Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Worth the Wait

She came. She wrote. She conquered. Single mom on welfare turned billionaire author J.K. Rowling made the world wait two whole years for the second to the last chapter of her world famous, best-selling fantasy saga of the "boy who lived" - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The question is: Is it worth the wait? The answer: A resounding yes.

The sixth book of the series contains everything a "Harry Potter" fan is expecting: magic, whimsy, humor, intricate plots and wonderful characters. This time, however, Harry and his friends are 16 years old and have grown and changed from the children we have come to know and love in the first book. We have seen them grown up on page. This time around the plot is darker, more sophisticated and more grown-up.

The entire wizarding world has now accepted the fact that the Dark Lord Voldemort has returned. Murders of witches, wizards and Muggles are going on left and right. In the meantime, Harry is not only dealing with ominous danger but also those pesky adolescent problems like girls and grades. Like every year, there is a new teacher at Hogwarts and something fishy is going on in the school grounds, this around involving snotty bully Draco Malfoy and the Head of Slytherin House and now finally at last the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Snape. Dumbledore has also taken to give Harry special private lessons which reveal secrets from Lord Voldemort's past that might hold the key to his downfall. Meanwhile, Harry finds a mysterious copy of an old Potions textbook with scribbled writing that provides helpful hints and new spells invented by its mysterious former owner that dubs himself the Half-Blood Prince. All this while pursuing a new love interest and becoming the captain of their House Quidditch team.

Adolescent angst, mystery, intrigue, quirky humor and magic flow from page to page and from chapter to chapter, keeping the reader, regardless of age, glued to every word. Although it is not as tightly plotted as "The Prisoner of Azkaban", as hilarious as "The Order of the Phoenix" or as action packed as "The Goblet of Fire" (Indeed, much of "Half-Blood Prince" are more dialogue and character driven than action or plot driven), it still contains many, many elements that made the previous books a resounding success that is sure to please most fans. Rowling has crafted a fascinating world that is as magical as it is relevant and reflective to real-life human beings' lives which makes the books all the more fascinating. It is all here in the sixth book.

Rowling certainly is not the best writer in terms of prose. Phillip Pullman (author of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy) is a stronger candidate for that title. She is certainly not the most original writer since many of the elements of her books can be found in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl. However, she is a first-rate storyteller and she certainly has talent of spinning a wonderful tale that somehow tapped into subconsciousness of children and even adults of all ages regardless of race, sex or cultural background. She certainly continues her trend here, culminating in a shocking, dark ending that results in the death of one of the saga's major and most beloved characters that's sure to illicit more tears since the death of Bambi's mom, setting the stage for the explosive finale in the seventh and final book.

But, alas, that book is at least two years away. For now, fans around the world can only speculate and wait with bated breath for the conclusion of the seven year journey of the world's favorite boy wizard.