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How do you write a review of one in a series of the most popular books ever published in modern history? How do you write a review of a book that has been published in every written language and read around the world? You don't! These books are being read and loved as our imaginations are being set free to roam this wonderful world created by J.K. Rowlands. The Order of the Phoenix finds a young Harry Potter entering the confusing age between child and man-hood. He's angry, pensive, emotionally mixed-up and half the wizarding world believes him to be an attention seeking liar. What more could go wrong? Plenty, when the most powerful wizard in the magical world is back and looking to finish off "the boy who lived". The Order of the Phoenix, while not my favorite of the series (However, I read this is J.K. Rowlings favorite), is probably the 2nd most informative book of the 7 book series. It helps to establish many new characters such as the playful Auror, Tonks and the ruthlessly evil, Bellatrix Lestrange. It tells the back history of those witches and wizards who first banded together to fight "who must not be named" when he originally came into power, among them being Harry's Mum and Dad, which ultimately lead to thier untimely death and there-in Harry's own place in wizarding history. The Order of the Phoenix is the all important bridge between Harry's past and his future. The past of an innocent child thrown into a bitter struggle between good and evil and the future of the person Harry must become to win that battle. As with all Harry Potter books this volume will resonate with child of all ages and will continue to be loved for many, many generations. Harry Potter like The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Mickey Mouse or Superman has reached iconic status. Generations will continue to read and love these books and view the amazing films with awe. These early published volumes and 1st editions should be sought out and protected as collectibles to be handed down to your children and grandchildren. Imagine being presented with a unread, perfect volume of Oliver Twist, what a find that would be. Now is the time to create that gift for someone you love. Look at your child and see how much they love Harry Potter. Imagine the look 20 years from now when you present them with this perfect book from their childhood. Not to mention the practicality of the enormous value this book may have. If your child doesn't want to keep it, it could pay off their college loans! Not only are these books something to buy for love, they could be a solid investment. I am buying and saving this books for what they have come to mean to me and the love of reading and imagination they create to be shared and passed down!Read full review
This was the only book in the Harry Potter Series that I would not rate Excellent. I feel that she finally fell into the "middle book funk" that plagues so many other book writers and movie producers. My theory on avoiding the "funk" is to provide the characters a few clues they can work for and give them some small victories to show they are at least making progress for their pain. It worked in JK's other books, so why she chose to change her formula here is beyond me. The only "victory" won here is that the wizarding community finally knows Voldermort is back. Small consolation, since those that can do anything about it (the Order of the Pheonix) already believed Harry. The Mininstry of Magic, in an attempt to keep Harry Potter quiet, assign Delores Umbridge to the school. I would call Umbridge worse than Voldermort in many respects. Voldermort kills for the pleasure of killing, but is generally quick and painless about it. Once he sees the fear in his victim's eyes, he is satisfied and finishes them off. Torture is used to either get information from his victim or to make a point to his underlings. Inflicting pain for sport was something his underlings did. Although Umbridge is never specifically mentioned as being a Death Eater, loves to leave people in perpetual misery. In particular, she bans Harry Potter (and the Weasley twins) from Quiddich and locks their brooms up. She also has a magic pen that, when used, prints the words in blood on the paper and etches the words on the writer's hand. These scars remain on Harry at least to the end of the 7th book. Just to keep people on edge between these major attacks, she produces an endless array of Ministry approved prohibitions and takes it upon herself to micromanage every teacher in Hogwarts. She threatened firing just about every staff member at Hogwarts at one time or another, except for Filtch (who loves her changes). What Voldermort and Umbridge do have in common is a desire to impress their idea of a perfect society on others. The fact that their ideals are based on the genetic makeup of people, and therefore impossible to change, does not phase them at all. The obvious solution is to banish or kill those who don't measure up. But this evil is not why I gave this book a low rating. The heroes, Harry in particular, never fully grasp what what is happening and are completely unable to stop it. Figuratively speaking, they are little more than test dummies and take whatever is given to them. There were only two times that Harry and Co took a stand and the both backfired disasterously (three if you count the Weasley twins revenge, but that was short lived and had no lasting affect). The first was when Harry formed Dumbledore's Army, which resulted in Dumbledore being fired. The second was when Harry rushed to save Sirious Black from Voldermort. I won't say how that one ended for the sake of those that haven't read it yet, but suffice to say it caused the only regret Harry had in any of the seven books. There is a difference between suffering and sacrafice, and this book was all suffering. No good came out of what Harry went through, either in this book or the sequels. However, in order to get the full effect of her last two Harry Potter books (which I think are the best in the series), reading this book is a must. John Holland-author of The Necklace of TerrersylvanousRead full review
I purchased this Audio book set about a month ago, having already read the books, and wanting to share the book with my daughter. I love that in each volume it is the same reader, so that you get used to the different voices he uses for each character, as well as his reading style. It's a great way to sit down as a family and share reading. Just pop in the cd's, and the kids can read along with the CD's, helping to not only enrich their lives through reading, but aiding them with pronunciations, learning new words, and guiding them into a world of imagination. I find that the new versions you find in stores are a bit pricey. Also, I was hoping for a bit more from the CD's when first listening to them, possibly some sound effects to make it more real, and I do find that some of the reading seems akward, as in not fitting what is happening at the time of the story (i.e. someone is extremely excited, but their words are spoken as if they have not a care in the world). Overall, I would recommend this to anyone with a love for reading, and would also recommend this to anyone just getting into reading themselves, or reading along with the family, as a great tool to jumpstart the imagination and enter a world of excitement and innumerable possibilities.Read full review
Goblet of Fire brought a surprise dark ending - this takes it a bit further. This book goes through the whole gamut of emotions for Harry and his friends - Harry is shown to be vulnerable to emotions that he cannot control (not entirely his own fault but you will see) and this book portrays him quite a bit as trying to get things done on his own (a preview of things to come or things to change - who knows). This book goes into the emotional side of Harry and the roller coaster ride it can be for a teen and also reasons highlighted at the end of the book. New characters are introduced and you get a clearer picture of alliances and where people stand in the war against Voldemort. He also finds out how costly it is to not listen to Dumbledore as another person close to him is lost. He blames himself and Dumbledore reveals a lot more answers (and raises a few more questions) at the end of this book. This book clearly answers questions and definitely sets up for the next book. You will get exposed to more dark magic in this book - a nice addition to see the both sides of the coin. The books in this series are getting longer but as you will justly so. This book is definitely more exciting and darker than the others but it is a very good read and my wife and I had to fight for who gets to read it - the next book is being bought with an extra copy for her :-) Disclaimer: I am an eBay employee and this review is my own opinion and is not written on behalf of eBay. This review does not reflect the views of my employer nor is it endorsed by them.Read full review
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth sequel of the series. The prequel to this book are: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the prequel, The Goblet of Fire, Harry is entered into the Triwizard Tournament. The goal of the last task is to survive the maze and reach the Cup. Somehow the cup was turned into a portal key (transports you from one place to a designate other). He ended up in a grave yard and was an unwilling participant in the reincarnation of the Dark Wizard Voldemort. In the book The order of the Phoenix, all of the adults that he has know to be like family members to him band together to stop Lord Voldemort. All of them are hidden in number twelve Grimmauld Place, an invisible house that belongs to his godfather. Harry and his friends return to their school, Hogwarts. In Hogwarts they are presented with a new teacher for their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This teacher was assigned to them by the Ministry of Magic (wizard government). The Ministry of Magic is trying to keep people from panicking so in the press they deny the return of Lord Voldemort. This book shows how the press and media can distort the truth and what some people will do for power. It also reminds you that you should choose your battles wisely because there are some that are not worth fighting for. Some of the strong points of the book are that you can read what they are thinking and feeling and that helps you to get a better understanding of why they say or do certain things. Even though it makes the book really long, I love the way J. K. Rowling, the author, goes into detail about the characters. The only thing in the entire book that I had a little trouble with was following along when she would go into the deep background of a character. It would be a separate story and then go back and start where it left off in the basic storyline of the book. This was the only time I experienced this slight confusion because in the prequel she makes the transitions clear. Other than that, I think that this is a great book. It is able to keep your attention while introducing to new concepts. You also learn valuable life lessons that connect with your own life. I recommend this book to everyone, but especially to boys that don't like to read. This book is so action packed that you don't even realize that your reading. It exercises your mind because you can picture everything and it becomes like you are watching a movie. (I also recommend reading the book before you watch the movie).Read full review
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