Wizards at war (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Date:	24/07/03 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good story, lots of character development

Disadvantages: Not enough Snape

Book five has finally arrived. If you haven't read the first four books, do not begin by reading 'The Order of the Phoenix' as you won't know who anyone is - I wouldn't rely on extensive reading of ops either! If you haven't read the first four, then inevitably this op will have some spoilers in it, but I promise to say nothing that will undermine your pleasures in reading the latest instalment in the Potter saga.

Just in case then - quick refresher. Harry Potter is a young wizard, his parents were murdered when he was a baby, he was brought up by the odious Dursleys, at eleven he started going to Hogwarts school for wizards and witches, and since then he's had one adventure after another - rescuing the Philosopher's stone from an evil enemy, unravelling the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, finding out what really happened to his parents and surviving a deadly interschool tournament, as well as playing lots of Quidditch, spatting with Draco Malfoy and hanging about with best friends Ron and Hermione.

Book five finds Harry trying to recover from the horrific events that ended book four, and frantically watching the news for signs of the threat he knows is advancing. To make matters worse, his hormones have clearly kicked in - Harry is becoming a grumpy teenager wih serious angst and girl troubles to boot.

All is not well in the wizarding world, with evil Lord Voldermort on the lose and gathreing followers, and no one in the Ministry inclined to believe that its actually happening again. Harry is caught up in a small but determined group trying to fight Voldermort and overcome the apathy that has gripped fellow wizards and witches. It isn't going to be easy - not with new defence agaisnt dark arts teacher Dolores Umbridge trying to thwart Harry's every move, and the Daily Prophet saying that Dumbledore is losing his marbles. Needless to say, lots of action, adventure and plotting ensues.

Thi
s book brings together most of the characters we've already met, and spends a while exploring the back history - which I found fascinating. The links between characters are closer than you might think, and some are very surprising indeed. (Inevitable really, wizards obsessed with being pure blooded were always going to be a bit inbred). There are a few excellent new characters - Luna Lovegood, who will believe anything as long as there's no evidence for it, and Tonks, an excellent slightly punky witch and a few others who don't get so much attention. There's some new critters - and very strange they are too. We get to learn more about giants, about wizarding politics, and we get to see a few new places including the Ministry for magic buildings and St Mungo's hospital.

This is a huge and very tightly written book which never lets up. In places it is laugh-out-loud funny, in others very sad indeed and may have you snuffling into a hanky. Rowling is making the whole good-evil thing a lot more complex, there's a lot of shades of grey creeping in. Rowling's writing style just keeps getting better - this is so much more sophisticated than the first book.

My only complaint? Not enough Snape. Ok, he gets a few interesting scenes with Harry and Sirius, but he's clearly doing all sorts of interesting things and we never really get to find out.

An excellent book, I couldn't put it down. I just worry how long the next one is going to be, (at current rate of getting bigger, the final book will be imense) and how long it will take to write.

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