OoP Criticism

[Aberforth's Goat]

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Catherine wrote,

> As much as I have loved Hagrid, I thought he was superfluous to this
> book.

You know, I think that is the weak spot of the whole book - and the reason
why I'm a little ticked off with my rl hero, Jo: her characters are
multiplying like rabbits - and she can't bear to leave them in there cages
all book long. Let alone send one or two to the butcher.

Why didn't she just leave Hagrid in the mountains the whole time? Gorp, or
Gwump, or whatever-he's-called may have a big plot job in a later book, but
having Hagrid haul him in just to save H&H from some tetchy centaurs seems
like a waste. Just leave Hagid in the Alps, or send him of to Paris for the
year - believe me, Olympe wouldn't have minded taking care of him ...

Why did she have to introduce the whole matrix crew - err - I mean the whole
Order of the Phoenix gang. Yeah, Tonks, for instance, is way cool ... but
one did she contribute to the plot to justify her existence?

Luna same thing. She'd better have something *big* planned for Luna later
on. But even if she *does* - couldn't she have used a Patil girl or one of
the Hufflepuf chicks? Did she really need yet another character? (BTW, I
think she does have plans for Luna - who, I assume, is a resurrection of
Ron's cousin who got plotted out of GoF.)

My take: There's just too much *stuff* going on in the series; it's as
though Leonardo had decided to paint the Last Supper into the background of
the Mona Lisa. In all the ways that really count (i.e. being a cool human
being), success does not seem to have gone to JKR's head. But I think her
writing has lost an essential measure of artistic self-discipline.

Baaaaaa!

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray)
_______________________

"Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not
have been bravery...."

NEWS: Check out chapter 2 of the Viagramus Curse. Fanfiction
that puts the dense back in decadence.
http://www.riddikulus.org/authors/agoat/VC02.html