Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Finished the book a couple of hours ago and just managing to get some thoughts off the top of my head down.
I enjoyed the book (enough to get through it despite the disappointing parts), though I'm tired of some people bagging on me for reading through it so quickly. I'm satisfied and content by the end. I enjoy reading through the book quickly because half the fun I have is talking about the book afterward. I shouldn't have to deal with someone dampening my newly attained euphoria at finishing it or being begrudged because my idea of enjoying a book isn't making it last over a week.
So, to the book. Hey, unfortunately, I had speculated and gone over enough facts to not be surprised by a lot of what had transpired. Harry as a Horcrux. Snape loving Lily. Regulus Black being R.A.B. Harry not returning to Hogwarts. Deaths of characters. The one that that had truly surprised me was following the the possession of the Elder Wand. I think most people forgot that it was Malfoy who won Dumbledore's wand, beating him, just not delivering the killing blow. So there I was, thinking that Snape did have the wand's favor when it was never there in the first place. But overall? It was good. Not great or fantastic. Just good.
What the fucking hell was up with the segregation between Slytherin and every other house in Hogwarts? I refuse to believe that there wasn't a single Slytherin who didn't support Harry. Hell, Slughorn was a Slytherin and he fought for Harry, so why the hell did Rowling have to show such hypocrisy by segregating the Houses? That was pretty fucked up.
If anyone didn't know, that while I'm a huge femmeslash fan, I hold a lot of soft spots for canon/het couples. One of them, and the most prominent, being Draco/Hermione. Trust me, I know this isn't everybody's ship and I'm definitely not going to assume so. I certainly didn't turn to page 1 with the hopes that there would be any D/Hr in there whatsoever. Despite that, I still loved what happened with some of my favorite characters.
Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco? I absolutely loved reading the small gems of writing that raised their humanity above the stereotypical Death Eaters. Draco trying to drag a friend to safety and feeling the loss of another. Narcissa and Lucius giving each other silent support, caring nothing for the final battle, their only thoughts on finding their son alive. That it was so obvious that they valued family over duty and loyalty to Voldemort made me grin shitless. A lot of fanfiction has one or both of the parents depicted as cold and heartless, which is actually true, but I never got the impression that they were ever so toward Draco or each other. I'm glad they triumphed, in their own way.
Characters in general though... I was disappointed with the way some of them acted. I had expected some to be a little bit more prominent. Ginny? She took such a disbelieving backseat. WTF. Lupin and Tonks' death weren't even glossed over, you just suddenly find out in a less-then-emotional scene. WTF. Rowling didn't even touch on Harry's feelings about actually having to take care of Ted Tonks. WTF. The epilogue. WTFWTFWTF.
Oh, that epilogue. As soon as I saw the "Nineteen Years Later" that Rowling wasn't going to grant me my wish and leave the book open-ended for all of us D/Hr shippers; for which I can't help but forever harbor a sliver of ill will. Yes, I know, she was upfront about the issue by publicly stating that D/Hr were not going to be a couple, but damn, that epilogue really brought down the hammer.
Besides that... my gawd that fucking epilogue. I think Rowling just lined up as much artillery as she could to sink as many fan!ships as possible. And the names? Rose, Hugo, Victoire, James, Lily, Scorpius, ALBUS SEVERUS. Harry must have hated that kid.
But hey, there are like-minded people.
dh_epic_fail
I enjoyed the book (enough to get through it despite the disappointing parts), though I'm tired of some people bagging on me for reading through it so quickly. I'm satisfied and content by the end. I enjoy reading through the book quickly because half the fun I have is talking about the book afterward. I shouldn't have to deal with someone dampening my newly attained euphoria at finishing it or being begrudged because my idea of enjoying a book isn't making it last over a week.
So, to the book. Hey, unfortunately, I had speculated and gone over enough facts to not be surprised by a lot of what had transpired. Harry as a Horcrux. Snape loving Lily. Regulus Black being R.A.B. Harry not returning to Hogwarts. Deaths of characters. The one that that had truly surprised me was following the the possession of the Elder Wand. I think most people forgot that it was Malfoy who won Dumbledore's wand, beating him, just not delivering the killing blow. So there I was, thinking that Snape did have the wand's favor when it was never there in the first place. But overall? It was good. Not great or fantastic. Just good.
What the fucking hell was up with the segregation between Slytherin and every other house in Hogwarts? I refuse to believe that there wasn't a single Slytherin who didn't support Harry. Hell, Slughorn was a Slytherin and he fought for Harry, so why the hell did Rowling have to show such hypocrisy by segregating the Houses? That was pretty fucked up.
If anyone didn't know, that while I'm a huge femmeslash fan, I hold a lot of soft spots for canon/het couples. One of them, and the most prominent, being Draco/Hermione. Trust me, I know this isn't everybody's ship and I'm definitely not going to assume so. I certainly didn't turn to page 1 with the hopes that there would be any D/Hr in there whatsoever. Despite that, I still loved what happened with some of my favorite characters.
Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco? I absolutely loved reading the small gems of writing that raised their humanity above the stereotypical Death Eaters. Draco trying to drag a friend to safety and feeling the loss of another. Narcissa and Lucius giving each other silent support, caring nothing for the final battle, their only thoughts on finding their son alive. That it was so obvious that they valued family over duty and loyalty to Voldemort made me grin shitless. A lot of fanfiction has one or both of the parents depicted as cold and heartless, which is actually true, but I never got the impression that they were ever so toward Draco or each other. I'm glad they triumphed, in their own way.
Characters in general though... I was disappointed with the way some of them acted. I had expected some to be a little bit more prominent. Ginny? She took such a disbelieving backseat. WTF. Lupin and Tonks' death weren't even glossed over, you just suddenly find out in a less-then-emotional scene. WTF. Rowling didn't even touch on Harry's feelings about actually having to take care of Ted Tonks. WTF. The epilogue. WTFWTFWTF.
Oh, that epilogue. As soon as I saw the "Nineteen Years Later" that Rowling wasn't going to grant me my wish and leave the book open-ended for all of us D/Hr shippers; for which I can't help but forever harbor a sliver of ill will. Yes, I know, she was upfront about the issue by publicly stating that D/Hr were not going to be a couple, but damn, that epilogue really brought down the hammer.
Besides that... my gawd that fucking epilogue. I think Rowling just lined up as much artillery as she could to sink as many fan!ships as possible. And the names? Rose, Hugo, Victoire, James, Lily, Scorpius, ALBUS SEVERUS. Harry must have hated that kid.
But hey, there are like-minded people.
dh_epic_fail