When I lived in London, I used to sneer at all those twenty/thirty somethings on the tube reading their Harry Potter books. “Look at them” I would think, “wanting to regress back to childhood reading books written for people half their age. Pathetic”. And then? And then I was given the first volume as a present and one thing led to another and now I’m a full-on regressed Potterphile.

As everyone says, this is the darkest book in the series, with some really unsettling scenes. Building on the tone of the previous volume (“Order of the Phoenix”) we really see how the main characters are changing with time. I love the fact that Harry and Co. have become stroppy teenagers on the hunt for kisses and reassurance. The books also seem to have become more political too: is it me or are there subtle satires of the media, politics and society contained in these pages?

Rowling continues to explore the nature of evil and the moral grey areas that make us who we are. “Half Blood Prince” like the previous volume is a thrilling read. The plot twists and turns with connections made between earlier seemingly isolated events and Harry’s future. There’s a shocking ending too.

So, I too will be joining those twenty/thirty somethings on 21st July when “Deathly Hallows” arrives, eager to know how the whole thing wraps up and whether Harry or Voldermort triumph.

Never again will I mock mass cultural events without investigating them first. I’d hate to miss out again on something so amazing as the Harry Potter series. Although, if push came to shove, I’m still a Philip Pullman man!