> > > ...part of what makes the first three books so good is how tightly plotted they are.
> >
> > Book four is just as tightly plotted as books one through three.
>
> Are you two serious? I recently read the second book in the series (still haven't seen the film) and found it almost mind-numbingly dull, poking along with no obvious sense of direction until halfway through the book, when things finally shifted out of first gear and pulled together into a rousing little story. Granted, I'm no critic, only an ordinary reader, and perhaps I simply don't know "tight plotting" when I see it. But after the first half of "Chamber of Secrets" I was just about bored out of my gourd.

I suppose there's no accounting for taste. ;-P Seriously, though, you are the only person I know of who's read the book and complained about the pacing. I grant that "Chamber" is the weakest of the four books, but I still think everything that happens is extremely relevant to the plot. The one thing you could say is that the pre-Hogwart's activities, as usual, aren't directly relevant (particularly anything involving the Dursleys), but it's funny and interesting.

And, thinking on it, much of what happens in the beginning will be important later: Dobby, the flying car, running into the Malfoys and meeting Lockheart. Once you get to Hogwart's, I still don't know what you find dull. Almost immediately people, ghosts and animals start being petrified and we're into the mystery of who's doing what.

Maybe you didn't find it interesting, Iss, but I think there's a lot happening at all times.

Stephen