So now we come to Harry Potter, once again. It's been a long three years since the fictional Englishman went to his wizardry school and fought evil. He's back in J. K. Rowling's fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
First things first: if you haven't read a Harry Potter book yet, don't start here. You'll have to go back to the beginning of the series. Hell, this review is sure to contain words, phrases, characters, etc. that will really confuse you.
That said, here goes. As always, this new book starts in the middle of summer, as Harry listens for news about the evil Lord Voldemort (or as most wizards call him, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), who has come back into power. Potter runs into trouble quickly and finds himself at the mercy of the bureaucratic Ministry of Magic, an organization that would like nothing more than to see Harry disappear.
Harry also becomes part of the Order of the Phoenix, a group of radicals who are the freedom fighters against Lord Voldemort. As he goes back to school, dealing with feelings any teenager has (hormones, anyone?), Potter finds problems in every corner. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Ms. Umbridge, is positively demonic and hell-bent on making the Hogwarts school as bureaucratic as the Ministry of Magic.
As usual, this book features a Quidditch match or two, plot twists, mysteries, death and destruction. Also as usual, author Rowling has made an even better novel than its predecessor. The big difference between this and the previous book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is that the lengthiness serves the purpose. The fourth novel seemed to be long for no good reason; here, there is substance to add the style.
There are rich characters abound in this book, from new to old. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is given even more depth, despite being in very little of the epic. The vile Umbridge is a double-edged sword. She has such a falsely sunny demeanor that her viciousness and hard discipline is the more shocking. Harry has gone through some considerable changes. He is most definitely a teenager: more sarcastic and hotheaded.
Harry's friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also have interesting character arcs, especially Ron: he becomes the new Keeper in Quidditch and runs into disaster and merciless taunting quickly.
Of course, there are slight problems. First of all, 870 pages? Apparently, there are fewer words in the Bible than in this book. As I said, the length serves the purpose, but some sequences and scenes are so protracted and thinned out that it gets a bit tireless. The book is enjoyable enough, and it's great that little kids are reading these massive tomes, but it seems that Rowling could have edited this more thoroughly.
The length is both a problem and an advantage. Despite being a bit too long, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is filled with action, romance, dark English wit, intelligent characters; simply put, this is a page-turner. The phrase "I couldn't put it down" comes to mind. If you haven't read one of these books yet, you oughta go out and read the whole series. Believe me, it's worth it. The Harry Potter series continues to be the most creative and inventive on the book market nowadays.
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment reporter for the Web Devil. Reach him at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
