Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
-
-
4.4 • 4K Ratings
-
-
- $39.99
-
- $39.99
Publisher Description
There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building... wherever they had murdered...
When Dumbledore arrives at Privet Drive one summer night to collect Harry Potter, his wand hand is blackened and shrivelled, but he does not reveal why. Secrets and suspicion are spreading through the wizarding world, and Hogwarts itself is not safe. Harry is convinced that Malfoy bears the Dark Mark: there is a Death Eater amongst them. Harry will need powerful magic and true friends as he explores Voldemort's darkest secrets, and Dumbledore prepares him to face his destiny...
Having become classics of our time, the Harry Potter stories never fail to bring comfort and escapism. With their message of hope, belonging and the enduring power of truth and love, the story of the Boy Who Lived continues to delight generations of new listeners.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Harry Potter’s next-to-last adventure, the teenage wizard must face his destiny and confront the evil Lord Voldemort, knowing that only one of them can survive. Meanwhile, Hogwarts is abuzz with sinister rumors and Harry’s rival, Draco Malfoy, is behaving even more suspiciously than usual. Harry’s one bright spot is a battered but extremely helpful potions textbook, but it, too, might not be quite what it seems. All of the tension and thrills are expertly delivered by English actor Jim Dale, whose award-winning narration of J.K. Rowling’s series has almost overshadowed his storied career on stage and screen. Dale is the voice of these books—or rather voices, as he provides a unique personality for every single character and creature. This epic buildup to the series conclusion is not to be missed.
Customer Reviews
An Emotional Darker Sequel
This book has more darkness and depth to it. Dumbledores is showcased more in this book which is a plus as Dumbledore is my favorite character followed by Hermoine. My favorite part is the memories they look at from Voldemorts past. The book is darker and the ending is sad but hopeful. It contains all the magic of the other ones, though the dark side is stronger in this book than in the past. The narrate is probably the best ever, having won two Grammy awards for books 4 & 7 and adopting the role of 50+ characters throughout this series.
Wonderful audiobook ruined by ads and laziness
First and foremost: I absolutely love this book. The only thing better than reading it is listening to the stunning performance by Jim Dale. I've listened to the cassette version more times than I can count. I was thrilled when I found out I could finally get a proper digital copy. That being said, this audio product is a disgrace to the format.
I am horrified. Horrified at the thoughtlessness with which this audiobook was published. I cannot believe that this, the official audiobook on iTunes/iBooks sanctioned by Rowling herself, that costs almost $50, has ads. ADS! It's hard to describe the degree to which I hate whoever decided that adding a plug for Audible at the beginning of the book was a good idea. Do they really think I just payed a premium price to hear that the book I know and love is "brought to me by Audible"? No. Just no.
But that pales in comparison to how obnoxious the plugs in the middle of this book are. Apparently Audible takes the liberty of separating the audiobook into multiple parts to "help it download faster" (a ridiculous justification for something that was released in 2015). They also felt the need to explain this with an audio track inserted right in the middle of the book. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Nothing transports you out of an immersive story faster than a computer-voiced public service announcement about the technological ineptitude of the publisher jammed in between the chapters.
And, speaking of chapters, for my $50 they couldn't be bothered to split the audio up by chapter (it's broken into arbitrary "tracks"). They couldn't even be bothered to title the tracks properly. They are literally just labeled "Track 1", "Track 2", etc. How is that useful? How am I supposed to navigate the book? It's no better than my old cassettes and that is just infuriatingly lazy.
All in all, It's simply incredible that someone could take a 5-star book with a 5-star audio performance and utterly ruin it into a 1-star product. Lose the shameless ads. Lose the idiotic PSAs. Treat the audio version of this book like the brilliant, masterfully crafted, continuous story that it is.
Shame on everyone who had a hand in producing this needlessly modified digital edition. And shame on me for enabling you with my purchase. I would take it back if I could. I'll be posting this review for all of the audiobooks in the series so nobody falls prey to this without some warning.
Read
Read this right