The much anticipated 5th installment of the Harry Potter saga reads well, but by no means grips the reader like it’s predecessors.<p> Once again we are treated to the budding witches and wizards at Hogwarts school of Magic led by the courageous, brave, invincible Harry Potter. Aided by Dumbledore and his allies Harry once again takes on the Dark Lord Voldemort, and surprise-surprise .... once again emerges victorious. To add a new dimension to the story, Ms. Rowling introduces a sub-plot involving the Ministry of magic and it’s reluctance to believe Harry and Dumbledore. <p>Ms. Rowling delivers the usual dose of spells, quidditch, Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry, Ron-Hermione bickering, Harry-Cho awkwardness and Fred-George antiques. Fault can’t be found with all of these.<p> The undoing of the book however lies in the fact that it starts resembling a Bollywood movie more and more. Several things cannot be justified. To name a few, The Ministry’s overnight change in attitude toward Dumbledore, and the irrational behavior of Sirus Black throughout the book. also one of the biggest flaws of the book that stops it from becoming a really good story is that it is too black and white. all the good people have to be in Gryffindor. All the bad folks in Slytherin without exception. Harry the quintessential hero must be good at everything including Quidditch. One seriously begins to wonder if Voldemort really has any power at all, considering he has been beaten by a kid 5 times in a row.<p> To her credit, Rowling does try to make Harry more human by showing him at times as an obstinate, pig-headed teenager as most are. In fact Harry’s greatest loss in the book is attributed to his own mistake. But most of the times, he comes across as an unreasonable youngster as does his god-father Sirus.<p> Speaking of the other characters in the book, Ron starts getting on your nerves with his inability to comprehend the sense in the most common of things. Neville grows in leaps and bounds which is good to see. The introduction of a new character - Luna Lovegood should make the next 2 books in the series more interesting. But the absolute winner inthe entire book is Hermione. Not only is she the smartest in classes, but also the most sensible and sensitive of the lot. She also is a source for some good laughs through her bickering with Ron and her compulsive obsession with studying. <p>All in all, Ms. Rowling, please do better in the next one.