Book 24

Finished Order of the Phoenix. And there's just over a month until the new one comes out.

Goblet of Fire was a decent read. I have vague memories of acquiring that one. My folks sent it to us. After they had read it. So it arrived in less than stellar condition, but arrived nonetheless. While it suffers from being huge, it still told an enjoyable tale. The Tri-Wizard Tournament was an enjoyable backdrop for the action that went on. And of course the ending brought the first of the much whispered about character deaths. This one was a bit of a red shirt, but oh well.

Order of the Phoenix was a different matter. I got, and read, it the day it came out. Good ol' Amazon. No pesky lines for me. Reading it in such a short space of time was a bit of an injustice though. It's definitely my least favorite of all the books. It may advance a few things plot wise, but it's not an enjoyable read. I don't care if Harry is acting your typical teenager, you shouldn't hate the main character. And after that initial read-through I did. I've since read it twice (including this one) and it's gotten a bit better. The second time through I actually enjoyed it a bit more. Harry wasn't as angry and obnoxious as I remembered him, but Umbridge was still just a real low point. I'm all for villains you can hate, but she was unbearable. This last read through just left me feeling indifferent. It's not that great a book. So, here's to hoping that Rowling gets back to telling a decent story and learns to be a bit more concise. At least Fred & George are still brilliant. I'm going to miss them in Book 6. Hopefully they'll be around some where. And then there was Sirius's death. I think I'll just point out that it happened. That's about all the time she gave it. And the relationship between Sirius and Harry. (Actually that's a little unfair - reading them this time did show that she tried to highlight Harry's feelings for Sirius when she got the chance, but those chances were few enough that it still didn't carry a lot of weight when she bumped him off. It was more of a "Oh, Harry's about to have a surrogate Father, let's get rid of him" kind of thing.)

So. Speculation? We know more characters will die - I'm betting on Dumbledore at some point (as Rowling is telling a pretty traditional Hero's journey) and Remus at the silver hand of Peter. Other than that it's a pretty level playing field. I suspect the trio will make it out alive, but probably not unscathed. That most likely points to a Weasley death of some sort, but I'm not sure who would affect Hermione that much. Unless it's Ron, but I don't think it will be him - chess sacrifice in Book 1 notwithstanding. Some possible romance. Will Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering? Harry and Ginny? Hard to say. And Neville should finally stop flinching at his shadow.

But enough about that. My next book should be a bit of a departure for me. I may try and tackle something historical and possibly even non-fiction. The horror!