Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

by J. K. Rowling

Hardcover, 652 pages

English language

Published June 21, 2005 by Arthur A. Levine Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-439-78454-2
OCLC Number:: 474747476

(143 reviews)

The war against Voldemort is not going well: even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of The Daily Prophet looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet …

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate, and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwart's , Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort - and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

--front flap

77 editions

LemmiSchmoeker reviewed Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter 6)

The big quest begins

4 stars

And here the big quest begins. This sixth Harry Potter book is just a roller-coaster ride from beginning to end. One never has time to wonder why some things happen the way they do and can only hold on. Some of the happenings have a large impact on the events to follow, and some have a far lesser impact than they should have.

In any case, this is the last book of the series that features the basic structure we have grown used to.

Il Raccontatore reviewed Ο Χάρι Πότερ και ο ημίαιμος πρίγκιψ by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter, #6)

Review of 'Ο Χάρι Πότερ και ο ημίαιμος πρίγκιψ' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Μακράν το καλύτερο από τα έξι, μαζί με αυτό. Πολύ μυστήριο, μεγάλες ανατροπές, Σνέηπ προδότη καταδότη, έρωτες και χωρισμοί, θάνατοι και δυνατές φιλίες.

nerd teacher [books] reviewed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter, #6)

A lot of inconsequential events.

1 star

Yet another book that just continues providing evidence for Snape being the absolute worst teacher and the whiniest, most entitled little snot ever. I can't like him, even if Rowling wants the audience to.

We finally see the rectification of what should've been done, proving that Harry has earned the right to know more about... his future (instead of having people "protecting" him from it, which actually endangers him -- odd that any person who claims education is important would think a lack of knowledge would enable someone to be safe and prepared, but I digress)

One of the few things I actually enjoy in this one is Snape's potions book coming out (and, by the way, showing he was a bit of a douchebag via Harry's use of it), but I feel like it would've been more powerful if there'd been a better way of learning that it was his book. And I would've liked a better narrative of hinting that it was him. since it was a bit obvious that it'd be one of the Not-So-Nice half-blood Slytherins of old.

The Gnome King reviewed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter, #6)

Review of 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

By far the best in the series. You still have the same old school crap going on. Harry is still a angry little fella. Ron is as horny as a field of rabbits. Dumbleydoor still does nothing, happy to let all the pressure build up. Hagrid cries. Lupin is still really emo. Hermie knows everything. This time though things start to get dark, there is suddenly a real element of danger, a lot of violence going on in the world. I have to admit that I did whiz through the last 200 pages as the writing flowed really well, if the rest of the book was more interesting then it could have got 4 stars.

Things I've learnt from this book:

Harry Potter reminds me of a troubled kid I went to school with, always answering back to a certain teacher, always in detention. Could he have been magical?

The …

Wetdryvac reviewed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter, #6)

Review of 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is the one where a re-read resulted in my picking up HPMOR in frustration. Still like it, though.

adastra reviewed Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter 6)

Review of 'Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is truly the point at which the story matures—in many senses. While the previous books retained their youthful innocence, this book solemnly lifts the Wizarding World to a whole new level. It is a world apart from the rather half-baked, borderline first books, which relied too much on clichees.

Book six is the maturity of the story: for the epic mystery that is finally lifted; for the gloomy prospects ahead. But also for Harry himself, as he finally gets drowned in teen drama. And lastly, it's the maturity of Rowling's writing. Her earlier books were nowhere near these later masterpieces. She has definitely learned a lot in the process of writing five books and here, in the sixth book, it finally shows.