Meet the half-blood prince

Last weekend I was glued to a book. Starting at 7 a.m. Saturday everywhere I went I brought along the sixth installment of that wonderfully popular series that has taken the world by storm, namely book six of Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Having waited for this book for nearly three years since The Order of the Phoenix was released, I don’t doubt that I was one of the hundreds and hundreds of frantic and excited fans dying to find out what happened since we last visited Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finally, last Saturday the questions were answered.

I’ve been a fan ever since JK Rowling churned out her first novel roughly 10 years ago and I’ve been following the award winning series since. I have to admit though, this has gotten progressively harder over the years because the gaps between books are becoming longer and longer. This is, no doubt, because the plot has been getting fuller and deeper. This time was no exception. As early as May when reservation posters went up I reserved a copy of book six and have, since then, been waiting for July 16 with bated breath. Last Saturday, at the crack of dawn, I got out of bed and rushed to the bookstore where my copy was waiting for me.

Finally having the book was like magic. I began reading the moment I started walking out of the mall and every single moment from then to the drive back home I did nothing but read the latest chapter in the life of the world’s most famous wizard. I think the stories are wonderful.

So how did the new book measure up? Well, I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t read it yet, but rest assured it’s another shining example of why millions around the world are hooked on this incredible series. The book answers a lot of questions we were left asking when Order of the Phoenix’ended and at the same time gives us about a dozen new ones. Not to mention, the characters continue to grow and mature as they had in the last two novels. In the Half-Blood Prince you can truly see a stark difference between the Harry Potter there and the Harry Potter of The Sorcerer’s Stone.

I like that all the little bits of information from all six novels fit together perfectly. I truly have to commend the author for really having a very clear idea of where her story is going. JK Rowling must have always known in the back of her mind how this story would end because all the books fit together flawlessly. Things you may have read in the first five novels that didn’t seem of any significance suddenly pop back up and you realize that they were important after all. It’s really very interesting to see the threads all coming together.

I finished book six in a day-and-a-half and have, since then, been pining for book seven. All I’ll say to steer clear of accidentally letting loose a spoiler is that The Half-Blood Prince is, by far, the saddest ending yet. It’s like The Empire Strikes Back and now I’m waiting desperately for book seven and what I hope will be like Return of the Jedi. Yet, ironically, even as I wait anxiously to finally have all my questions I answered, I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when book seven finally comes along and I finish reading it. It will mark the end of over a decade’s obsession and I’m not quite sure how I’ll feel about that. Oh well, guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. In the meantime I’ll wait patiently and anxiously along with rest of the world for the final chapter in the life of the Boy-Who-Lived.