HBP: First Read Rant (Neri's disappointment)

[pippin_999]

Horsebox
Horsebox
Who's got the
Horsebox?

David:
> It is something of a disappointment to me that the things that seem 
> to me to be the really important mysteries - the power that 
> Voldemort knows not, why he didn't die, etc are either slipped in 
> casually or, as you say, McGuffins.  (Though to be fair, the
Horcrux  idea does have some coherence - it's not just a sonic 
screwdriver of  immortality.)
> 
> Whereas the identity of a traitor, while of course great fun and 
> interesting and an integral part of the plot and all that, always 
> seemed secondary.

Pippin:
Ah, but the motive of the traitor is JKR's grand statement on the
mystery of evil, along with Snape's still secret motive for
repentance, presuming he did repent (more on this theory later.)

 I mean Voldemort is just a jumped up Ted Bundy,
and she seems to be saying that his real life counterparts are
the same, but the Big Question for a liberal, you see, is not what 
made (forgive the Godwinism) Hitler a Nazi, but what
made so many reasonably decent Germans want to be Nazis too.

Because the heart and soul of liberalism is the belief that most
people are reasonably decent to start with, and Jo has made no
secret that she believes that.

Also, I think the bad fanfic rap is undeserved, unless it's Harry or
Ron or Hermione who sound like bad fanfic, and I don't think they
ever do. One of the things fan fiction writers can do that Jo can't
is elevate the second tier characters to first tier status. 
Snape can't be allowed to take over the story and one of the ways
to make him keep his distance is to have him tell rather than show.

Basically the story is about Harry--how Snape managed to snow 
Voldemort is only relevant insofar as it suggests he might be
snowing Harry or Dumbledore.

And as for the lack of fireworks in the H/G romance, that's typical
of an epic hero. Harry's got a world to save, he can't devote
equal emotional energy to getting the girl or the whole thing
turns into farce. 

Pippin
Who always thought the alchemy was just another borrowing,
like the Hand of Glory or Tarot cards