Here we take a step back from some of the bigger mythology and focus more on character, something Rowling does well. What results is perhaps one of the more intelligent books in the series, if not the most excitable.
The only book in the series that doesn't feature Lord Voldemort, PoA instead makes a villan of Harry's godfather, who supposedly betrayed his parents to Voldemort thirteen years previously. When it is revealed that this dangerous criminal has escaped, Harry is recognisably angry about it. And so follows a tale of misdirection and, strangely, time travel, in which our characters are much further explored as people.
When I began reading Potter the third film had just been released, and so my memories of it are sketchy. The book has less action or grand majesting rambling; just a lot of extra, accumulating detail and character drama. Like previous books, elements important later on are introduced here, and will continue to be introduced even in the final book.
This is the end of the introductory period of books; the end of the innocence of Harry and his friends. The next book is transitionary, into a more mature story, and this is one last savoury pocket of the innocent adventures that came beforehand.
What struck me is that there is no climax. The story doesn't seem to build; it just rolls on and the period that one may call a climax is too far from the end of the book. That's my only gripe with it, however.
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