JKR is the "Queen" and HP is the "Prince"!!

This is yet another review from my side (my place shld be called airanand.reviewspot.com) and this is again a little bit delayed.. mainly to get over the sorrow caused by the climax of the latest in the Harry Potter Series..

It has been a week since I finished the book.. and I still haven't started a second reading and dont plan to do so any time soon.. the message which the book states is clearly put across.. Harry is alone now and ready for the inevitable final battle..

BTW, this review will be filled with SPOILERS so hop away to the next blog (mine or any one elses') if you haven't read the "Half-Blood Prince" yet.. and by now if you haven't deduced that this blog is my review of the sixth book in the Harry Potter series you dont deserve to be on this planet..

HP6 starts off in an unnamed Prime Minsiter's office in UK.. the Death Eaters are now fearlessly attacking Muggles as well.. JKR follows this up with an amazing chapter which fuels further questions into our mind - is Snape really a bad guy, in spite of Dumbledore's trust in him?

We finally move to the familiar Pivet Drive address and we get back in sync with a much grown up Harry Potter.. JKR has no pretensions here.. she doesn't even try to make this a stand-alone book (this tendency has gone down with each succeeding book).. every reader had better know before-hand all there is to know abt each character..

Dumbledore says : "And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.".. and we are ready for the wild - ride that is HBP..

We are introduced to a new character "Horace Slughorn", a highly partial and neither likeable nor unlikeable kind of teacher who it turns out holds the key to Voldemort's immortality or lack of it.. another is Cormac McLaggen.. who plays the arrogant student to the hilt..

We also quickly catch up with the changes in the others.. Dumbledore is no longer omnipresent.. he is hurt and doubtful of his deductions.. but ready as ever to fight evil.. Harry is more mature and in control of his feelings.. the Weasleys are ready to face danger at all times ("Mortal Peril" - their clock reads).. Fred and George have made a big success of their joke shop.. Bill has brought Fluer home as his fiancee.. Snape has got the DADA class atlast.. Ron gets into some long overdue romance.. Hermione seethes with jelousy at this.. and most unconvincingly.. Draco Malfoy has become really evil!!

One glaring aspect is the lack of many new 'magical' stuff (I mean the kind of passages which we feel refreshed just to read).. which makes the HP books such a big pleasure to read.. of course there are flashes like in the Weasley twins joke shop, the use of the lucky potion and in the concept of Horcruxes.. but I guess the story is too well set by now to keep coming up with new stuff that amazes the senses..

so we have the normal school time activities going on.. Quidditch, classes, friendships, romances.. and in due course of time.. Harry comes across a book belonging to the "Half-Blood Prince".. which gives him unfair (Hermiones word, not mine) advantage in Potions class..

there was a slip up here (was it one - I have to go back and read to be sure).. Harry thinks his father could have written on the book but then it seems to be dated before his time.. but in the end it turns out that snape is the HBP.. and Sanpe was of course in James' timeframe.. so was this an error?

Meanwhile.. Ron hooks up with Lavender and involves in some heavy duty snogging (theres too much of it there in this book really).. driving Hermione wild... but soon enough he snaps out of it and finally Ron-Hermione make up much to the relief of the reader (thats me).. Harry also has some "friend - or - love" brainstorms before finally linking up with Ginny.. all this is the side-track of course..

The main events are occuring in Dumbledore's office where he is using the Pensieve to tell Harry about the Evil Lord's past as Tom Riddle and hopw he came to acquire as much power as he has.. It turns out (Slughorns memory comes in help here) that Voldemort could have split up his soul and stored them in 7 different Horcruxes and so can be destroyed only if all of them are destroyed..

We enter the dark and serious territory here.. and the book moves along at missile-speed here on (it was already on jet-speed!!).. Dumbledore and Harry go in search of a Horcrux, in the quest of which the former is severely weakened and finally when they get back to Hogwarts.. are confronted by a group of Death-Eaters.. and finally.. Snape flays down Dumbledore.. and escapes away.. just after revealing that he is the "HBP".. all this right in front of Harry Potter's eyes..

This section will and has already created a lot of debate.. why did Dumbledore immobilise Harry? He could have held on to his wand and saved the both of them easily enough.. in fact Harry might have had some inspiration and saved his principal.. why did Dumbledore plead with Snape? why did he believe Snape in the first place? The sudden death of Dumbledore has left a lot of unexplained facts.. how will JKR bring them out if he dead? Since when did Malfoy become brilliant? hell.. why did the "D" have to die???

This ending though tragic is exactly what was needed to make book 7 the most eagerly anticipated book in the history of literature.. but there are a lot of loose ends to tie up in 1 book.. Neville's part.. Harry's parents.. the cause of Dumbledore's trust in Snape.. the identities of the remaining Horcruxes.. and so on and so on..

So, as in OFP, we are left with a somber ending.. but this book also leaves us with expectations.. now Harry is alone.. and as in all classical good vs. evil clashes.. he has to face his great adversary by himself.. the stage is perfectly set for the grand climax.. the only question is.. how well will JKR deliver??

PS : coming soon.. post HBP what now? and HBP is not my favourite book in the series.. (hehe.. just to make you think I am gonna be updating this soon.. though I may never do that..)

Infrequent blogging

So why is it that I dont blog frequently or at least periodically or regularly?

well, there are probably many possible explanations for this but I think it would effectively come down to laziness. Who wants to sit and type in so many words which potentially millions of people could read but only a couple really do?

and also there is another big problem.. and that is of finding some subject on which you are interested enough to write about and which others will be interested enough to read.. it is not as easy as you think.. you might argue that a blog is a persons personal space and he/she can put in whatever he/she (please forgive sudden usages like this.. this is my dekko at feminine equality) wants.. but then there must always be a target audience..

So now that I have made up a blog and given myself excuses for not blogging regularly (man.. I was really vetti today).. I will sign off on this one.. ;)

War of the Worlds - huh?

So I went to PVR (thats the mega multiplex place here) full of anticipation.. to catch, somewhat delayed though, the latest offering of Steven Spielberg - one of my favourite movie makers.

Fully armed with Pepsi and popcorn, I was ready for a grand offering.. and it did start off well.. going against all the Hollywood stereotypes.. the hero Cruise is just a regular dont-care loser, the aliens come from "UNDER" the earth, and our hero actually runs away from them - he has no intentions of "Saving the World". Really promising, I thought, things can only get better from here.

And visually, they did.. some spectacular special effects serve well to tell the story of the machines from outer space demolishing earth. And unlike what many many reviews are telling abt there being no 'human' touch.. there is lots of it.. but put in the context of the situation in the movie..

backtracking a bit : the story.. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dockyard worker (believe it) who children Rachael (little girl) and Robbie (teenage guy) are left in his care by his former wife. And the children are not particularly happy with this arrangement. But then, they put up with him, what with him being 'dad'. The alien attack starts right away.. and Ray is left bearing the responsibility of keeping them safe.. using the only working car in the neighbourhood (how come no one else thought of it?) he flees to his former wifes' house.. Robbie is idealistic and wants to fight back.. Rachael is just plain frightened and Ray is at his wits end.. how this family escapes the terro and how their inter-relationship cahnges as they go on forms the crux of the story..

Cruise fits the bill as the small time American guy trying to save his family. Dakota Fanning (thats the kid) gives a powerhouse performance.. what all will she achieve when she grows up, I wonder!! Spielberg, I think, already had the next project on his mind when he was making this one..

The sudden climax left me feeling really bad.. does Spielberg think that the audience is stupid? Accepted - the brilliant "Minority Report" from the same team didn't fill the BO coffers but then the sudden and unbelievable ending of this one leaves a lot to be desired..

Overall : Spielberg has failed in only 2 movies (of the ones I have seen), one is AI coz of a too lengthy climax, the other is WotW coz of an abrupt one..

Score : 57 / 100