Books by author: J. K. Rowling

I had a lot of doubts going into the final installment in the Harry Potter series. The most recent books in the series wandered around a lot, leaving a lot of threads dangling and leaving me wondering whether or not Rowling could possibly come up with a satisfying ending.

Well, for the most part, she came through. Most of the plot lines I remembered were resolved adequately, and this book moves more fluidly and evenly than any since The Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm glad it's over, but I can definitely say that I enjoyed the ride.

The Harry Potter series continues to get better; this fourth book is better yet than any of the first three. The characters continue to be developed, and Rowling proves that she has a knack for sustaining page-to-page suspense almost indefinitely. Reviews of this book have been done to death in the media, and I have no interest in giving any of the plot surprises away, so I'll just say that this series is very entertaining and enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to Book V. See also, books 1, 2, and 3

Don't follow this link if you don't want to read any spoilers, but I'm pleased that my predictions (made in 2003) for the events of book six were spot on. I predicted who would die and (kinda sorta) who would be the killer.

Okay, no more spoilers. What would be the point, really? Nothing I write here could possibly affect your decision whether or not to read this book. This novel is pretty much more of the same as the previous Harry Potter bricks, and you either like them or you don't. I enjoy them as very lightweight entertainment and don't expect very much of them. This one is about as good as the previous one, and I'm down-rating it only because it would have been nice to see some more evolution either in the characters or in the world. I'm a bit apprehensive about book seven, because the set-up at the end of this book could lead into a very dull finale (where Harry has many adventures on his way to joining the 4-H club — if you've read book six, hopefully that makes sense to you).

How much do you wanna bet that the deceased character comes back as a ghost to offer Harry bits of wisdom?

This, the fifth installment in the Harry Potter septology, is one of the best so far, though it has its fair share of problems. My main complaint is that the plot unfolds too slowly for most of the novel's bulk (there's a lot going on but not much point to a lot of it), and then Rowling tries to make up for it by cramming a million things into the last 125 pages. It never feels like the students are at school; it seems like they attend class a couple of times, play one Quiddich match, and then it's time for Christmas break (Am I the only one who finds it funny that wizards celebrate Christmas? This sure isn't a Philip Pullman novel.).

I've noticed now that my reading of this series has suffered for having seen the first two movie adaptations. I can't help but hear some of the characters in the voices of the actors who played them (particularly Hermione, Hagrid, and Ron Weasley), and this is particularly problematic for Hermione and Ron, who should have matured in the book. I've managed to create my own internal versions of Snape and Harry (the Dumbledore and McGonagall in the movies matched my imagination), so they were less of a problem. And I can't help but picture Neville Longbottom as Ralph Wiggum from the Simpsons. Of course, I can't fault Rowling for the movies or my own bizarre associations.

As a final note, I'm becoming more and more intrigued by Professor Snape, and I sincerely hope that he gets to play a more prominent role in the last two novels. Dumbledore is still too much of a God figure, and it would be very exciting to see him be the next character killed off. But that's probably just me.

These novels hardly need separate reviews, since each is based on the same formula, though The Prisoner of Azkaban (#3) is the best of the three (it has the most plot twists, and it's got a few dark—though shortlived—moments). They are light, simple, enjoyable confections. It's been 20 years or so since I've read others in this genre, but these would probably sit happily alongside Lewis's Narnia Chronicles, Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, or Baum's Wizard of Oz books. However, unless the rest of the series is even better than these first, Rowling won't stand the test of time.