Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince: Adult Edition (Harry Potter 6) (Hardcover)

Just to make things clear if you didn't like any of the Harry Potter series, if you subscribe to the view that children's books are for children, or if you are just a cynical crusty then this review will not reinforce your position. This is a review of the new Harry Potter book from the view point of an adult fan. Having said that I too was once the cynical observer of this mass phenomon until I actually read one. And was hooked.

So has Ms. Rowling done her best? Is it really worth the wait? Surprisingly largely yes. The new book continues in the vein of the series, growing heftier and darker, dealing with weightier issues and becoming more immersed in a growing, almost suffocating, world of magic. Things are not well in the world of wizards. Whilst the majority of muggles only see freak accidents and weather conditions, magical families are in varying states of panic as he who shall not be named stalks the land once more.

In the middle of this crisis there is an apparent oasis of calm and normality. Hogwarts is still open for business, and Ron, Hermione and of course Harry will be returning to Gryffindor tower for the first year of their NEWT exams. This is the penultimate book, and following the school life they have finished their OWLs (GCSEs), and are now studying for their 'sixth form' exams.

The curriculum is not all that has changed. Whilst Rowling hints at the kids growing up in the previous books, it is in the Half Blood Prince that the threshold is crossed and the children become adults. This is one of the few reservations in the book. Is the development a little forced? Rowling is at pains to demonstrate the emotional turmoil that threatens to rip apart friendships. And like all teenage problems it all becomes a little, well, tedious. Fortunately this only fills in the middle, and by the end Rowling is once more romping towards an unputdownable finale.

What is also clear is that this book marks an important development in the Potter story arc. One criticism is that it leaves so many threads dangling - necessary for the final book to tie up, but annoying for the reader having to wait two years for the finished product. However it is nice to see Hogwarts and the Potter universe having a coherency and direction that mark the series as being a whole.

The Half Blood Prince marks a significant development in the series, as it becomes truly dark. No one is spared pain, and it is a fine example of the grand tradition of children's stories that do not spare the gruesome and dark. In a world of happily ever after this return to Grimm and Anderson is welcome. Rowling's writing is strong, has sufficient pace to grip the adult and child reader, is vivid and, well, for want of a better word magical. I finished it in a few sittings spread over two days, and it was as blissful and purely entertaining as any film or TV programme.

Many people have criticised Rowling, but millions more have praised her for creating books that have captured imaginations, got children reading and have forged a magical world. This latest book should dispel more critics, and cement Rowling's reputation as a pre-eminent children's, and adult's, author. It is proof that the series is complete, that the story arc is gripping and that Harry Potter will captivate generations to come. In a word, magical!

Firstly, the main storyline is Harry/ Voldemort which has required us to wait 5 books for adult Harry to emerge so that he is in a position to fight him.

Secondly, the 'dispensable', 'unnecessary', 'missed-in-editing' subplots are what make Harry Potter books stand out from the rest of their neighbours in the Fantasy section. This is a character driven series. JKR has used standard narrative devices, mythological ideas and the wizard/magic genre in all her books and combined them with an ordinary school lifetime. One doesn't have to delve far into the Net to find fans passionate about fan-fiction; who are passionate about the weasley family, or Snape, or Sirius or any of them. Every character and every subplot is what makes the series so well rounded and so universally appealing. If you want good and evil, read Lord of the Rings or just wait and read the 7th Harry novel.

In the end, Harry Potter is about love, friendship, family, loyalty, power, prejudice, racism, terrorism - you name it, it's in there. Half-Blood Prince is a gift for those who appreciate the sub-plots, and i think you will find that most of the fans probably care more about what Ron and Hermione's wedding will be like, or whether Snape will ever be redeemed, than they do about the final Harry/Voldemort showdown.

I think that the last book was rather too slow and with Harry's angry displays far too frequent and vehement, but I appreciate that Rowling was attempting to show his unsteady passage through adolescence.

But Rowling has now seemed to have perfected Harry's aging character so that he acts more like an adolescent and less like a child afraid of girls and the mere mention of alcohol.

JK Rowling has opened this book like she has none other, the inter-lapping of the mundane and arcane governments and the dark second chapter that put me upon a false trail throughout the rest of the novel.

To those who disdain this book as being too frank and blunt you must realise that both the audience and characters are aging and to expect Harry and co. to remain childlike and innocent is false.

Upon reading another few reviews, on the Amazon site, I am shocked at people saying that: 'Talk of snogging, the use of alcohol to get information out of people and at least one example of language that the youngest potter fans shouldn't hear.'

The series is about a boy who is orphaned after his parents are cruelly murdered by an evil wizard and Harry only survives because his mother chose to sacrifice her life for his. How dare people say that simply plying adults with alcohol to drag information from them and a few kisses is something children should not hear. This series has a darker side: if you dislike showing a child that the world is not all happiness and daises then never let him interact with another human being and wrap him in the proverbial cotton wool.

I am nearly 16 and was approximately 10 when the first Harry Potter book came out, like Harry I have grown older and I praise J K Rowling for this piece of work which has proven to me that she has matured her novels to an extent that they still hold an appeal to all ages. But trust me she has definitely toned down the actual activities of a group of fifteen year olds as no doubt most readers already know.

Phillip Fernandes
London, Barnes