For instance, based on the first four, I had thought of Rowling as being great at characterization, while the content of five and six really seemed to contradict that; taking those two into account, it seems more like her characters do whatever the plot requires them to...
I still think she's a very good writer, in fact, but I don't think she's nearly as good as I used to think.
Another thank you from over here for both of those points. The characters introduced since OotP aren't as rich and complex as those we saw in the first four books - and it's not because we've known Remus, Sirius etc. longer, it's because they're just not. Add to that the fact that the plots of OotP and HBP deviated from the must-read mystery formula she'd used in the previous four books, and I think we've got a right to say we're just not as happy with the series as we used to be.
Re: From the Snitch
I still think she's a very good writer, in fact, but I don't think she's nearly as good as I used to think.
Another thank you from over here for both of those points. The characters introduced since OotP aren't as rich and complex as those we saw in the first four books - and it's not because we've known Remus, Sirius etc. longer, it's because they're just not. Add to that the fact that the plots of OotP and HBP deviated from the must-read mystery formula she'd used in the previous four books, and I think we've got a right to say we're just not as happy with the series as we used to be.