Reading Jag 42 (spoilers behind cut)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Well, I'd gotten the Snape as hero thing, Albus' wishes were pretty clear. The Snape/Lilly connection had been nicely hinted at in book five. The epilogue was nice, though I wouldn't have minded finding out who the Headmaster and Minister ended up being all those years later.
Two big annoyances - the Ministry was not (afaict) brought down, J.K. leaves us with an England presumably still under a 'shadow government' in 2016. This was one of the darker elements in the series, and it would have been nice to see it dealt with. The other one was the fact that male characters were repeatedly mangled and physically deformed in their fight, and the females seem to have escaped without their scars. It's as though Rowling felt that losing beauty would be 'too harsh' for her female characters, whereas for the males battle scars can be proudly collected and displayed.
Confused about the spoilers, the word was that 'two major characters' would die... Which are 'major' characters? Three of the dead characters were part of all seven books (on screen or significantly off). Ah, well. It was nice about Percy, and good that Severus got some respect (even if it did come awfully late). On the other hand, he was never anywhere as dashing and charismatic in the books as he is on screen.
Very much a tear jerker, which is probably for the best. Tons of room for more stories in the world (which I expect will come from fans for decades to come). I hope Rowlings chooses to continue to write, and to explore new and different worlds.
So, yeah. It took me a while longer to finish than it could have. Didn't pick it up until Sunday, and didn't start to read it until Monday (because the family tradition is read aloud...), then ended up reading it alone anyway because the spawn cannot abide to be in the same room with one another any more. :(