I finally finished it!!!!!
At 2 a.m. this morning. *g*
I loved the book - I wouldn't say it tops HBP for me, since that one seemed more coherent and was one fun read all the way, while DH was at times quite jumbled and made me feel very, very down (it sometimes reminded me of OOTP in tone, especially with Harry's frequent frustrations). OTOH, it was quite a good conclusion to Harry's journey, IMO (and I'm talking about the final chapters here, not the helpless mess we got to see him in during the middle of the book), and was full of interesting developments and scenes I really like/love ("The forest again", the H/G-R/H kisses, Dobby's funeral, Kreacher's change, Chapter 19, the scene by his parents' grave, "King's Cross", Molly POWN-ing Bellatrix, Neville being a.w.e.s.o.m.e. etc.) so, if pressed to decide, I'd say it shares first place with HBP, if only for the wonderful emotional impact of the final few chapters (and the fact that both books are connected and are incomplete without the other).
I'm still not coherent enough to get into details - I'll use my three week vacation (*eg*) starting next week to go through the whole book again. I have to say this, though: Voldemort, while really scary, is one stupid and incompetent villain. It's not just that he's so completely blinded by his immense arrogance which eventually became his downfall (yeah, like no one would ever discover the RoR...). I mean, it's his general M.O. - he should have known better, shouldn't he? I thought he was supposed to be so brilliant and smart and cunning? As much as I was annoyed at Harry's "act first (mostly on instinct), think later" approach and the sheer chaos he found himself in over and over again (Godric's Hollow and Gringotts, anyone?), he at least has the excuse of still being an inexperienced, impulsive kid - and he still got the job done. Voldemort... Well, he has all this knowledge and experience and even his age on his side - and he still stumbles over the little details, like, oh, I don't know, maybe he ought to check Harry's pockets after he supposedly "killed" him and disarm him? Yes, he thought he was dead, but it's still necessary to check. *shakes head* Stupid Moldy. All his complex and brilliant plans gone to waste because of small things like that. *snickers*
More later, though I don't think I'll write a review - I'll most likely just post replies to the journals of smarter and more elaborate people. :)
I loved the book - I wouldn't say it tops HBP for me, since that one seemed more coherent and was one fun read all the way, while DH was at times quite jumbled and made me feel very, very down (it sometimes reminded me of OOTP in tone, especially with Harry's frequent frustrations). OTOH, it was quite a good conclusion to Harry's journey, IMO (and I'm talking about the final chapters here, not the helpless mess we got to see him in during the middle of the book), and was full of interesting developments and scenes I really like/love ("The forest again", the H/G-R/H kisses, Dobby's funeral, Kreacher's change, Chapter 19, the scene by his parents' grave, "King's Cross", Molly POWN-ing Bellatrix, Neville being a.w.e.s.o.m.e. etc.) so, if pressed to decide, I'd say it shares first place with HBP, if only for the wonderful emotional impact of the final few chapters (and the fact that both books are connected and are incomplete without the other).
I'm still not coherent enough to get into details - I'll use my three week vacation (*eg*) starting next week to go through the whole book again. I have to say this, though: Voldemort, while really scary, is one stupid and incompetent villain. It's not just that he's so completely blinded by his immense arrogance which eventually became his downfall (yeah, like no one would ever discover the RoR...). I mean, it's his general M.O. - he should have known better, shouldn't he? I thought he was supposed to be so brilliant and smart and cunning? As much as I was annoyed at Harry's "act first (mostly on instinct), think later" approach and the sheer chaos he found himself in over and over again (Godric's Hollow and Gringotts, anyone?), he at least has the excuse of still being an inexperienced, impulsive kid - and he still got the job done. Voldemort... Well, he has all this knowledge and experience and even his age on his side - and he still stumbles over the little details, like, oh, I don't know, maybe he ought to check Harry's pockets after he supposedly "killed" him and disarm him? Yes, he thought he was dead, but it's still necessary to check. *shakes head* Stupid Moldy. All his complex and brilliant plans gone to waste because of small things like that. *snickers*
More later, though I don't think I'll write a review - I'll most likely just post replies to the journals of smarter and more elaborate people. :)