Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
I know many of you are holed up in your rooms, devoid of internet or TV, to read endlessly the final chapter of Harry Potter.
Here's a little review.. Spoilers and all that.
Well.. So, I read it. I didn't know what I was expecting. Like all Harry Potter books, it started out very promising, but by page 100 I wondered where the hell it was going, and when it would get to the point, already. Or rather, when it would stop giving me an endless string of events, and get on with something deeper than that. It was woefully predictable. I had hoped and hoped and hoped that the writing would mature to the point that Harry would undergo any sort of change (nope, same old Harry) or that we would at least get to experience a meaningful event or conversation. I was extremely sick and tired of Harry and his friends bickering about fifty pages into the book and it JUST WOULDN'T STOP. Everything that was revealed about this character or that seemed pretty hollow, and was only done so in order that Harry could further his goals, rather than grow as a human being, which he hasn't done too much of throughout the series.
I was surprised by very little of it, and disappointed by the rest. In the beginning, I was really excited to learn more about Dumbledore's past, and also Snape's. I soon found out that they, like so many other personal revelations, would be utterly glossed over for the sake of Harry's quest. Sometimes, when I'm reading through a Harry Potter book, I feel as though I'm playing a video game, watching a soap opera, or stuck in someone's D&D campaign, or all of them together.
My favorite character died, which I'd expected, and had done what he'd done for just the reason I'd guessed, on account of it being the most obvious, easiest reason, rather than any amount of foreshadowing. And as soon as his purpose in the book had ended, he disappeared entirely from the story, which is what happens to characters when they no longer have a purpose for Harry. That was a real bummer. Even after all that Snape had done, he at the very least deserved some kind of cameo at the end, if not a conversation with Harry. For all we know, he just drifted off into the world of the dead. And I suppose he's supposed to feel honored that Harry named his brat after him.
Was anyone else offended that Harry got to come back to life merely because he felt like it? I rather wish he'd stayed dead. He's come out on top so often on account of bizarre loopholes, it's not even funny. Harry is totally JK's Mary Sue. They don't pop up often in original literature, but I tell you, they are there. If you've ever read the Vampire Hunter D novels, they're the worst, but Harry is right up there.
And did anybody else think it was absolutely funny as hell that, even dead, Dumbledore appeared at the end to explain everything to Harry (and to us) that didn't quite make sense? Lemme tell you, that Dumbledore. Without him to spell out everything that the author was incapable of portraying through storytelling, the books would go all to shambles XD
That so many people had guessed, and correctly, so much about the final book and how it would play out is more a credit to the fans than the writing. A lot of them realized, after six books, the very blatant manner in which the stories were composed, and pretty much saw what was coming.
There is one thing to be said for JK. Several actually. First, that at least she's honest at her craft. She didn't blatantly steal a lot of ideas from other authors and try to pass them as her own. Second, she is terribly good at making up compelling characters, albeit rather flat ones, and her world that she fabricated is incredibly engaging. I think that is probably why her books are so popular. They aren't difficult to read, made for children, in fact, and are really a hell of a lot of fun. The universe is amazing, and all the fun little details, even if some of them are somewhat hokey.
As far as children's books go, they are some of the best, I think. And as they are supposed to be children's books, anyway, she's done a brilliant job!! Anything that gets children reading can't be all bad, so long as they graduate to something with more substance as they mature.
So, all in all, I'm kind of disappointed. Sort of like: Well.... that's it. The series is over. Did I learn anything? No, not really. Did I come away from the books changed somehow? More creative? Thoughtful? Moral? No, not in the least. They, like a lot of modern diversions, were made to entertain in a dull, cajoling way, which is alright if you want to do something pointless for a few hours. At least reading is a helluvalot better than parking yourself in front of a video game, or some asinine television show.
Is it worth reading? Well sure! Sure it is! There are far worse things one could be wasting time on! But there are a lot of books out there that are a helluvalot better, so just keep on reading and reading and you can't go wrong.
Here's a little review.. Spoilers and all that.
Well.. So, I read it. I didn't know what I was expecting. Like all Harry Potter books, it started out very promising, but by page 100 I wondered where the hell it was going, and when it would get to the point, already. Or rather, when it would stop giving me an endless string of events, and get on with something deeper than that. It was woefully predictable. I had hoped and hoped and hoped that the writing would mature to the point that Harry would undergo any sort of change (nope, same old Harry) or that we would at least get to experience a meaningful event or conversation. I was extremely sick and tired of Harry and his friends bickering about fifty pages into the book and it JUST WOULDN'T STOP. Everything that was revealed about this character or that seemed pretty hollow, and was only done so in order that Harry could further his goals, rather than grow as a human being, which he hasn't done too much of throughout the series.
I was surprised by very little of it, and disappointed by the rest. In the beginning, I was really excited to learn more about Dumbledore's past, and also Snape's. I soon found out that they, like so many other personal revelations, would be utterly glossed over for the sake of Harry's quest. Sometimes, when I'm reading through a Harry Potter book, I feel as though I'm playing a video game, watching a soap opera, or stuck in someone's D&D campaign, or all of them together.
My favorite character died, which I'd expected, and had done what he'd done for just the reason I'd guessed, on account of it being the most obvious, easiest reason, rather than any amount of foreshadowing. And as soon as his purpose in the book had ended, he disappeared entirely from the story, which is what happens to characters when they no longer have a purpose for Harry. That was a real bummer. Even after all that Snape had done, he at the very least deserved some kind of cameo at the end, if not a conversation with Harry. For all we know, he just drifted off into the world of the dead. And I suppose he's supposed to feel honored that Harry named his brat after him.
Was anyone else offended that Harry got to come back to life merely because he felt like it? I rather wish he'd stayed dead. He's come out on top so often on account of bizarre loopholes, it's not even funny. Harry is totally JK's Mary Sue. They don't pop up often in original literature, but I tell you, they are there. If you've ever read the Vampire Hunter D novels, they're the worst, but Harry is right up there.
And did anybody else think it was absolutely funny as hell that, even dead, Dumbledore appeared at the end to explain everything to Harry (and to us) that didn't quite make sense? Lemme tell you, that Dumbledore. Without him to spell out everything that the author was incapable of portraying through storytelling, the books would go all to shambles XD
That so many people had guessed, and correctly, so much about the final book and how it would play out is more a credit to the fans than the writing. A lot of them realized, after six books, the very blatant manner in which the stories were composed, and pretty much saw what was coming.
There is one thing to be said for JK. Several actually. First, that at least she's honest at her craft. She didn't blatantly steal a lot of ideas from other authors and try to pass them as her own. Second, she is terribly good at making up compelling characters, albeit rather flat ones, and her world that she fabricated is incredibly engaging. I think that is probably why her books are so popular. They aren't difficult to read, made for children, in fact, and are really a hell of a lot of fun. The universe is amazing, and all the fun little details, even if some of them are somewhat hokey.
As far as children's books go, they are some of the best, I think. And as they are supposed to be children's books, anyway, she's done a brilliant job!! Anything that gets children reading can't be all bad, so long as they graduate to something with more substance as they mature.
So, all in all, I'm kind of disappointed. Sort of like: Well.... that's it. The series is over. Did I learn anything? No, not really. Did I come away from the books changed somehow? More creative? Thoughtful? Moral? No, not in the least. They, like a lot of modern diversions, were made to entertain in a dull, cajoling way, which is alright if you want to do something pointless for a few hours. At least reading is a helluvalot better than parking yourself in front of a video game, or some asinine television show.
Is it worth reading? Well sure! Sure it is! There are far worse things one could be wasting time on! But there are a lot of books out there that are a helluvalot better, so just keep on reading and reading and you can't go wrong.