A bit of a departure from the previous books, but not in the least a let down. The pacing gets off to a rocket start compared to all the others as Harry's thrown into things by the first thirty pages. The tension never really seems to give which makes it a great read from start to finish as does the turns and unexpected things Harry, Hermione and Ron find themselves in. One things for sure: you'll want to read it again after you're done then probably the whole series.