that the good guys were happy (good luck to the Weasely twins), the bad guys got their comeuppance--partically Prof. Umbridge--and maybe Harry won't have such a horrible summer. Hopefully, Harry's character flaws had to be revealed so pointedly for upcoming plotlines in Books 6 & 7, but overall the Order of the Phoenix was still a great read.


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