I Didn't Care For OoP -- So Sue Me! :-D

[Cindy C.]

No: HPFGUIDX 65404

Hey, there,

I've been reading the list as much as I can (boy, this list is high 
volume these days, huh?), but I haven't posted a detailed review 
yet.  

Why?

Well, I've kind of noticed something about this discussion of OoP.  
It seems that some people (like me) didn't like OoP much.  There 
might even be some folks who actually hated it, or who would rate it 
as their least favorite book of the series.  

In my case, I'm actually feeling a bit intimidated about saying what 
I *really* think about OoP lest those who liked the book take 
offense.  I doubt I'm the only one who feels that way -- in fact, I 
know I'm not.  There are quite a number of valid criticisms that can 
be made about OoP.  It seems to me that we ought to be able to 
discuss them without too much conflict.

That said, I have been trying to put my finger on the one thing that 
I think really ruined OoP for me.  There are several possibilities, 
but I think it is this:

OoP contained several new characters, and it developed some of them 
quite nicely.  But other characters -- even beloved characters from 
the first four books -- had mere cameo appearances.  The book would 
have been tighter without Lupin and Moody, who had nothing to do, 
really.  I feel misled a bit, to be honest.  I think JKR said Real!
Moody was cool and Harry would get to know him.  That didn't happen, 
so why did we need Moody?  

For me, the acid test is, "Would I have finished OoP had it been a 
fanfic on a fanfic site?"  

I'm afraid I wouldn't have.  I would have thought it was OK, I would 
have read the first half maybe, but it was not worth spending 
considerable amounts of time to read.  So if I'm reading the book 
only because it is canon -- only because I feel invested in the 
series because I read the first four books and plan to read the next 
one -- then the book fell far short of being excellent.

For me, anyway. 

Cindy -- who will try to force herself to read OoP again and will try 
to take notes about exactly what went so very wrong