So, this is an earlier entry I wrote for my other blog at livejournal, before I had read further into Harry Potter. It was back when I still had...hope..heh. Now, I'm just losing patience.;)

It covers the first 80 pages, which were admittedly not great (though I was still willing to give the book a chance at that point). As I said in my previous post, I'm about halfway through Harry Potter now, and have several problems with it, which I will wait to write about until I finish the book.

Anyway, I got my copy of Harry Potter 7 at 1:30 in the morning, by rushing to Barnes and Nobles like a panting lunatic, expecting to have to fight some sugar-high ten year old for my copy. Silly me, there were stacks and stacks of HP books-enough paper to require several rain forests.

My lack of excitement vanished the minute I was surrounded by other fans, though I could have done without the thirty year old Ron (and from the looks of it, he was as disturbed by his costume as I was).

Anyway, I've been working alot at Hollywood Video, so I haven't gotten a chance to read too much yet..but...

************************

SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST 80 PAGES!DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!

*************************

What I dislike:

The hint of mopey angsty Harry in his response to Dumbledore's newspaper article. No, teenage misanthropy and minor fits of wrath and pity, stay away!

There hasn't been any dialogue that develops the characters. The reader has no idea how Ron, Hermione, and Harry have changed over the summer yet, which seems strangely counterintuitive on the part of the author.

The plot hasn't taken off yet, either. The universe is still as amazing as ever, the characters still compelling. It's just the dialogue and the action hasn't been edge- of- your- seat gripping yet.

Even when members of the Order were missing, I wasn't overly worried. I believed so strongly that JK Rowling wouldn't let those characters die off. I want that belief that the good characters will always come out okay to be challenged, though. This may sound sadistic, but I enjoyed the shock that Dumbledore's death bought in book 6. It was just such an excellent twisting of the audiences' emotions and expectations. I hope Rowling does it again in this book (and I think she will.:))

What I like:

George's humor in the face of tragedy. His actions and dialogue really brought his character to life for me.

I also liked the hints of the plot to come, with Harry, Hermione , and Ron planning to drop out of school. It was nice to have a surprise when the rest of the action was pretty much as expected.

The hints of some sort of tension still there between Harry and Ginny. Much as I hate them together, I was so confused by the lack of any dialogue between them at all, so I was glad to see at least a little hint of something in the action.

**************end of spoilers!!!*****************

I am only eighty pages or so in, and the Harry Potter books (at least the last two) were slow to start, so maybe I just need to be patient. It's just that the characters and the universe are so amazingly done, it makes me expect more from the writing and dialogue.


So, those are my starting impressions...more to come later.;)

Yes, I know this post has nothing to do with video games, but I think it's just as geeky, so hopefully, everyone will forgive me.;)

Harry Potter book seven came out last week. Big news to any technologically impaired hermit living on a remote island, I suppose, but it's pretty safe to say the rest of the world knows. Unlike what seems to be the rest of the world, though, my response is less of an "EEEEEEE!" and more of a "hmmm." In fact, I'm only two hundred fifty pages into the book so far.

So why the lack of excitement? Two major reasons, having to do with past Harry Potter books-shallow characterization and the rigidity of the good vs. evil mentality. There have been shades of moral gray with Sirius Black in book three, the marauders' cruel treatment of Snape, and Snape himself. However, as soon as a hint of the moral ambiguity shows itself, we get a lovely stereotypical Slytherin.

Ah, Slytherins. They have no depth. They trump around, yelling at people, torturing younger children (and once assumes, small animals). It's like someone took the definition of "evil" and tried to fit characters around it.

As for the two characters in Slytherin that do show touches of humanity , Draco and Snape, we are never given more than glimpses into their backgrounds. It's a testament to Rowling's talent that she has created so many fascinating characters. They are just so interesting, though, I can't help but wonder more about their stories.

The Gryffindors have better characterization then the Slytherins, but they often seem bland. Ron and Hermione's romance was about as shocking as milk in cereal. And Ginny with Harry is about as stimulating as a lukewarm bath. So far, this book hasn't done much to change my opinion about this at all.

So, what I am hoping for in book seven:

I want to see Harry's concepts of good and evil (such as that Snape is horrible) get challenged more. And no, I am not suggesting Snape suddenly adopt twenty starving children or get a cute poodle. I do want Rowling to continue with the hints of Snape's ambiguity (where do his loyalties lie?), though.

Oh,and no more "Drama Mama" Harry. Angst does not make him more interesting, just annoying. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I CANNOT TAKE THE PAGES OF HARRY YELLING IN ALL CAPS, IT IS NOT EASY ON THE EYES. DO YOU UNDERSTAND, J.K. ROWLING? DO YOU?!!

The details of the world of Harry Potter have so much imaginative potential, which is the reason for so much fan fiction. I just wish that more of that imaginative potential would be capitalized on by the quality of writing. J.K. Rowling's writing is certainly adequate, but I still feel it only skims the surface of what could be... so much more?

And with that being said, I will now go back to playing Dragon Warrior 8. On the last boss, but he is so freakin' hard (any strategies for Rapthorne, anyone at all?)

Well, before I start going on and on about video games and movies and all the geeky things I love, I should introduce myself. Who am I exactly? Well, without telling too much, I am a girl, just turned twenty, who happens to be quite opinionated. And, of course, where better to be opinionated than on a blog? So much white space to fill, so little time...

Anyway, I am an avid RPG and action/adventure game fanatic, but I will play other genres as well (Soul Caliber III...ah, be still my beating heart.) In fact, I will play pretty much anything, provided it's not crap in a box. Or a rock. Other than that...

Some of my fav titles to date have been Xenogears,Tales of Symphonia, Harvest Moon 64,Ico, Okami,Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Banjo Kazooie, Mario 64,Paper Mario for the Wii,Star Ocean 3,HarvestMoon:Magical Melody,Final Fantasy 10, Final Fantasy 7,Final Fantasy 9,Final Fantasy 6 for snes, Zelda:Ocarina of Time, Zelda:Link's Awakening for gameboy color, Zelda:Twilight Princess,Resident Evil 4, Devil May Cry 1 and 3,Pokemon Silver,Pokemon Blue, Metal Gear Solid 2,Soul Caliber 2, Suikoden2 and 3,Zelda: the Legend of the Windwaker, and last of all, Animal Crossing for Gamecube.

My goal for this blog is to share my reviews on any number of things that interest me. Since I tend to be a multitasker to the point of looking spastic, this will be cover a large number of fields. My three true loves, video games, movies, and books will be covered the most, but look for reviews of various other things, as well.

What this blog will not be: whinging and **** and moaning about my daily life. I'll put in tidbits now and then-but really, I don't flatter myself that anyone is fascinated by the intricate details.;))