Author: J.K. Rowling
Released: July 2005
In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned to this country and is once more active. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord - well, you know who I mean - is alive and among us again," said Fudge. These dramatic words appeared in the final pages of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the midst of this battle of good and evil, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Voldemort's power and followers increasing day by day ...
Rating: 5 Stars
Positives: Oh my lordy, this was a fantastic book. We see Harry return for his sixth year at Hogwarts knowing that things will never be the same again, not now that Voldemort is back out in the open. This year however sees Harry not only focus on his new much harder classes as an N.E.W.T student but he also starts having private lessons with Professor Dumbledore. These private lessons are an excellent way of giving the reader a greater understanding of who Lord Voldemort is and how he operates, I hate to confess it but I actually felt a little sorry for him and for his mother Merope.
However it isn't just more advanced magic that Harry has to contend with, somebody seems to be plotting to commit murder at Hogwarts this year, and it doesn't matter who they hurt before reaching their intended target. We see Harry have to face the potential loss of Katie Bell and Ron Weasley, and while Harry has his suspicions about who is behind the attacks nobody seems to share his concerns. Typically of course though Harry is perfectly correct about who is plotting murder.
And then there's the fact that we get to see much more of the Dark Arts now. All I'm saying is wait until you see what a Horcrux is. That really is the darkest magic imaginable.
But as always we also get plenty of lighthearted moments, including Luna telling Harry that he shouldn't be an Auror because they are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy and are working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease.
Negatives: In all honesty I wasn't sure that the first chapter, The Other Minister, was all that necessary. The details given in this chapter about how there is a new Minister for Magic and the grisly murders that have taken place could have happened anywhere in the book. In fact most of it is revisited at the start of the fourth chapter.
Would I recommend this book? As always with the Harry Potter books, of course I'm going to recommend it. What are you, a Muggle?
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