I stopped just short of queueing outside Page One at 7am last Saturday to grab a copy of Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. But after lugging the tome home that evening, I am embarrassed to admit that I devoured it overnight. The latest Potter book is a page-turner. The fourth book left readers with a hint of the war about to begin against the returned Lord Voldemort, and the fifth instalment fulfills that promise. It is an adventure story, a detective novel and a fantasy tale all in one. The Order Of The Phoenix is a fun read, if not an especially stimulating one. But the main action is buried beneath a tangle of sub-plots, and by the end of the book there are still quite a few loose ends. The antics of the Weasley twins Fred and George provide some much-needed comic relief to a long read, although the slapstick humour targeted at dull Dudley and malicious Malfoy is starting to fall flat. And at the end of the book, Dumbledore reveals a secret that any adult reader should have been able to figure out from the first Harry Potter book. Perhaps the best part of the story is the hype surrounding it. The week prior to its release, the author JK Rowling and others carefully dangled hints about the plot, revealing just enough to tantalise readers and to make feature headlines. When the much-awaited book was released on Saturday, bookstores were mobbed by shrieking children - and reporters. Although The Order Of The Phoenix turns on a different prophecy, Professor McGonagall's prediction about Harry in the first Potter book has since come true: 'He'll be famous, a legend - there will be books written about Harry. Every child in our world will know his name.'
