Thoughts on Deathly Hallows
Okay, I'm finally ready to post some thoughts on Deathly Hallows. I finished on Saturday after reading for about ten hours straight through, but I like to think about things before I make a full opinion. Oh, and I had planned on reading the book again, but my best friend asked about it and then was so enthusiastic that I loaned her the book while she's on vacation. *is still in shock over this action* I think it's slowed down my reviewing and processing time, but anyways...
First off, I really did like the book. Did I love it? Umm, no, probably not. Secondly, I think I didn't love it because I read WAY too much fanfiction. Seriously. I've read some pretty awesome final battle scenes and I have to say that many of them were better. I also think I was bound to be disappointed. I had so many expectations for this final book, and now I realize that I've finally out-grown kids books. See, this is what you get when you read NC-17 rated fanfic, people not afraid of being graphic and down-right horrifying in depicting war.
There were some great parts of the book. I laughed when Fred and George took some Harry-Polyjuice potion, looked at each other and said, "Wow, we're identical!" (I may be paraphrasing, remember, my book is gone!) I cried the hardest at Dobby's death. I think just the build up to it, the trios capture, Hermione's torture, and then Dobby's death just sort of pushed me over. That one really got me. I was surprisingly okay with the rest, expect for perhaps Fred's death. That one was hard as well, but with so many Weasleys it was bound to happen eventually.
I loved the Deathly Hallows. Granted, I'm still a little confused about a few nit-picky things concerning them, but I was actually glad that they weren't a place. I did kind of frustrate me to learn that all the Hallows had been at Hogwarts for Harry's entire 6th year! Rowling really broke Dumbledore's character down from the god-like grandfatherly figure to a human, but I still didn't think it made sense. I was always so sure Dumbledore would do anything for the Greater Good (ex: sending Harry to the Dursleys, willingly letting Snape kill him, etc) so the fact that he was willing to jepordize Harry's ability to collect all the Deathly Hallows as soon as possible, made Dumbledore, well completely un-Dumbledore like! And maybe that was the point - to make him as human as possible.
Okay, and now for my biggest gripes. Snape - omg, why does Snape only appear four times and the last is in a penseive memory! Seriously! I liked how Rowling made it very ambiguous until near the end as to where Snape's loyalties layed, but I still think she shorted him on page time. For all the shock of him being the Half-Blood Prince and an apparently key member of the Order because of him spying... I don't know. I just though she would show Snape doing more. Bad, good, just more of him in the book. Harry never gets to confront him, never gets to thank him, or even perhaps ask questions only Snape can answer. It was so anti-climactic for such a diverse and complex character.
I also have gripes about the final battle, or The Battle of Hogwarts. As some others have commented already, this incredibly long battle gets interrupted twice - first by Snape's pensieve memories, and then by half-dead Harry's chat with (half-dead?) Dumbledore in Kings Cross/limbo(?) Either way, I wasn't crazy about the Kings Cross chapter even if it explained many things. I'm still agonizing over how/why Harry didn't die because of Lily's protection and an apparent 8th horcrux? Like I mentioned at the beginning, I seriously need to read this again.
And lastly (and fittingly), the epilogue. Well... it was somewhat bland and didn't really fit. I loved the part where Harry talked to his second son, Albus Severus, but otherwise... this just felt unnecessarily tacked on. I don't think the ended the possiblity for someone to write a sequel because seeing as Harry and Ginny's eldest is around 13-14 that gives someone 5-6 years of leeway to write about "whatever happened to Harry Potter". I think if an author does an epilogue, s/he needs to make it a little longer and more encompassing for all the major characters. I liked that Rowling continued the focus on the kids and the magical journey to Hogwarts, but the luster and special spark was still lacking here.
Of all the books, I know this one probably won't be my favorite. That spot still solidly belongs to Half-Blood Prince. I enjoyed this book, and I think I'll enjoy my next read(s) even more so because I won't be in a rush to just see who lives, who dies, what happens.... I know all that now, and I can only hope the book will improve with some slower and more detailed reading.
JK Rowling, I tip my hat to you for another amazing book. I think I'm too immune to violence and prepared for unspeakable horrors to fully appreciate the magic of a children's book, but if anything.... I'd do it all over again just for the anticipation and finally being able to read the end along with the rest of the world. So, though I will read of you in fanfiction and hopefully in Rowling's version of Howarts, A History, this is goodbye Harry Potter. There is much more Pottermania to come, I'm sure, but with this last book, I realize my childhood is now completely ended just as Harry's did. Thank you both, Rowling and Harry, for a wonderful experience.
First off, I really did like the book. Did I love it? Umm, no, probably not. Secondly, I think I didn't love it because I read WAY too much fanfiction. Seriously. I've read some pretty awesome final battle scenes and I have to say that many of them were better. I also think I was bound to be disappointed. I had so many expectations for this final book, and now I realize that I've finally out-grown kids books. See, this is what you get when you read NC-17 rated fanfic, people not afraid of being graphic and down-right horrifying in depicting war.
There were some great parts of the book. I laughed when Fred and George took some Harry-Polyjuice potion, looked at each other and said, "Wow, we're identical!" (I may be paraphrasing, remember, my book is gone!) I cried the hardest at Dobby's death. I think just the build up to it, the trios capture, Hermione's torture, and then Dobby's death just sort of pushed me over. That one really got me. I was surprisingly okay with the rest, expect for perhaps Fred's death. That one was hard as well, but with so many Weasleys it was bound to happen eventually.
I loved the Deathly Hallows. Granted, I'm still a little confused about a few nit-picky things concerning them, but I was actually glad that they weren't a place. I did kind of frustrate me to learn that all the Hallows had been at Hogwarts for Harry's entire 6th year! Rowling really broke Dumbledore's character down from the god-like grandfatherly figure to a human, but I still didn't think it made sense. I was always so sure Dumbledore would do anything for the Greater Good (ex: sending Harry to the Dursleys, willingly letting Snape kill him, etc) so the fact that he was willing to jepordize Harry's ability to collect all the Deathly Hallows as soon as possible, made Dumbledore, well completely un-Dumbledore like! And maybe that was the point - to make him as human as possible.
Okay, and now for my biggest gripes. Snape - omg, why does Snape only appear four times and the last is in a penseive memory! Seriously! I liked how Rowling made it very ambiguous until near the end as to where Snape's loyalties layed, but I still think she shorted him on page time. For all the shock of him being the Half-Blood Prince and an apparently key member of the Order because of him spying... I don't know. I just though she would show Snape doing more. Bad, good, just more of him in the book. Harry never gets to confront him, never gets to thank him, or even perhaps ask questions only Snape can answer. It was so anti-climactic for such a diverse and complex character.
I also have gripes about the final battle, or The Battle of Hogwarts. As some others have commented already, this incredibly long battle gets interrupted twice - first by Snape's pensieve memories, and then by half-dead Harry's chat with (half-dead?) Dumbledore in Kings Cross/limbo(?) Either way, I wasn't crazy about the Kings Cross chapter even if it explained many things. I'm still agonizing over how/why Harry didn't die because of Lily's protection and an apparent 8th horcrux? Like I mentioned at the beginning, I seriously need to read this again.
And lastly (and fittingly), the epilogue. Well... it was somewhat bland and didn't really fit. I loved the part where Harry talked to his second son, Albus Severus, but otherwise... this just felt unnecessarily tacked on. I don't think the ended the possiblity for someone to write a sequel because seeing as Harry and Ginny's eldest is around 13-14 that gives someone 5-6 years of leeway to write about "whatever happened to Harry Potter". I think if an author does an epilogue, s/he needs to make it a little longer and more encompassing for all the major characters. I liked that Rowling continued the focus on the kids and the magical journey to Hogwarts, but the luster and special spark was still lacking here.
Of all the books, I know this one probably won't be my favorite. That spot still solidly belongs to Half-Blood Prince. I enjoyed this book, and I think I'll enjoy my next read(s) even more so because I won't be in a rush to just see who lives, who dies, what happens.... I know all that now, and I can only hope the book will improve with some slower and more detailed reading.
JK Rowling, I tip my hat to you for another amazing book. I think I'm too immune to violence and prepared for unspeakable horrors to fully appreciate the magic of a children's book, but if anything.... I'd do it all over again just for the anticipation and finally being able to read the end along with the rest of the world. So, though I will read of you in fanfiction and hopefully in Rowling's version of Howarts, A History, this is goodbye Harry Potter. There is much more Pottermania to come, I'm sure, but with this last book, I realize my childhood is now completely ended just as Harry's did. Thank you both, Rowling and Harry, for a wonderful experience.