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[ebonlock]

So on my Sunday library trip I picked up Judith Tarr's "Devil's Bargain" as it is set shortly after the period in "Kingdom of Heaven" and I wanted something remotely like a sequel. I get an odd little thrill every time she mentions Hospitallars which is wrong, but there you are. I am also finding it hard not to picture Saladin's brother in the book as Alexander Siddig's Nasir character. Very hard.

Sadly I didn't get too far in the novel 'cause Amazon UK left Order of the Phoenix on my doorstep and I just had to skim through a bit of it. Allow me to say once again how much I prefer the adult covers on these books, I'm really glad I waited to get them all.

I'm remembering now why I was almost happy that Sirius died in a rather stupid and pointless manner at the end of the book. The guy is such a monumental prick! Jesus, he's like a 15 year old in a 30-something body. It's no wonder Harry adores him, they're disturbingly alike in many ways. I have to hope that movie Sirius comes off a bit more sympathetically because if not I'm going to burst into applause when he does a header through the Veil.

Now that I'm reading it again I can really see how Rowling was setting everything up to prepare you for Sirius' death. She was telling you from the outset that he was going to do something reckless, foolish, and monumentally dangerous, it was just a matter of time. You can almost feel Remus' mounting tension as he begins to understand that too, and it's just heartbreaking. For Remus that is, I mean knowing he's going to lose yet another good friend to the cause is the only part of Sirius' demise that I find even remotely sad.

And of course re-reading "Snape's Worst Memory" drove home to me why it is that the character was one I happily parted with. I was bullied like that in school, teased, made fun of, and all because I wasn't pretty enough, rich enough, etc. James and Sirius targeted Snape because he existed, they didn't need a better rationale. And being on the receiving end of that treatment myself, any and all sympathy goes to Severus.

I won't say it's impossible that I'll change my mind somewhat during the film, Gary Oldman may just turn the character around for me, it's possible. But let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

Comments

[shadowchaser44.livejournal.com]

Glad I'm not the only one hating Sirius. I'll try to re-read OOTP before HBP comes out. It will be the third time, I think, but I suspect there are certain things that still won't improve.

I think it will be really interesting to see what they come up with for the movie version of OotP. Plus, who in the world will they cast as Umbridge?

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Glad I'm not the only one hating Sirius. I'll try to re-read OOTP before HBP comes out. It will be the third time, I think, but I suspect there are certain things that still won't improve.

Um, yeah there are definitely still some parts of it that make me wince, but I'm finding that overall right now I'm not nearly as ready to pitch the book across the room as I was the last time I read it.

I think it will be really interesting to see what they come up with for the movie version of OotP. Plus, who in the world will they cast as Umbridge?

So far I've been utterly delighted with their casting and I imagine that as soon as I hear who's playing her my first thought will be, "Perfect!"

[shadowchaser44.livejournal.com]

I've loved the casting too, but I'm stumped on this one. I've loved everything I've seen from the previews of GoF, so once again I'll be seeing it opening day.