The Grand Poobah
Posts: 192
(7/25/05 10:04 am) Reply
Was it just me?
Or was HBP the WORST-written of all the series?
I love the story. I've loved each of the stories...and HBP may actually be my favorite, but it was so rushed and so poorly-written.
EVERY SINGLE verb in the novel had some awkward adverb thrown in. ("sang shrilly," "walked anxiously," etc.). C'mon! It was SO hard to read.
Ashley and I read out loud to one another on the first go through an HP novel, so it might not have been as painful for a person reading silently...but, man, it was rotten. I mean...it. was. BAD. It was the kind of syntax you'd expect from an 8th grader learning how to write essays. I was floored by it. Just awful.
I really think she was rushed on this one. It shows in the writing (or lack, thereof, more like). J.K. Rowling is no Charles Dickens, and she doesn't have to be. It's just that none of the other books have ever been so bad as to catch my notice this way.
"The two most abundant things on the planet are hydrogen and stupidity."
~Harlan Ellison
It wasn't just you. One of my favorite things about these books is that they are just so much fun to read. I'll sit down and try to figure out what she is doing, and inevitably in 2 paragraphs I will be sucked into the story. For the first 5 books, her writing has been brilliant- it has showcased the story without calling attention to her. The writing is so transparent it allows the story to shine through briliantly, and you don't notice her briliance till you are done and sitting there sated with pleasure.
Not this book. It just doesn't shine, not sparkly. It isn't horrible, but it is not her normal level of brilliance. For the first time, I am readin whole pages and cringing. It might be because there is so much fanfic, or that some of it is so very good, but this book started edging into fanfic quality. Something I never would have said before.
Anyway- it's #6 out of 6 in my mind. Of course, one of them had to be, but in this case, I don't have any contenders. Book 6 has that dubious honor.
OTOH- it does seem to have led to the most theories. I suppose there's something to that. Then again- I think had her writing been better, we might not have jumped to the "Snape is not evil and here is my proof" in the first hour. That bit needed more subtlety.
Ah well- I have so very many criticism of this book. Sorry- or I'll rant for a long time on it.
obsessed...but
not in a crazy way.
Posts: 64
(7/25/05 10:40 am) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
Gee, I'm totally opposite. It was so easy for me to read.
I had a lot harder time at 3am reading OOtP than I did HBP.
For me, it just flowed.
Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to!
LadyCadagon Registered Member
Posts: 161
(7/25/05 1:01 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
I didn't have a problem reading this one. I went through it smoothly as usual, but the feeling was a little different for me. I don't know how to describe it except that. I still love it and was devistated at the end even though I knew he was going to die. As I said the feeling was different then the rest for me.
SusanWD67 Registered Member
Posts: 4
(7/26/05 7:01 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
I thought it was a fun and easy read, but I agree that parts are overwritten. Esp at the end...granted, the funeral is a sobfest, but there are some BAD lines in there, way over sentimental. I just want to mark out certain words and reread it!
I like the puzzle of this series, as well as her creativity.
ejeana Registered Member
Posts: 96
(7/31/05 10:11 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
ahh, you know, I felt like it wasn't quite as well-written too, but I thought it was just me--I figured I was just reading it at a rather stressful time and I just wasn't letting myself relax and enjoy it like the other books. But, since some of you all got a similar impression, I guess it wasn't just me.
I was so sad at the end. I did expect him to die, but I honestly didn't expect it till book seven, and towards the end of it. Harry and his friends sure have a tall order ahead of them for next year!
Registered Member
Posts: 3
(8/9/05 12:07 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
I kinda thought the same thing. I thought it lacked some of the intense passion of the earlier books. It was lighter, somehow. I didn't care as deeply about the characters. I did still care about them from the other books, of course, but I didn't feel empathetic.
I thought the romance stuff was really poorly done. It wasn't romantic at all to me.
I think I had heard that she was suffering some writer's block or something. She probably powered her way through it even though she didn't feel like it.
"Cats rule, dogs drool." -- The Murphinator
ejeana Registered Member
Posts: 100
(8/9/05 10:19 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
Yeah, I could have done without the romance bit, but I suppose she was going for "authentic teenager". Blah. I am amazed Ron and Hermione could have such communication issues, after all they've been through together. But I guess neither one of them has really outright aknowleged their attraction to the other.
If she does have writer's block, I hope she gets all rested up and rejuvenated before going into book seven. I don't think she has publisher deadlines, though. It seems like I remember reading she basically sets her own timetable. There are some things that cannot be rushed.
getstrong Registered Member
Posts: 2
(8/11/05 3:48 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
Character development seems to have been dropped in the last two books. I didn't feel too empathetic toward our heroes, either. Maybe I will feel differently if I read it again, but it seemed like even Hagrid lost his passion. And the trio seemed more like casual friends instead of best buds.
Book 5 had that tedious DD monologue to tie up the loose ends, but Book 6 frequently left me wondering what it was that just happened, and not entirely getting the sense of it. I thought it was "old age" memory, but DS didn't seem very taken with this book, either. But worst book? I would still say Book 3 - that one had me bored the most, especially with that extremely slow summer lead-up.
ejeana Registered Member
Posts: 101
(8/13/05 1:17 pm) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
Really, you would rate book three the worst? I think that one is my favorite. Part of that is probably because it was the first I read before seeing the movie. Also, I really liked the Harry/father-figure theme in this book, with him meeting Sirius, his godfather, learning so much about his dad's school chums, and of course, summoning the patronus in the shape of a stag.
book five I found I liked a lot better the second time through--maybe I will feel that way about six as well.
perhaps the dialogue was weaker? The verbal exchanges and interaction between Harry, Ron, and Hermione is something that seems particularly well done in general, perhaps in this one it was weaker? Not sure.
Melitta Registered Member
Posts: 2
(8/16/05 7:30 am) Reply
Re: Was it just me?
I don't know. I didn't notice the excessive adverbs. Since we've seen most of the characters in the movies, we know how they speak. Once or twice, while I was reading, the adverbs made me modify the way I "heard" the dialogue in my mind. I suppose it's the written equivalent of an emoticon!
I liked this book better than the fifth one. Harry was in such a bad mood the whole time in "Order of the Phoenix." But gosh, the ending in HBP....
I didn't get the impression that the "snogging" we saw was indicative of romance. It was teenage lust, pure and simple.
Editing to correct the part of speech--it's been too many years since I had an English class that mentioned those things! Edited by: Melitta at: 8/29/05 1:48 pm
Edited by: 
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