Thoughts on Harry Potter one year and a little bit after

As I mentioned way back here I've been slowly rereading Harry Potter. It's taken me quite a bit more time than I had expected. There always seemed to be something interesting in the mail for me to pick up instead.

So what do I think? Well here's my half sleepy review at the time. I was actually pretty coherent considering I had been up for around 30 straight hours at that point. I still think Kipling's "if" is a pretty good analysis for the series. Harry's function is to be yelled at by doubters most of the time. The more I think about it the more there are some severe pacing problems in Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows. I didn't really notice anything to egregious in Half-Blood Prince. Whether this is simply her transitioning into that exalted state where editors do nothing or if it's something else I'm not sure.

That being said Rowling has the truly rare gift to be able to drag you through the plot despite occasional bad writing and inconsistencies. Whether that is transferable into territory other than a young adult fantasy is an open question.

Somehow I don't think I'll be rereading this again next year. I may wait until my nephew is of age. I can infect him with the contagion all so...