Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I am about to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and all I can say is that, it is one of my most satisfying read ever. My only regret is that the ride is about to end, and if Ms.  Rowling is to be believed, it is also the end of Harry Potter. No character or plot spin off, no individual treatment of characters, like expanding on the Life and Lies of Albus Dumboldore, or the Love Story of Ron and Hermoine.

A lot has to be said about this series, most of them admirable and beautiful, and I won't pretend that I can discuss even an infinitesimal part of those beautiful things. But my regret for it ending says it all.

One of the things that's really affected me is what I consider the unfair treatment of Ms. Rowling on Snape and the undeserved treatment on Dumbledore.

Snape has always been the center of hate and fear at the start of the series and on the better part of the last book, when in reality, his intentions are noble and rooted on love.

While Dumbledore has been admired and everybody wants tot emulate him. He is considered one of the perfect wizard, giving help to those who need it most. Only to be revealed that he is a manipulative man, harboring a dark secret.

But I guess that this is the true measure of a great storyteller, and for this, Ms. Rowling, I salute you.

And are the deaths of some of the people and magical creatures that we have grown to love necessary? Can Ms. Rowling not let them live? What was her measure on who should live and who should die? I have not surfed the net to find out, but I think Ms. Rowling is more inclined in martyring those we expect to live a long life. A bit cruel, but as we all know, Ms. Rowling is her own god when it comes to Harry Potter. We may question the outcome of a lot of things, but we cannot do anything about it.

Well, still don't know how the book would end, and I am tempted not to finish it, just to preserve the suspense and for Harry Potter and the others to continue being... But that is absurd. The centaurs have joined the battle, and I know that it will be an very interesting end.

Kristine Series 10 - Franco Navarro

Kristine series #10: Franco Navarro

Dalawang buwang sanggol pa lamang si Bea nang mangako ang sampung taong gulang na si Franco Navarro sa ama niya na pakakasalan siya sa pagsapit ng ika-labing walong tag-araw. At dalawang buwan na ang nakalampas matapos ang eighteenth birthday niya. At sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa buhay ni Bea ay makakaharap niya si Franco Navarro upang ipatupad dito ang pangakong binitiwan.

Si Franco Navarro ay walang balak na pakasal sa kahit na kaninong babae. Pero determinado si Bea and he was holding on to his promise once upon a time.

***

Tapos ko na basahin ang Franco Navarro at masasabi kong ito ay hindi isa sa mga more creative stories ni Ms. Cecilia. Iyong sa naligo ng sabay at sa may mesa, ok iyon pero iyong ending ay a bit weak.

Pero kahit na, nag-enjoy akong nagbasa. Ginawa kong parang pamamahinga sa pagbabasa ng Harry Potter.

Paano natapos iyong kuwento, siyempre nag kasundo sina Franco at Bea, nagkatuluyan, dahil na rin sa tulong ni Lucinda. Iyon na.

Aking mga nota habang nagbabasa:

8/25/2008

Medyo nag break ako sa Harry Potter reading ko. Umuulan at ayaw kong dahil iyong libro ni My Love at baka mabasa. So I re read Kristine 10 - Franco Navarro nainumpisahan ko a makailang buwan na at hindi ko matapus-tapos.

At nagbilib ulit ako kay Madam Martha Cecilia, medyo ayus lang ang ander ng kuwento pero nung tsapter siyam na ay gumanda na.

Hindi ko pa tapos ang pagbabasa pero kailangan ko nang isulat ito at baka makalimutan ko, talagang magaling si Ms. Cecilia pagdating sa twist ad pag build ng suspense (sorry hindi ko na ma sustain ang pagta Tagalog, mahirap). Parang gusto mong malaman kung ano ang mangyayari kaya tatapusin mo na ang pagbabasa. At ito na ang gagawin ko ngayon, so see you later.

Patatawarin ba ni Franco si Bea sa paniwalang kasabwat ni Bea si Jerome para pabagsakin siya?

Siyempre oo, pero, papaano? Ano ang gagawin ni Bea para maiayos ang lahat? O si Franco ba ang gagawa ng paraan para maisaayos ang lahat?

Sa palagay ko ay si Bea ang makaka solve ng lahat ng problemang kanila ngayong pinagdadaanan, she is a strong woman, a very resourceful. Although Franco is shrewd, he is now blinded by anger and jealousy to real know what to do.

Abangan.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

posted somewhere on August 29, 2008 at 5:06 pm

Finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the night of August 22 and as I have said, it resolved some questions and created new ones.

Its one of the saddest book that I have read, owing to the fact that I have been with Harry since Year 1. I have been involved to most of his challenges as an underage wizard to his battles with Voldermort and the ones who ridicule him.

But although sad, there are a lot of kigil moments on the book, particularly Harry's struggle on wanting to court Ginny vs. Ron being his friend, and the most kakigil daw, although very short compared to Harry and Cho's courting, was when Harry kissed Ginny in the common room after they won a Quidditch match.

Reading this part made me reminisce of my high school and college days. It will be years before I will have a girlfriend, my one and only Love, and I've experienced a lot of heartbreaks in between. And reading the Harry-Ginny scene made me feel that I have missed a lot during my high school and college days, what those things are, I don't know, but it feels like there is a hole on my being somehow.

Some of my notes while reading the book:

8/16/2008

Started reading a few days ago and here are some of the mysteries that needs to be unraveled:

Who is the half-blood prince?

How and why did Dumbledore injured his hands?

What is Draco's mission and what was he doing in Knockturn Alley?

One funny scene that I have encountered was when Dumblebore himself went to Privet Drive to fetch Harry and bring him to the Burrow. The funny scene there was when Dumbledore brought our a wine bottle and some glasses and offered wine to everybody, even to the three Durley's while they were seated on a sofa. What's very unusually about this was that the wine glasses were hovering above the heads of the Durleys, bumping on their heads persistently because they did not want to take the drinks.

Even a few chapters before Siver and Opals, Harry is already noticing Ginny. There was a mention of a pleasant aroma that Harry smelled when Ginny appeared while they were eating on the Gryffindor table, same aroma that he had smelled while in Slughorns class and they were near a love potion. Is there a deeper meaning to this?

8/17/2008

I am on the Felix Felicis chapter and it seems that I am finally seeing the eventual love matching of the characters. While on Herbology, Hermione was mentioning the upcoming Slug Club party. As usual, Ron reacted negatively saying that why doesn't she try hooking up with McLaggen, they could be King and Queen Slug. When Hermione mentioned that they are allowed to bring guest and that he was thinking of inviting Ron, being seated with them became uncomfortable for Harry as he is seeing how Hermione is turning red into admitting that she was planning to invite Ron, and Ron's meek reaction when confronted with the admission.

Harry contemplated on what will happen to him in the event that Ron and Hermione will become lovers. What if they broke up, will it be like what happened to Harry and Cho, not even able to look each other. But what if they did not broke up, will it mean that Harry will be the odd man out?

Harry also cannot understand his feelings when he saw Dean and Ginny kissing, is it something of significance, of importance?

8/18/2008

Why the change in Tonks personality? She became suddenly very serious from being funny on HP and the OP.

I like the exchange between Harry and Scrimgeour while he cornered Harry when he was at the Burrows.

Scrimgeour came with Percy to the Burrow while the Weasleys including Harry and Fleur were having a Christmas morning breakfast, with pretense that Percy wanted badly to visit the Weasleys. S had taken Harry to the garden and while viewing a gnome trying to extricate a worm from a rhododendron.

What Scrimgeour basically wants is to show that Harry is working side by side with the Ministry, and Harry's reply was that he does not want to be used.

Their exchange was very icy and involving, that I am finding myself cheering for Harry and hating the Minister more.

8/21/2008

I had some things clarified last night while reading, like the missing memory of Slughorn while with Tom Riddle, what happened to Dumbledore's hand, the real feelings of Harry towards Ginny, how does Malfoy disappear not showing even on the Marauder's Map, and what are Horcruxes and why is it important for Harry to know them in his battle with Voldermort.

Still haven't had an inkling on who the Half-Blood prince is, although from the looks of it, he uses Dark Magic as evidence by the Sectumsempra that Harry used on Malfoy during their duel in the bathroom.

And what was Draco doing, what was his mission, what did he do in the Room of Requirement?

Why is Tonks so messed up, was she in love with Sirius?

8/22/2008

I am a few page shy in finishing HBP, Dumbledore is dead, betrayed by Snape, and most of them are now in the hospital wing, Bill being cared for since he was attacked and bitten by the werewolf Greyback, the others were on separate beds, resting.

It is becoming clear why Tonks was in such a gloomy mood. It was not Sirius that she's mourning but a love that is unrequitted by Lupin. I am still on the part were Fleur snatch the ointment from Mrs. Weasley and applying it to Bill.

Some questions answered, more questions introduced:

It was Malfoy who tried to sneak in the cursed jewel that made Katie sick and the posioned mead that Ron drank. He put Rosmerta under the Imperius curse to be able to achieve this. He was also able to fix the Vanishing cabinet that the Death Eaters used to enter Hogwarts.

Who was R.A.B from the letter that Harry got on the locket that Harry and Dumbledore got from a cabe, that was obviously not Voldemort's Horcrux. The letter was actually intended for Voldemort, and it said he might be dead when Voldemort reads it but he found the true Horcrux, and when Voldemort meets his match, he might be mortal again.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

Finished with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and what I can say is that the book is getting gloomier and gloomier. One person very dear to Harry had died and the world had finally realized that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back.

Some consolations were that the Ministry of Magic had finally admitted their mistake and Harry and Dumbledore were exonerated, Hagrid's giant brother is learning to behave, no student was seriously hurt with their duels with the Death Eaters, Umbridge is out and Trelawney is in, and McGonnagall was not seriously hurt when she was attacked by Umbridge's henchmen.

There were some disappointments, primarily among them is the prophecy. Its as if, with the way the book is going, everybody already knows what the prophecy will be, that one person will  have to battle the Dark Lord and only one of them will survive.

Another disappointment is the Howler that Aunt Petunia received that forced her to change her mind about throwing Harry out the house after he and Dudley were attacked by dementors. I was thinking that there was a very important underlying factor about the howler and about Aunt Petunia reaction to it, like she was also a witch trying her best to hide it, something like that. But I was just a simple reminder from Dumbledore, nothing more.

But he best thing about the book was how Rowling grows Harry. She accurate describes the struggles that a boy will undergo while growing up. The problem with Harry's is that he was not in a normal environment and now in a normal situation. Rowling accurate describes Harry's feeling of being sullen, resentful, self-pitying, and anger. His outburst are all but normal for a growing boy. I always asked myself, was I like that when I can growing up? Probably not, but I always feel that there were a lot of things that he felt that I have felt to, especially the self-pitying.

Some reviews are saying that Harry is becoming arrogant and obnoxious, even when dealing with his friends. But I think that Rowling did this transformation on purpose. Its like Harry is showing some hint of his father's personality, without realizing it. The good thing about this is that when Harry found out how arrogant his father was, he felt very disturbed about it and preferred to be humble.

I said that Harry's circumstances were not normal. I think that is an understatement. Some of the things that he need to endure are being whispered about and put upon, being tried by a criminal court for under-age magic, dreams of serpents, dark rooms and corridors and anxieties about his O.W.L. exam, he's not getting enough sleep. The daily wizard paper keeps insinuating that he's a ''lying weirdo.'' Hermione wonders if maybe he loves playing the hero a bit too much. His first kiss can only be described as ''wet.'' He learns things he'd prefer not to know about his dead father. And the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has banned him from ever again playing Quidditch. What a way to spend the year in Hogwarts. Just listening to what he has to endure, it feels that it is more inviting to spend the time in Privet Drive... well, maybe not.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is another magical ride for Harry Potter fans. And for me, its better late than never.

Some of my notes while reading the book:

08/07/2008

I am on the part were Hagrid was introducing Grawp to Harry and Hermione. I was able to guess that Hagrid brought home a giant, and that's an improvement. I did not guess though that the giant was his brother, but you can't have them all.

Harry was also having Occlumency lessons from Snape and he was able to peek at a memory that Snape do not wish to have anybody view. It got Harry thinking that his father was as arrogant as Snape said he was. But I agree with Lupin, Harry should not judge what he saw on the Pensieve, as this was just one instance that his father's gang was in action. And Harry's mother, Lily, married his father. That's something that he should think about.

Another notable is the escape of Fred and George from Filch and Umbridge was setting alight a portable swamp on the corridor. Many considered that it was a stuff for Hogwarts legend.

7/31/2008

Another new thing that surprised Harry upon reaching the station drop to Hogwarts was seeing the dragonish horses that were pulling the carriage that will take them to the castle.

One had to ask what significant thing that happened to Harry for him to see these creatures, were these creatures already pulling the carriage even when they were first years, what are these creatures?

The answer will be revealed by Hagrid and a bit obvious to some HP readers, but again, it will be a bit of a surprise for me.

***
HP and OP is one were Harry has always had anger brewing a short distance from the surface of his being, and that's not surprising since Harry is entering puberty.

Rowling had depicted puberty so accurately that I was even reminiscing the time that I was courtinga few of my classmates in high school.  Some of the things that Rowling described accurate was the feeling Harry was having when he sees Cho, the way Harry feels a tingling sensation whenever he is near Cho.

***

I like the way he described Cho kissing Harry after their D.A. session.

I also like Hermione's way of explaining why Cho is always crying, that she was sad because of Cedric's dying and  confused because she likes Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't make up her mind who she likes best; then she felt guilty, its an insult to Cedric's memory to kiss Harry at all; and she was worried about what others might say if she starts a relationship with Harry; and she probably could not work out her feeling toward Harry has he was with Cedric when Cedric died; so that's very all mixed up and painful. And she was afraid she's going to be thrown off from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she was flying badly.

I also like Ron's reaction, saying that nobody can feel that way at once, they'll explode.

And Hermione's reply was also funny, saying that just because Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean they all have.

7/22/2008

Another emotional scene was when Harry was anticipating his impending hearing with the Ministry of Magic for using the Patronus Charm when he and Dudley were attacked by dementors. Rowling description of how Harry feels were so involving that you can feel his anxiety.

***
First mystery, why was Aunt Petunia so worried with the howler the she received when they were in the Dursley's kitchen discussing Harry and Dudley being attacked by dementors. What could the message mean?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

 

Finished with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and its another disappointing outcome for me it terms of my playing a detective :-(

 

Then only thing that I was able to guess was that Moody was the one who placed Harry's name on the Goblet of Fire. The problem with that was that its not even Moody who did it.

 

The things that I need to discern or decipher on the book were; who put Harry's name on the Goblet of Fire, why was Ludo Bagman and Mad-Eye Moody so keen in helping Harry win, how does Rita Skeeter know what's been happening in Hogwarts when she is banned from going near it? And who was the person that George and Fred are blackmailing?

 

As I said, I got lucky with Moody, who was not Moody. Does that count? I've always thought that Bagman was the  Death-Eater, but his reason for his wanting too bad for Harry to win was too petty. Ludo was a gambler and he need to have Harry win to ge relief from a fix. And it turned out the Ludo was the one the Fred and George are contemplating of blackmailing because Ludo did not give the twin's winnings on their bet on the Quidditch World Cup.

 

Then Rita Skeeter's being able to write controversial scoops while banned from Hogwarts was a matter of bugging :-) She can turn herself into a bug, why didn't I thought of that.

 

Its another exciting journey, reading HP and the Goblet of Fire, although the book focused on the Triwizard Tournament, and the three tasks were by no means simplistic and easy to achieve, Rowling was able to insert a lot of emotions while Harry was waiting and anticipating his upcoming task.

 

Emotions also ran high when Harry and Ron had a misunderstanding and were not speaking with each other.

 

And Ron confronted Hermione of cavorting with the enemy since she agreed to be Krum's date to the Yule Ball, Hermione said to Ron that, if he does not like that, he should have ask her first to be her date on the ball, rather than as replacement. There's an inkling of what Ron really feels towards Hermione, and I will not be surprise if they will become partners.

 

I started HP and the Order of the Phoenix yesterday, I'm just on the first chapter but its already revealing and exciting.

 

Some things that I took notes on while reading the book:

 

* HP and the Goblet of Fire is turning out to be sinister and gloomy with the death of Cedric. This is no longer kid's stuff. The days when Harry is thinking about how to ask a girl for a date or worry about studying are slowly disappearing to be replaced by a new one, to prepare when he and Voldemort will finally battle.

 

* Not really good with being a detective as evidenced by my not catching again the clue Hagrid had said during the Care for Magical Creatures class. He said that leprechaun's gold disappears after a few hours. Suddenly Ron became upset and I didn't know why. Only when he asked Harry why he did not told him that the gold he had given him during the Quidditch World Cup disappeared did I realize what he was upset about.

 

*  I was finding the Second Task a bit boring but got a very excited when I found out what the Merpeople had taken. When Harry learned what the Merpeople had taken, 10 minutes before he needs to start the task... whew! Its heart-pounding, I can't wait for finish the chapter and see what happens.

 

I have read a lot of books and had almost resigned myself to not experiencing being taken by surprise. But J.K. Rowling's treatment of her books is very different. Its like... magic!

 

* Harry and Ron's making up after Harry was able to successfully complete his First Task was very emotional. Add to that was Hermione's crying when they finally made up.

 

* The way J.K. Rowling describes how Harry feels when they are about to face their first task was very involving, I felt myself being nervous to the point of having sweaty palms. I felt Harry's anxiety when Professor Mcgonagall called and accompanied him to the tent, left him at the tent's opening, when Bagman was explaining the procedure for their first task and when harry was left all alone in the tent.

 

Some funny, interesting scenes:

 

* When Fred and George intentionally dropped a Ton-Tongue toffee for Dudley to see and eat and when he ate it, his tongue became swollen and reach 4 feet before they allowed Mr. Weasley to help him.

 

* When Ron was saying that Percy was obsessed with his work at the Ministry of Magic and mocked him that Percy and his boss will announce their engagement soon.

 

See you on my next update.

Millenium by John Varley

You may know or remember Millennium as a movie starring Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd. Me too. But its actually a short story by John Varley, Air Raid, which he expanded into a full length novel, Millenium.

I've watched the movie a few years ago, I don't remember much of how it goes. Obviously, it will follow the happenings on the novel, but I am not sure on where it deviated. If you are interested, you can check out its wikipedia entry (Millennium (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Now, for the novel, it is one of the reasons why it has taken me this long to finish The Charm School, hehehe. I was able to buy a copy of the book on BookSale, found it interesting, started reading it and before I knew it, I was already at the end of the book.

Millennium tackles one of the most complex items in science fiction (or are there actual research being done to determine if its feasible?): Time Travel. From my readings and the movies that I have watched, (I particularly like The Simpsons episode where Homer traveled back in time), dealing with time travel is very tedious as you will have to tie up a lot of loose ends. When traveling in time, the slightest action can, and usually does, gravely affect the future in ways previously thought impossible.

One of the no-no's when you time travel is leaving behind something that came from the future, to the past (or present). A stunner left behind by one of Louise Baltimore's (the time traveler protagonist) soldier was creating a paradox that would ultimately destroy the future. Louise volunteered to retrieve the stunner to prevent the future from being destroyed. And that is where the story will revolve.

Louise will come back to the past 4 times to try to fix the future, and to tell you the truth, I am unable to follow the story from that point. I know I will need to re read the book to have a better understand of what has happened when, but for now, I really don't why it is important for her to prioritize in going back to Window C rather than Window A.

But as I have said, its a very entertaining book, and I will do my best to find the time to read it again.

The Charm School by Nelson Demille

Finally finished reading Nelson DeMille's The Charm School, a Cold War novel set in Russia during the 80's. Its a few months now that I have been putting off finishing it, not because its dull and uninteresting but because I kept buying new books and then want to read them all. As I said, a bad habit since I learned too late that The Charm School is an entertaining book that will have me on the edge of my seat when I reach the last 100 pages.

I like Mr. Demille's style of writing, he is very meticulous in providing details on what is happening around the characters and on how things are to be done properly. Like on the last few pages, he discussed how to fly an helicopter that will soon be out of fuel on an unforgiving environment. He also provided very involving description on the Russian rural area that you can empathize with how the poor suffers.

He was also able to effectively convey the fear that is being perpetrated by the KGB, how they had instilled a great fear in the heart of the Russian folks so that they can control them. When I was reading the book, I can feel the fear that the characters are undergoing when they talk about the KGB and why it is important not be captured by them.

But what I like most about the book are the witty comments of Colonel Sam Hollis, especially when he is talking to Lisa Rhodes, both the main characters of the novel. They have funny comments about what they see while they are traveling on a Russian rural area but I felt some comments are out of place. There were times that their situation is already life-or-death but they are still cracking jokes.

All in all a very good and satisfying read, highlyrecommend.

Here's a synopsis of the book:

On a dark road deep inside Russia, a young American tourist picks up a most unusual passenger with an incredible secret. Poised against the very heartland of America is a vast and astounding KGB enterprise known as "The Charm School." Arrayed against the all-encompassing grip of the Soviet state are three Americans: Sam Hollis, an Air Force officer, who will fly one last covert mission into the center of a mad experiment; Lisa Rhodes, an embassy liaison, who will see her political hopes and ideals brutally tested; and Seth Alevy, the chief of the CIA's Moscow station, who will find his intricate dance of destiny and death reaching its devastating conclusion. Welcome to The Charm School, one of the most chilling Cold War novels ever written.

Update - A Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag

I've finally finished reading Tami Hoag's A Thin Dark Line a few weeks ago.

It was very slow in coming but it had a nearly satisfying ending.

The main characters, Fourcade and Anne, their actions and feelings are not natural, the way I read them, compared to the actions of some of the characters that I have read like Colonel Hollis and Lisa Rhodes on The Charm School by Nelson Demille.

A lot of loose ends that needs to be tied, and the way Tammy Hoag had tied them up is not very satisfying.

Like there, as Nick Fourcade has pointed out, the one who killed Pam may not be the same person who tried to kill Lindsay Faulkner or Anne. There can be as much as 3 persons who wants to kill 3 people, one is Renard, another is a rapist and the other could be Mullen, Anne's co-worker.

Fourcade said that him and Anne's sleeping together is a separate thing from what is happening, its attraction, desire, need and not a product of the situation that they share which is bull.

All in all, my feeling right now is that it might take a long time before I pick another Hoag book and read it.

Wolves of the Calla

Stephen King's The Dark Tower series was started on 1982 and was completed on 2004, twenty two years in the making.

I am following the series and I had most of the books, except the last three. But I was able to save some ebooks and I am currently reading Wolves of the Calla.
I don't know what to expect, pero ok na lang sana. I've noticed kasi na parang minadaling sinulat ni Mr. King ang last 3 books, they are only a few months apart, compated to the other books.

But, with Mr. King's reputation, I know that I will not be disappointed.

A Thin Dark Line by Tammy Hoag

I was reading A Thin Dark Line and stopped. I find it a bit hard to read as I am already at the two hundredth page, but the book cannot peaked my interest.

Its about a detective that was being accused of planting evidence on a murder suspect (who denies it), and the suspect was freed due to a technicality. The detective will be helped by a girl deputy in solving the crime.

The way the characters and the plot are being presented, its a bit dragging. The pacing is too slow and there is not in the story or the dialogues that will keep my attention. For the book is too bland.

I will try to finish it as there might be a redeeming factor in the end.