Brilliant!!!

I have to say that I actually bought this and read it on the day it come out and it was well worth the wait! The twist with snape and dumbledore was magnificent and things are tied up in this book that have left us wondering throughout the last ones! Why do people slag this book off I dont know - I think its because people werent actually expecting the books to end and were hoping she would keep them going- you could write more off this book though as we could start having books written about harrys parents or children so its not closed off yet! Definitely recommended!

Really Bad ending

The ending was so bad i could have died. No idea what tht was about. The begining was good. Overall it thought it was a bit stupid but entertaining. I would probs read it again and i recommend it. xxx

Would be ok as an excuse if there wasn't so much better fantasy writing out there

If you are not normally a fantasy reader, or you would not describe yourself as an imaginitive / intuitive type, you will enjoy these books. These books are essentially a 1980's tv show or sitcom (Grange Hill) in a fantasy setting.<br /><br />The thing about these books is that they are essentially derivative from much better quality works. If you have discovered these books, loved them, but have not read any books in the list below, I suggest you read the books in the list instead. Life is short, and while pulp fiction might be ok for a no-stress holiday brain vacation, you can do so much better.<br /><br />Try - Lord of the Rings (avoid the films), The Hobbit, CS Lewis (not just The Lion, the Witch & the Waldrobe, which is one of the weaker texts), the Moomins, Alice in Wonderland, The Worm Ouroboros, Homer's Iliad & Oddessy.<br /><br />If you want something lighter, try Michael Moorcock or some of the"core" Dragonlance texts (not the million and one spinoffs). If you want something amusing, try Terry Pratchett. There is really so much more out there to make you think.<br />

Really Bad ending

The ending was so bad i could have died. No idea what tht was about. The begining was good. Overall it thought it was a bit stupid but entertaining. I would probs read it again and i recommend it. xxx

I'd rather be a prisoner in Azkhaban than read another Potter book

Having watched the films and enjoyed them, I spoke to my fiancée with regards to reading the books. She has read them all and suffers from what can only be described as 'pottermania'. Knowing me as well as she does, she recommended that if I was to get into the story in the book, I would be better reading"prisoner" to start with as it was probably the best written of the early books.<br /><br />Armed with a lazy saturday afternoon and the phone off the hook, I sat back and read what JKR had to offer. I hasten to add, I am an avid SF/Fantasy reader and own several hundred books of the ilk, so I felt that I could seriously give it a go and get myself immersed in potterdom.<br /><br />Ok, on to the book.<br /><br />That evening, I finished what can possibly be described as the worst waste of time in my life. Now, I understand that the story is for kids, I'm not knocking that fact and the way that JKR writes, it is as if a kid had written it. I found I couldn't get to grips with her storytelling style. The language used was basic and how adults could be drawn into such a world, defies belief. It just goes to show that even if you aren't a good writer, you could still become a millionaire on the back of media promotion and the hype that surrounds a new book.<br /><br />If I were you, I would stick to the films, they at least are enjoyable to watch, contain the interesting bits of the books and thankfully are only 2 hours out of your life wasted!

A bridge from book 5 to book 7, that's all.

I was so looking forward to this book and feel very deflated for having read it again. After the first read when it was released I was not the happiest of Potter fans because it took such a long time to get nowhere and lacked anything particularly appealing. So I left it a couple of years and went back to it as I read the whole 7 books again and yet it seems even worse now, reading it knowing what was coming up in Deathly Hallows. A lot of this is simply making the story last long enough to see Harry inton his final year! And yet again Dumbledore messes up by holding information back from Harry. I've read that ploy before in books 4 and 5! And the concept of the horcruxes really should have been introduced a few books ago and been an ongoing quest or thorn in Harry's side, rather than emerging near the end of this one. I hope the film makes the book seem better because going back to visit this particular year at Hogwarts wasn't time well spent. THBP is an exercise in drawing a story out to its required length, and that's it simple as that.

A Grower

When I first read this book, I didn't like it at all, but it is a book that growns on you, It is now one of my favourite books. <br />There is a lot to take in, and it is a long read, but if you stick with it, it is absolutly wonderful. <br />It has the same humour as the other books, and is beautifully written.<br />It will always be one of my number once books.

Even better the second time round...

As the final instalment is just out, I decided the re-read the series, and I was even more impressed reading 'The Goblet of Fire' for the second time.<br /><br />This is Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts and students from two other schools are visiting for the year whilst the Tri-Wizard Tournament takes place. Much to his surprise the Goblet of Fire commands that Harry must take place in the tournament, and Sirius and Dumbledore suspect that someone is trying to put Harry's life in danger. Harry knows that Voldemort is getting stronger and it isn't clear who can and can't be trusted.<br /><br />If you have seen and enjoyed the film, you will enjoy the book even more. Whilst the film was enjoyable, it missed much of the depth of the book and several characters, like Winky the House-elf, are completely missing.<br /><br />This is also the first time we meet Mad-Eye Moody, one of my favourites. As usual with Harry Potter novels, highly recommended<br />

I am a Potter fan

I admit it. But I should say that I was a Potter fan before the media hype started. In effect, the hype is its downfall. Just skimming through the reviews here reveals how many are baffled by its success, and blaming it on media attention. This is simply not true! The books had to of been popular in the first place in order to catch the eyes of those in the many media-based industries.<br />I don't think it is an original piece of work either - what book is nowadays? Do you go into Waterstones, gaze in wonder at all the books that have appeared on the shelves over the past 100 hundred years, and say"Look at these! I bet they're all entirely original". As anyone knows, there is only really three (or at least about that amount) types of plot that any piece of writing can follow. IE - Good Vs Evil. Like The Lord of Rings, The Worst Witch, the list is endless. I don't regard it as great writing, but I don't let such things spoil a fun story.<br />If someone is telling you a story, you don't just interrupt them and suggest possible ways of rewording their sentence. Not being able to go beyond the writing style is just being lazy. Your imagination is there to take the story you are presented with and play about with it in your head!<br />I agree her writing is patchy, but it does improve in the later books.<br />And anyone who says that adults shouldn't read kids books - get over it, it's just a book! Just because it is written in a simple fashion, this doesn't mean it should be ignored. If can't interact with your childish side, then quite frankly, you aren't human. Or a human I'd want to know.<br />I'm sorry, but it just annoys that people should let someones writing style ruin a fun story. And should stop being so offensive to the people who do like them. I love Harry Potter, and yet I will quite willingly sit down with a Dickens, an Austen or a Waugh, etc.<br />I buy books to wallow in a story, not get upset by the fact that someone uses the same word twice in one sentence. Yes, I'm an English student, and I did do quite well in all my papers by analyzing language and characters, but that doesn't define what a good book should be about.<br />Okay rant over - sorry people! It's an enjoyable series written for children, but why should that stop adults enjoying the story? Just because we feel we are more intelligent than kids doesn't mean that we should be snobbish about liking something written for them. We were that age once you know. And wouldn't it be wonderful to lose our cynicism and become one again? Go ahead, argue against me if you wish, call me a bad writer for this hurried mess I'm typing out. Please :)

Great to own the full set!

Held together in a very nice box, the full set of the adult Harry Potter books are very high quality and well worth the money. These books will last a long time and be enjoyed again and again.

GREAT

I agree with reviewer 'Professor Bates' - the Amazon platfom is for reviewing the product not airing old-fashioned views about the state of education, literacy or anything else - it is 2007, you know!

Absolutely perfect.

(Contains spoilers for 'Order of the Phoenix' and slight spoilers for 'Half Blood Prince'.)<br /><br />This entire series is special but now that it's complete I can safely say this is my favourite. I'll re-read all the books but this one the most.<br /><br />Review:<br /><br />After Sirius' death in book five, Dumbledore invites Harry to help him investigate and obtain information regarding Voldermort's past (or to be more precise- Tom Riddle's past). With Voldermort's Deatheaters returning to him en masse, Voldermort is now ready to return to his reign of terror so Dumbledore and Harry must look into his past to see if there is any way of defeating him. These flashback sequences via the pensieve are terrific and really flesh out the character of Tom Riddle, giving him more substance.<br /><br />As with each new book a new teacher arrives at Hogwarts. This time it is the larger than life, jolly yet fiercely ambitious Horace Slughorn who Dumbledore has convinced to come out of retirement. Apart from Hermione, Slughorn has now become my favourite character in the series. He is neither completely good or bad, he is complex, flawed and likable. For me he is one of Rowling's best creations.<br /><br />Rowling has a wonderful ability to simultaneously progress the overall main story (in this book MAJOR events happen) and at the same time put excellent detail into the smaller stories that occur in the book. Each book always has a mystery element to be solved and here Harry, Ron and Hermione attempt to figure out who the 'Half- Blood Prince' is.<br /><br />Some of the best chapters concern Harry, Hermione and Ron and their day to day troubles within Hogwarts such as Quiddich practice, how they are faring in certain classes now that they are studying the more difficult N.E.W.T course, not to mention their complicated love lives.<br /><br />Rowling's world is completely absorbing and this was a pleasure to read with its' usual combination of mystery, humour and sadness, all of which is underpinned by the wonderful Characters- old and new.<br /><br />10/10.

Brilliant!!!

I have to say that I actually bought this and read it on the day it come out and it was well worth the wait! The twist with snape and dumbledore was magnificent and things are tied up in this book that have left us wondering throughout the last ones! Why do people slag this book off I dont know - I think its because people werent actually expecting the books to end and were hoping she would keep them going- you could write more off this book though as we could start having books written about harrys parents or children so its not closed off yet! Definitely recommended!

Harry Potter rulz!

Harry Potter is an 11 year old bot who goes through lots of challenging things in his live. Firstly he has to stay with the Dursleys (his aunt and uncle) who locks him up in a cupboard and never treat him well. Then one day when he is sleeping on the floor someone bursts in trough the door and explains to Harry that he is a wizard. Harry is startled at first but understands that he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts, a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He soon makes friends and joins in.

This book is a great book and I would reccomend it to all of you. I have enjoyed this book and I am sure you will too.

Horcruxes

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth Harry Potter book in the series. I got a copy of this book just before I turned 17, shortly after the release (a little over two years ago now). This isn't as good as book 5 (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it's my favourite after this. Out of all seven books, this book is my third favourite and book 5 is my second.<br /><br />Once again it was great when I got it, not just because it was a new Harry Potter book, but because of the way the previous book ended. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book 4) ended with the return of Lord Voldemort and book 5 continued with that story, in which very few people believed Harry. The book ended with the truth being announced to the wizarding world, as Voldemort had been seen by Cornelius Fudge (minister of magic) as well as a few employees at the ministry. Fudge was forced to accept the truth and deny it no longer.<br /><br />In this book, we learn that now the truth's been annonced the ministry now sees Harry as a symbol of hope. The prophecy that Harry may be the one to destroy Lord Voldemort for good has leaked out somehow. Now the prophecy is flying around the wizarding world.<br /><br />The book starts of with the Prime Minister (who I assume to be John Major as this is set in July or August in 1996). In the first chapter (and I was pleased with this part as I took a severe dis-liking to the character in book 5) we learn that Fudge has been demoted (ha ha) and a wizard named Rufus Scrimgeour has replaced him as minister of magic. We also learn that the dementors have joined Lord Voldemort. It's in that chapter when the Prime Minister is alerted of Voldemort's return.<br /><br />In the meantime Narcissa Malfoy (Draco's Mother), along with Bellatrix Lestraneg visit Snape in a desperation to have Snape make an unbreakable vow (a promise he has to keep and according to Ron those who break it die) and watch over Draco and ensure that he completes the task Lord Voldemort has set him. Is Snape a Death Eater after all? Or is he working as a spy for Dumbledore?<br /><br />That same evening (thanks to Harry's persuation), Dumbledore is able to bring an old teacher Horace Slughorn out of retirement and have him return to Hogwarts.<br /><br />Harry spends the rest of the summer with the Weasleys and it's that summer when he realizes that Draco has joined the Death Eaters, although neither Ron nor Hermione take Harry seriously.<br /><br />They return to Hogwarts for their 6th year in which Harry is able to do Potions in NEWT level after all (he needs a NEWT grade in potions if he wants to become an auror, a dark wizard catcher), due to Slughorn being the new potions teacher, although Harry is outraged that Snape has become the new defence against the dark arts teacher.<br /><br />Harry orders a copy of Advanced Potion Making, required for his sixth year and in the meantime has to make do with one of Hogwarts's copies. His however has been graffitied; made up spells have been written in the book and potion methods have been scribbled out and altered. <br /><br />Harry learns from the book that it once belonged to someone known as the half-blood prince. Who that is is a mystery to Harry, although the half-blood prince does seem to be very clever as his or her instructions produce Harry top results in potions and wins him a bottle of luck potion (felix fellicis) in his first ever lesson. <br /><br />Hermione believes that the owner of the book is dangerous as is the book itself. Personally I felt that Hermione was just annoyed that Harry uses is to cheat his way through potions, although I do agree with her that Harry shouldn't test an unknown spell without looking up what it does.<br /><br />In the meantime Dumbledore gives Harry secret lessons, in which they observe people's memories with the pensieve, which are all linked to Voldemort's past and according to Dumbledore this is all very important. These memories are very important as they give Harry knowledge about Lord Voldemort and will help him destroy the evil git for once and for all. <br /><br />These events in the book are actually important in the story. Particually the one in which Tom Riddle (Voldemort) asks Slughorn what Horcruxes are. Dumbledore sends Harry in an urgent mission to retrieve the real memory of Slughorn as he's tampered with the one they observe. In this book we learn what a Horcrux is, which is basically an object containing a piece of somebody's soul. They have to commit a murder and perform a spell, in which a piece of their soul is torn and incased in an object. Creating a horcrux gives immortality to the wizard that makes one. <br /><br />Throughout his year Harry's still convinced that Draco is a Death Eater and is determined to prove it and find out where Draco is always dissappearing to and what he's always up to.<br /><br />Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is an excellent book and it's great, not just for the storyline, but due to the fact it explains a few things, such as how Lord Voldemort got so powerful and how became to be mutated looking during the years. It's all in here. It also features some romance.<br /><br />Harry falls in love with Ginny in his sixth year, which is ironic as it was Ginny who fancied Harry in books 2 and 3. Also Ron begins dating a girl in his year Lavender Brown. I won't tell you wether or not Harry does get Ginny. You'll just have to find out.<br /><br />The book has a few mysteries. Amongst them are the following...<br /><br />What's Malfoy up to?<br />Who is the Half-Blood Prince?<br />Is Snape on Dumbledore's side?<br />How did Dumbledore severly injure his right hand?<br /><br />There's also a couple of other mysteries such as the cursed necklace and the poisoned mead. The horcruxes I've already explained. They're all revealled by the end of the book, which ironically ends with a new mystery; what does the initials R.A.B. stand for? <br /><br />This book is very brilliant and very eventful throughout. It has a brillant yet tragic ending also. J.K Rowling is a brilliant author, with a great imagination. She's writes the books brilliantly in my opinion; she doesn't drag them out (if you catch my drift. I don't mean the actually length of her books but the way they're written) and she doesn't quicken her books either. Excellent book.

Wonderful Set!

I was not a HP fan until this past summer when the OOTP movie sold me the story. I borrowed friends' books to ready, beginning from book 1. Then I decided to splurge and got myself the entire set for my own birthday. I must say that I prefer the UK edition more than the US edition. The books are smaller and easier to hold in your hands, and the colorful covers are just fantastic! I still like the US edition from Scholastic, and the cover illustration is wonderful as well. All in all, it's a great present to myself and a definite keeper!

Potter mad

looking at some of the reviews on here, i think a lot of people are trying to rebel against the now norm of loving the harry potter series. Yes, the first book is quite young, but you gotta take it for what it is, a childs book! i HAVE read most of the other books people are recommending instead of Potter and enjoyed them in their turn and it is possible to love Potter as well as Frodo (for instance)!

A Grower

When I first read this book, I didn't like it at all, but it is a book that growns on you, It is now one of my favourite books. <br />There is a lot to take in, and it is a long read, but if you stick with it, it is absolutly wonderful. <br />It has the same humour as the other books, and is beautifully written.<br />It will always be one of my number once books.