Rob
Executive Summary: I've gone back and forth on bumping my rating up from 4 to 5. The ending of this book is one of the best in the series but as a whole, I find this book just isn't quite as good as [b:Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 6 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361482611s/6.jpg 3046572] or [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499277281s/5.jpg 2402163]. It's very though, as it's another excellent book.Jim Dale Audio Book: I really want to try the Stephen Fry versions to compare, but Jim Dale has me firmly in his corner as THE way to enjoy these books.Stephen Fry Audio Book: Now that I have tried the Stephen Fry versions, I'm still torn. I'll simply revise my opinion at this point to be you can't really go wrong with either narrator in my opinion.Full ReviewI have to start with the end. Possibly one of the largest spoilers of all time. At least in terms of people being upset finding it out before reading it. I remember being at a convention the year this came out and people seemed to be making it a point of yelling Snape kills Dumbledore. I put that in tags on the very slim chance you either haven't read the book, or somehow avoided that. If you did, I'm impressed. Tell me what your secret is please!People got really creative about this too. I remember someone did a mashup with castaway where Tom Hanks was keeping a copy of the book in that unopened package and then someone flew by the island with the spoiler on a banner behind the plane.I also recall just before the final book came out, people who preordered from Walden books had their choice of bookmark one saying Trust Snape, and the other: Snape is a very bad man. I think I was more in the former camp, than the latter, but it's hard for me to remember anymore.Above all I think this division among readers during what felt like a very long waiting time until [b:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 136251 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474171184s/136251.jpg 2963218] came out, is what is best about this book. It is certainly THE cliffhanger of the series.Also, in this book, Ms. Rowling finally starts to reveal some of the deeper secrets of the series as Harry and Dumbledore explore memories of the past.As a grown adult, I find the descriptions of Harry's feelings toward Ginny both amusing and nostalgic. I remember having similar feelings when I was I was high school. I don't miss that “monster” as Harry calls it.
Executive Summary: I've gone back and forth on bumping my rating up from 4 to 5. The ending of this book is one of the best in the series but as a whole, I find this book just isn't quite as good as [b:Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 6 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361482611s/6.jpg 3046572] or [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499277281s/5.jpg 2402163]. It's very though, as it's another excellent book.Jim Dale Audio Book: I really want to try the Stephen Fry versions to compare, but Jim Dale has me firmly in his corner as THE way to enjoy these books.Stephen Fry Audio Book: Now that I have tried the Stephen Fry versions, I'm still torn. I'll simply revise my opinion at this point to be you can't really go wrong with either narrator in my opinion.Full ReviewI have to start with the end. Possibly one of the largest spoilers of all time. At least in terms of people being upset finding it out before reading it. I remember being at a convention the year this came out and people seemed to be making it a point of yelling Snape kills Dumbledore. I put that in tags on the very slim chance you either haven't read the book, or somehow avoided that. If you did, I'm impressed. Tell me what your secret is please!People got really creative about this too. I remember someone did a mashup with castaway where Tom Hanks was keeping a copy of the book in that unopened package and then someone flew by the island with the spoiler on a banner behind the plane.I also recall just before the final book came out, people who preordered from Walden books had their choice of bookmark one saying Trust Snape, and the other: Snape is a very bad man. I think I was more in the former camp, than the latter, but it's hard for me to remember anymore.Above all I think this division among readers during what felt like a very long waiting time until [b:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 136251 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474171184s/136251.jpg 2963218] came out, is what is best about this book. It is certainly THE cliffhanger of the series.Also, in this book, Ms. Rowling finally starts to reveal some of the deeper secrets of the series as Harry and Dumbledore explore memories of the past.As a grown adult, I find the descriptions of Harry's feelings toward Ginny both amusing and nostalgic. I remember having similar feelings when I was I was high school. I don't miss that “monster” as Harry calls it.