My HBP Review

[Jim Ferer]

Penny: ":::takes very large slice of crow pie and gags it down::::

I concede defeat. Happy? Good ------ please spare me the gloating.
There's no good pretending I'm not utterly and completely devastated
by the events of HBP. I'm more devastated by the tone of The
Interview. IMHO, it was quite unprofessionally handled by the
interviewers, since they supposedly have a better understanding of the
dynamics of the fandom than Rowling would. To call an entire segment
of the fandom "delusional" in an incredibly high-profile interview is
very poor taste and bad judgment. And, even though Rowling distanced
herself from the word "delusional," I'm not too happy with her not
stepping in ages ago. I realize that she and the other side all
believed that the books spoke for themselves, but clearly, she was
aware that there was this whole segment of people who had a different
interpretation of things. I was obviously "over-invested" in this
whole topic, but it doesn't make the end result any less painful."

I concede defeat too, did I have a choice? And, I agree that the
"delusional" bit was gloating - I didn't like it.  I don't take back a
word I ever said about who was best suited for who. It didn't happen.
I take some comfort in the fact I never had a problem with Harry and
Ginny; I liked the way she developed.

I agree that Hermione changed for the worse in this book.  I couldn't
understand it on any other basis than it helped R/H happen.  Wait
until she has to explain some discovery of hers to Ron three times and
he still doesn't get it. I wrote a fic once about Hermione giving an
interview post-Hogwarts. The Hermione from this book never could have
given that interview.  I want that Hermione back.

Amy Z: "I can't believe even the exasperatingly tight-lipped
Dumbledore wouldn't have warned him about it: not just "obey my orders
even if I tell you to leave me in mortal danger," but "you may see
Professor Snape do something unthinkable--trust him." Snape and Harry
are now the deadliest of enemies. How is this part of a plan?"

That's one of the big problems with Good!Snape. Exactly how does DD's
plan take into account that Harry will do everything he can to kill
Snape on sight?  How could DD have figured out that he might have to
be killed so that Snape could help Harry? How about killing Snape so
that *Dumbledore* could help Harry? I have a problem with _Mission
Impossible_ plans that depend on a lot of low-probability events
coming together in a way nobody could foresee. Life is messier than
that. Like Joywitch, my inclination is that Snape is a slimeball. What
do you expect from a pig but a grunt?

The characters we watched grow up were largely discarded in favor of
lesser ones - The little nerd Neville turned into a hero with the
heart of a lion, and all his great development was tossed aside. 
Luna, eccentric and lovable, had her fifteen minutes of fame and then
she's over.  A lot of beautiful threads were woven into the tapestry
and then let go. Why?

I share your discontent.

Jim Ferer