10 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 25, 2005 'Prince' continues Potter's dark turn Mob hit still dazzes in its fifth season By Doug Wernert qv Daily Arts Editor By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer With the exception of 2002's "Order. of the Phoenix," a slight hiccup in quality for the Harry Pot- ter series, J.K. Rowling's seven-part arc about a boy wizard's battle to vanquish evil Harry Potter has been the rare and the Half- artistic steamroll- Blood Prince er: both infectious By J.K. Rowling and surprisingly Scholastic enduring. Sowith- out further adieu, we can safely say that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" lives up to the significant expectations of mil- lions of fans, and might just be the best book in the series so far. There has been much talk lead- ing up to the book's release that this addition to the series is darker than any other Potter book. Certainly the grim tone is set early on. We find out many important and powerful witch- es and wizards have been killed as the fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort has gradually broken into open war. At Hogwarts School, several students receive the dreaded news that a family member has been murdered, and there are rumors of a dark plot to infiltrate and capture the school. Yet even in the darkest of wars, in the bleakest of times - as the book's jacket says - life goes on. Indeed, whether following the hilarious mis- haps of adolescent wizards in love for the first time or gaining vital insights into the life of a young Lord Voldemort, the reader is lulled into a false sense of security, one that comes crashing down in the final few chapters. It's hard to believe that this late in the series, when we already know so much, Rowl- ing is able to pull off a thrilling and unexpected twist ending and make it wholly believable. But somehow, that's exactly what she does. Though there are some laughs along the way, the book as a whole is a story of war and all its trage- dies, and readers, the young espe- cially, will be overwhelmed by the final chapters. It goes without say- ing that parents need to judge their own child's sensitivity when put- ting a tome this dark in their hands. Make no mistake, it's a dark beyond dusky: people die, the bad outweighs the good, and even Harry borders on unlikable in places. The flow is much different from that of any other book in the series. Instead of getting all the action and answers at the end as readers are used to, things are revealed early and often in this book, and there are times when readers will almost feel guilty for knowing so much so early. Quidditch is given much less focus than usual, and a lot of the action doesn't happen in front of the characters eyes, but in memories or in the background, while our young hero is unaware. Rowling has a knack for infusing her side characters with very real per- sonalities, many of which highlight the worst in human nature. In book two we met self-promoter extraor- dinaire Gilderoy Lockhart, in book four it was nosy reporter Rita Skee- ter and shrewd politician Cornelius Fudge, and in book five it was the poisonous Delores Umbridge. Here, it's the over-the-hill professor Hor- ace Slughorn, whose dire need to be surrounded by important people is dually sad and oddly humorous. "Prince" is certainly the best of the Potter books in terms of plot, but lacks a little something in other respects. Because the situation in the wizarding world is now much more desperate than before, Rowling is limited in using humor in her dia- logue, which is unfortunate because it's one of the best parts of her writ- ing. But while "Prince" might read slower than its predecessors "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Goblet of Fire," the compelling plot stills make it next to impossible to put down. DVD REVIEW In the first four seasons of HBO's hit drama "The Sopranos," Tony Soprano fought to gain power, fought harder to keep it, whacked friends and associates and occasionally let his emotions get in the way. The Sopranos: The character is a Season Five deep and complex HBO one - put simply, a mob boss who goes to a psychiatrist to help with depres- sion and panic attacks. Viewers fear his rage, yet are drawn to his vulnerability. It's this almost Victorian tension between his two halves that give the show its kick. The familytakes centerstage inthe fifth season, as Tony (James Gandol- fini) struggles to salvage his failing marriage to his wife Carmela (Edie Falco), while also trying to remain neutral in a bloody New York power struggle. There's a scene in the last episode of the season when Tony, in the fever of a tense situation, says to a fellow mobster, "What we are here for, in the end, is to put food on the table for our families, our sons, the future. That's what's important." This simple premise works tremen- dously; the show recovered from its creative slump in the fourth season and rediscovers its can't-take-your- eyes-off-the-screen brilliance. Minor storyline advancement is the key to its success, as even small subplots are given plenty of time to. develop on camera. The emotions it each scene are as real and as pow erful as it can get for television, s' when someone is murdered - alway filmed brutally and beautifully - th impact always hits viewers. We're al part of the family. 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