The Boy Who Lived...
Those who know me well are aware that I am an avid Harry Potter fan. I will proudly admit that I own 2 Hogwarts shirts, a wand, and Hogwarts official student hat, and various knick knacks. So just like any other Harry Potter fan, I went out on Saturday morning (no I didn't brave going to Barnes & Noble at midnight dressed like a moron when I could be dressed normally and get the book at BJ's for $19) to buy the book.
The following is my review of the new novel. In respect of those who have not yet read or finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I will put the review under a cut where you will not suffer the misfortune of reading any spoilers.
I would like to begin by saying that this was not my favorite book. Though I did like, there were a few things that turned me off about this novel. To begin, the story started off fairly slow. I realize the book was over 700 pages and JK Rowling had plenty of pages in which to speed along her story, but at moments I found myself slightly bored. I couldn't help but wondering when something was going to happen.
350 pages into the book and they had only 1 horcrux and had no idea about the others. I felt like I kept reading about their life living in a tent. Which takes me to another issue: the drama. I realize that in real life there are comings and goings of friends. There are moments when you fight with someone you love, and if they truly love you, they do come back. There was something unappealing about this drama between Ron and Harry for me. I felt as though it was filler to keep mentioning Ron's bad attitude and Harry's pent up rage. Also, why did JK feel the need to keep pointing out every time Ron touched Hermoine? We all know they were dating, and yes we are supposed to get a giggle out of their being together, but it wasn't really necessary. Again, I felt it was filler.
So the first 3rd of the book for me was fairly unamazing.
However, once you hit around page 400, the pace picks up and the story became what I assumed it would be: exciting. Dumbledore's story was interesting, and it was nice to see a side to Dumbledore that was slightly different than what we had seen before. There was a lot of action between Harry and the Death Eaters instead of just waiting until the end for any sort of conflict.
The battle at Hogwarts was really well written and thrilling. I found myself pushing on to see what happens. Although I must admit that I won't look forward to see the giant spiders again when they make the 7th movie. The full story of Snape was finally revealed, and though I had predicted that he acted on Dumbledore's wishes to kill (as many others thought as well), this was not revelation that really hit me. Learning that he truly loved Lily and begged for her life to be spared made me really love Snape, and I was happy to see he was honored by Harry giving his 2nd son the middle name of Severus.
Of course JK complicated the prophecy at the end by having both a piece of Voldemort in Harry and a piece of Harry in the Dark Lord. It's always nice to add a small bit of complexity to a simple story.
I was a bit surprised at the characters who died - in a sense. Everyone had suspected that one of the main 3 had to die, and yet they all lived, which I suppose makes everyone happy except Daniel Radcliffe who wanted some comfort knowing he wouldn't be playing Potter again once the 7th movie is made. I figured that once Lupin's son was born and Harry was named godfather, both Lupin and Tonks had to die. I knew the parallel between Sirius and Harry, and Harry and Teddy, would be too strong to discard for Rowling. I was sad to see one of the Weasley twins die. To be honest I wasn't that upset about Mad Eye being killed and the death of Snape was probably the most predictable, although the reason for his death was a bit of a surprise.
And what about 19 years later...? Well, though it was hokey and everyone could see where those 5 pages were going, it was cute. Everyone can't help smiling at the idea of Ginny, Ron, Hermoine, and Harry all married and friends and sending off their children to Hogwarts for the first time. The brief mention of Draco gave me a giggle.
So on the whole, I enjoyed it. As I said, the beginning went a bit slow for me, but it made up for it by the end. The book explained just about everything the readers wanted to know, and it gave everyone a happy ending I think most people will enjoy. I'd still place books 2, 3, and 4 above this one, but I think it was a great conclusion to the life of Harry Potter.
And how do I feel now that it is all over? When I finished the book, I felt a bit sad. It's like a friends you have had for years is moving away. JK Rowling has given us a 99% positive declaration of not writing another book about Potter. I admit that I look forward to rushing out the morning the book is released and locking myself in my room to read it. I always loved to know what came next, but now it is over. At least it was a worthy conclusion to such a good story and I look forward to any other novels JK may write in the future.
Goodbye friends from Hogwarts!
The following is my review of the new novel. In respect of those who have not yet read or finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I will put the review under a cut where you will not suffer the misfortune of reading any spoilers.
I would like to begin by saying that this was not my favorite book. Though I did like, there were a few things that turned me off about this novel. To begin, the story started off fairly slow. I realize the book was over 700 pages and JK Rowling had plenty of pages in which to speed along her story, but at moments I found myself slightly bored. I couldn't help but wondering when something was going to happen.
350 pages into the book and they had only 1 horcrux and had no idea about the others. I felt like I kept reading about their life living in a tent. Which takes me to another issue: the drama. I realize that in real life there are comings and goings of friends. There are moments when you fight with someone you love, and if they truly love you, they do come back. There was something unappealing about this drama between Ron and Harry for me. I felt as though it was filler to keep mentioning Ron's bad attitude and Harry's pent up rage. Also, why did JK feel the need to keep pointing out every time Ron touched Hermoine? We all know they were dating, and yes we are supposed to get a giggle out of their being together, but it wasn't really necessary. Again, I felt it was filler.
So the first 3rd of the book for me was fairly unamazing.
However, once you hit around page 400, the pace picks up and the story became what I assumed it would be: exciting. Dumbledore's story was interesting, and it was nice to see a side to Dumbledore that was slightly different than what we had seen before. There was a lot of action between Harry and the Death Eaters instead of just waiting until the end for any sort of conflict.
The battle at Hogwarts was really well written and thrilling. I found myself pushing on to see what happens. Although I must admit that I won't look forward to see the giant spiders again when they make the 7th movie. The full story of Snape was finally revealed, and though I had predicted that he acted on Dumbledore's wishes to kill (as many others thought as well), this was not revelation that really hit me. Learning that he truly loved Lily and begged for her life to be spared made me really love Snape, and I was happy to see he was honored by Harry giving his 2nd son the middle name of Severus.
Of course JK complicated the prophecy at the end by having both a piece of Voldemort in Harry and a piece of Harry in the Dark Lord. It's always nice to add a small bit of complexity to a simple story.
I was a bit surprised at the characters who died - in a sense. Everyone had suspected that one of the main 3 had to die, and yet they all lived, which I suppose makes everyone happy except Daniel Radcliffe who wanted some comfort knowing he wouldn't be playing Potter again once the 7th movie is made. I figured that once Lupin's son was born and Harry was named godfather, both Lupin and Tonks had to die. I knew the parallel between Sirius and Harry, and Harry and Teddy, would be too strong to discard for Rowling. I was sad to see one of the Weasley twins die. To be honest I wasn't that upset about Mad Eye being killed and the death of Snape was probably the most predictable, although the reason for his death was a bit of a surprise.
And what about 19 years later...? Well, though it was hokey and everyone could see where those 5 pages were going, it was cute. Everyone can't help smiling at the idea of Ginny, Ron, Hermoine, and Harry all married and friends and sending off their children to Hogwarts for the first time. The brief mention of Draco gave me a giggle.
So on the whole, I enjoyed it. As I said, the beginning went a bit slow for me, but it made up for it by the end. The book explained just about everything the readers wanted to know, and it gave everyone a happy ending I think most people will enjoy. I'd still place books 2, 3, and 4 above this one, but I think it was a great conclusion to the life of Harry Potter.
And how do I feel now that it is all over? When I finished the book, I felt a bit sad. It's like a friends you have had for years is moving away. JK Rowling has given us a 99% positive declaration of not writing another book about Potter. I admit that I look forward to rushing out the morning the book is released and locking myself in my room to read it. I always loved to know what came next, but now it is over. At least it was a worthy conclusion to such a good story and I look forward to any other novels JK may write in the future.
Goodbye friends from Hogwarts!