Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (possible spoilers)

Bond · 06-29-2003, 09:33 PM

Anyone read the book?

I'm about half way through. It's pretty good so far.

Mushlafa · 06-29-2003, 09:50 PM

im reading tyhe third one

i heard the fifth one is really really long...

long books scare me...

ZebraRampage · 06-29-2003, 09:51 PM

I finished the book this morning. It was excellent Any fan of this series of books will enjoy it.

Ginkasa · 06-29-2003, 10:07 PM

Yeah, I finished it on Sunday. I thought it was okay. Not as good as the past four. I personally think that most of the book could have been taken out and you wouldn't have missed anything. It really didn't need to be any longer than 400-500 pages IMO.

Still good though. Shows that now that Voldemort's back this isn't exactly the same series you've been reading. Much darker than even Goblet of Fire which was pretty dark compared to the ones before it.

Although I didn't enjoy this as much as others, I still enjoyed reading it and wasn't able to stop (much) reading it until I finished it. I hope J.K. doesn't take as long releasing the next one (and the one after).

*shrugs and walks away*

Seth · 06-29-2003, 10:27 PM

Ya, it's going to suck waiting another 3 years for the 6th book. I finished Order of the Phoenix 3 days after release. Pretty good book. Not as good as the 4th one. Bugs me that Harry didn't get any from Cho.

Bond · 06-29-2003, 10:49 PM

I have heard a lot of people complaining about the length of the book. I'm not even done with it yet, I still have 200 or so pages to go, but I would be happy to read an even longer book. Yes, the main plot could be compressed into 300-400 pages or so. But I really enjoy the side plots that spin off from the main plot.

Rndm_Perfection · 06-29-2003, 11:22 PM

I dare not read those books...

I mean, talk about movie spoilers

Classic Rocker · 06-29-2003, 11:29 PM

tell me about it

im not a big fan of harry potter. all that magical fantasty stuff never caught my intrest.

Ginkasa · 06-30-2003, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bond

I have heard a lot of people complaining about the length of the book. I'm not even done with it yet, I still have 200 or so pages to go, but I would be happy to read an even longer book. Yes, the main plot could be compressed into 300-400 pages or so. But I really enjoy the side plots that spin off from the main plot.

Its not that the book is too long, for me anyway. Goblet of Fire is my favorite book in the series because of its length and when I heard that Order of the Pehonix was going to be longer than that, I was ecstatic. But unlike Goblet of Fire, Order of the Pheonix doesn't seem like it needs 800+ pages to tell the story. When I was reading it, I felt like it was that long only because the last book was that long, not because it needed it.

I think some of the side-plots were really unecessary. They felt like they were tacked on and meaningless. I don't need everything in a book to stick right at the main plot and never waver, but when I feel like these little insignificant things are interupting the story and making me wait longer for what I care about, they shouldn't be there.

A few other things that got on my nerves:

Harry is angry throughout this entire book. While I could understand some anxiety and frustration at certain points in the book, he just seem like complete jerk. If I were Ron and Hermione, I would have just told him to screw off and quit being a blowhole.

I was disappointed in the way the Cho thing ended. While I wouldn't choose Cho to be Harry's big romance person at the end of the series, I was hoping that they would actually get together considering the fairly big build-up in the last book. The way it turned out was kind of anti-climactic.... And fairly depressing...

The lack of Hagrid. He doesn't show up until most of the book is over and then he's not himself. While Hagrid is far from my favorite character, I did enjoy the scenes with him in earlier books and I was disappointed he didn't show up more in this one.

Now, although there were plenty things in this book that I didn't like, that doesn't mean I didn't like the book. It did completely catch my interest and I read in cover to cover nearly in one sitting without regrets. And I enjoyed myself while doing so.

*shrugs and walks away*

thatmariolover · 06-30-2003, 01:19 AM

I kind of did a little speed reading on it and finished it 5 hours after it came out. I personally really liked it. I guess I just didn't like how much she invented in this novel. It seems like she needed to make something fit, so she invented something (i.e. Occlumancy). I feel like she tells the story, but she doesn't indulge us in the world of Harry Potter enough. So now, maybe she didn't invent those things, but it feels like she did because there's so little I know about the world.

Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great book. A very good addition to the series. I think this was my favorite in the series, just because it is so radically different from the rest. I just prefer a book that puts you more in depth with the Politics, Religions, and Customs of the world. Take the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan for example (INCREDIBLE SERIES: MUST READ FOR ALL OF YOU). The first book is the Eye of the World, in which you really know nothing at the beginning, but as you progress it really makes you feel like you're there.

As a matter of fact, I've been known to slip and use a cuss phrase from the books and truly feel like I had expressed myself. Which is useful, because I didn't actually swear, but I got that satisfied feeling I sometimes get when I feel like a cuss word helped me express myself.

Seth · 06-30-2003, 01:41 AM

Ya, the longer the book the better imo. I really couldn't relate to this book very well though. Harry was such an asshole throughout the whole thing. Flipping out on anybody and ****. I mean....this encredibly hot chick likes you and you act like an asshole to her? I mean really?

I'm hoping the next book will be another 100-300 pages longer..but the book needs to not drag quite as much. In the goblet of fire the whole quidditch world cup thing was flowing really nicely and was full of climatic ****. Very interesting. Hogwarts didn't start until half way through the book(same with order of phoenix but all the stuff before hogwarts seemed too much like filler)

I'm seriously annoyed at the way Harry acts though. I don't know if Rowling was trying to tap into what kids feel and how they act...but it didn't work. If I was harry's friend i'd beat the crap out of him at some points. Ron and Hermoine were trying to help him and be nice and he took it the wrong way the whole time. Also, i don't like the characters outlook on things. It's like they always want revenge on people they don't like. With me there's some moral conflicts there. Someone needs to give harry a lesson in how to be a nice, fun person. Rowling also makes it seem like it's perfectly alright for Harry to act like such a dickweed to everybody...like they owe him something. Dumbledore saves Harry's ungrateful ass from Voldemort and what does Harry do? Get's pissed off at dumblydore. At the beginning of the book too, harry's really pissed at Dumbledore for no reason.

Cot damn, for the 6th book it better have Harry sending a boatload of "i'm sorry" letters to Cho.

And Harry acts no better than his dad. Just in different way.

Stonecutter · 06-30-2003, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rndm_Perfection

I dare not read those books...

I mean, talk about movie spoilers

LOL, yeah it's like they want to ruin it for you

Personally, I'll stick to my Harry Turtledove stuff. They don't make movies out of his books.

Jason1 · 06-30-2003, 12:43 PM

I think Harry Potter's on Pot

But seirously, My brother got the book like a week ago, but he is finishing up another book, so he hasnt even started on it yet...I read through the first 2 chapters in one sitting...that was a week ago, havent read anymore since. Im having a little problem where, its been so long since I read the 4th one, I cant remember a thing that happened in it. All I really remember is the quidditch world cup thing, and even that is pretty vague. Maybe I should go read chapter 3 now...*shrugs*

I thought the first one was pure genius, but after that they kinda wore out their welcome it seemed to me...the second one was garbage, the third one I liked quite a bit, not as much as the first one, but I liked it. And the 4th one I wasnt crazy about. Thats how I remember them...but I do forget a lot of stuff from them...

Kitana85 · 06-30-2003, 01:10 PM

I finished the book the day after it was released. I thought it was great, don't get me wrong, but it really ISN'T a 800+ page book. There are huge spaces between the lines, and very large margins, I understand this is for younger children, but it is quite misleading. Indeed, shorter books such as Jane Eyre and Crime and Punishment have taken me much longer to read.

I love Harry Potter, I agree this book was not as good, and I could see no plausable reason to kill off the character she did... it was a useful character, in fact, the only one that really gave Potter a personality. Dumbledore has become more of a father figure though.

Truth be told, this book was "slightly" to long and combersome to serve as a "bridge" between the last book and the next, which is, for all intents and purposes, all that it did.

It was good, I'm glad I bought it, but it certainly could have been better... can't wait for the next one though!

Seth · 06-30-2003, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason1

Im having a little problem where, its been so long since I read the 4th one, I cant remember a thing that happened in it. All I really remember is the quidditch world cup thing, and even that is pretty vague.

I thought the first one was pure genius, but after that they kinda wore out their welcome it seemed to me...the second one was garbage, the third one I liked quite a bit, not as much as the first one, but I liked it. And the 4th one I wasnt crazy about. Thats how I remember them...but I do forget a lot of stuff from them...

Ya, It's been 3 years since i read the 4th book too. I think i'll read the 4th over again. I disagree with you about which books are the best in the series.

My favorite to least favortie is as follows

1. The Goblet of Fire(4th book)
2. The Order of the Phoenix(5th book)
3. The Prisoner of Azkaban(3rd book)
4. The Philosopher's Stone(1st book)
5. The Chamber of Secrets(2nd book)

It's hard choosing between the order of the phoenix and the prisoner of azkaban. Azkaban brought out a lot more maturity in the series it seemed. Just wasn't long enought though.