HP7 stuff, mostly.
So after getting some sleep, some food, and taking a walk, I think I can try to at least semi-coherently type up what all my thoughts on the book are.
I'll start by saying this: I'm one of those who honestly didn't like the book.
And amazingly enough, I went in without having been spoiled on anything. Granted, I had a couple close calls due to arseholes on other LJ communities posting big 'ol spoilers to piss people off, but ended up having the ninja-like reflexes required to dodge them. (Granted, I could have just stayed away from such places at all, but I'm stubborn like that.)
I'm also one of those who finished the thing in pretty much a single shot -- well, stopping to eat and go to the bathroom, of course. :p
I don't think it's a terrible book. I certainly won't go yelling at everyone "ZOMG IT SUXXORS DUN READ IT" or whatever. In fact, there ARE a lot of thats that I really enjoyed.
I rather adored the chapter of "The Prince's Tale" -- seeing those memories, seeing little Snape and Lily and Petunia, realizing the real meaning behind that one memory being Snape's worst one. And maybe it's just the romantic in me, but I enjoyed the whole Snape/Lily angle, too. Also seeing that he DID have his good qualities, his loyalty, his own fears and doubts... I've always had a bit of a secret liking for Snape, but this bumped him up to being one of my favorites. Granted... that did make his death all the more painful (and the way he died struck me as kind of craptacular and almost... goofy), but the whole wanting to see Harry's eyes, to see the eyes just like Lily's before death sent a chill through me. It really did.
I also rather came to like Kreacher -- I had, unfortunately, fallen into the trap of hating him for a while, but this book helped hammer it into my head why he did what he did and what it would take for him to change. And bless his little heart, leading the other Hogwarts house elves into battle, that was just really great.
For much of the book, I was afraid that Neville wouldn't get much of a part, but damn he was awesome. Or rather, he always has been awesome, but was awesomely awesome in this -- especially wielding the sword and offing Nagini like that.
I also thoroughly enjoyed Bellatrix getting PWNED by Mrs. Weasley. :D "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" indeed. And while going on about the Weasley love, I'm relieved Percy got his head on straight in the end -- and also adored his snippy little remark to the Minister.
Going back towards the start of the book, the bit with Dudley and Harry, and then Petunia's exit, was just... really touching in its way.
Nagini's attack on Harry in Godric Hollow was CREEPY AS FUCKING HELL and I loved it.
... Also, it's probably just my dirty mind at work, but some of the "wand" comments (like the whole thing of "people wanting a bigger and better wand" when speaking of the Elder Wand and so forth) made me snicker like hell. >_>
There are other parts, too, but my mind's still a bit sleep-fogged. But, I didn't completely loathe it.
However...
While I realize that the books have been getting darker and scarier and more grim, and yes this was a friggin' war going on here, I felt like a lot of the drama was being milked TOO much. Granted, some of it is probably me getting more sensitive about these things lately, but there were just a lot of the darker points that made my stomach twist in a way that's unpleasantly-unpleasant, rather than pleasantly-unpleasant (or unpleasantly-pleasant?). Just some of the cruelties/tortures/beatings and so forth struck me as overly sadistic.
There's also the deaths, but I'll get to that in a moment.
The pacing of the book felt odd to me, going too slowly at times and then once things got going, getting too rushed at points. The entire "going from place-to-place in the tent" sequence, for example, felt immensely slow and it was a bit tough to get through it. And the whole "you this amount of time to hand over Harry" bit with Voldemort didn't... seem to fit right. Especially when it was done twice.
The deal of the Hallows themselves also struck me as pointless in the end. The cloak itself has of course been vital through the whole series, but the stone and even the wand, as well as the deal of the three of them as a whole, just felt disappointing.
Harry "dying" and then coming back... I'm still not quite sure what to think about that. I'm actually glad he didn't end up croaking off for good, but there's still something that feels off.
How Voldemort got whacked in the end makes sense, yet it also felt really anti-climatic.
And then there's the deaths.
For me, I felt a LOT of the deaths were gratuitous. Again, yes, it's war, it's dark, of course people are going to die, but a lot of them just had me staring at the pages going, "... why?"
Frickin' Hedwig got killed off, for cripes sake! I know it would have been really damn difficult for Harry to travel around with her, but for crying out loud, killing his poor owl? Worse yet, killing her while she was in her cage? That struck me as an incredibly cheap shot.
Dobby's also bothered me, and I just like him okay-ish. The whole thing of digging his grave by hand was beautiful, sure, but good lord... I suppose at least he got to do something noble before he got offed. But was it really that necessary? (And it would've been awesome for him and Kreacher to have joined forces in the whole leading the house elves to attack bit. Gargh.)
I'm also wondering why in so many stories and such, when there are twins, one of them gets knocked off? Yes, I was angry that Fred got killed. I guess George having his ear permanently blown off wasn't gruesome enough. It just feels so damn WRONG to have one of them die, though, and in a rather half-assed way, too.
... Colin Creevy, too?! What the hell was that even for?
Again, some deaths I can understand -- like Mad-Eye's. And hell, I LIKE Mad-Eye. The bit of his magical eye being used on Umbridge's door like that just... *shudder* And Crabbe, but that was his own damn fault. And Snape, even though it didn't make me very happy. But some were just... bwuh? It's not entirely because of character-bias, either.
I'm actually surprised that Luna and Neville didn't get knocked off, and I'm immensely glad they didn't. I rather like those two (I just wish they would've been able to hook up or something...).
I do rather wish that something worse had happened to Umbridge, though -- but then, characters like her tend to make me feel really bloodthirsty. >_> I felt it was rather unfair that she didn't get what was REALLY coming to her.
... Oh yeah, there's two I forgot to mention, and that's because it just doesn't involve their deaths -- and thinking back, it doesn't just involve this book, either.
So lemme talk about Lupin and Tonks.
Yeah, this is likely running off of full character-bias, I'll admit it, because I adore the hell out of these two. Even more so, I adore them as a couple. When I was told that I would like Lupin, before I had read PoA, that was RIGHT on the money. And the first I read about Tonks, I was totally and completely "... She's AWESOME!"
However, both due to this book and a lot of thinking, in retrospect, it feels to me like their relationship got the short end of the stick -- and in the end, so did they.
I'll say that I'm happy they did end up together in canon (... although if they hadn't, I probably would've ended up supporting them as a pairing anyway >_> ). But, while the entire deal of Lupin being worried about the relationship with Tonks -- or hell, with anyone else!) -- due to his werewolf condition and his status in the wizarding world because of it is completely understandable, I also felt there was something lacking. And Tonks... not to say she wouldn't cry or anything else like that, but that she would pretty much get rather emo (not good wording, but yeah) left a bad taste in my mouth. It all felt rather incomplete and rushed, but in the end I guess I just was happy they did end up together.
And then we come to DH.
The marriage thing felt rushed. I figured, at least on Lupin's part that he'd want to wait some more time before going ahead with that. Still, while it made me wince a little, I went with it.
But the whole baby thing bothered me a LOT.
It felt even MORE rushed, and very, very contrieved -- just another source of empty drama and emotional manipulation. For me, it just didn't fit, and was kind of insulting to both of them in many ways.
Of course, Lupin would worry about inflicting his condition on a child of his, but the entire thing of how he acted over it and that he was trying to throw himself into danger felt very out-of-character and unfair to him. It also felt unfair that Tonks was taken out of action for some time for that, too. The pregnancy seemed to come across as accidental -- sorry, but I would think, ESPECIALLY with Lupin being worried about his condition being carried over to the child, that there would be some protection involved for both of them. Or that he and Tonks could work something out to at least hold off for the time (maybe wait 'til the whole war was over so, y'know, any child of theirs wouldn't end up an orphan... and look what did happen), try to work out some kind of compromise if she really did want to have kids.
(And again, very likely my bias speaking, but I don't really seem them as the sort of couple to have kids. Very likely act like parent figures to the children of their friends, perhaps, but... yeah.)
It's just felt to me that since HBP, both Lupin and Tonks' respective characterizations were getting rather borked up, even more so in putting them together, which makes me really sad. And then the baby angle threw them even more so out of it, which is even more aggravating. I also so wish their realationship could've been taken more slowly and been more developed -- true, they're NOT main characters, but it still would've been nice.
And then they die.
When I started reading DH, I was praying they would both make it out alive. There were so many times I was fearing they would be killed. Just before the entire big battle in Hogwarts thing, that fear was starting to calm, I thought they would be okay...
And bam. Dead. Both of them.
I'm likely silly for it, but I cried and cursed like hell when I read that. It felt like a huge punch in the gut.
And it's not just that they died, which is bad enough -- but the way their deaths were presented was terrible. It felt like a throwaway, an afterthought, and they damn well deserved better than that! Even the reactions felt extremely half-assed and barely there. Even with everything else going on, there should have been something more, or else just leave them alive for crying out loud!
Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks -- they both DAMN WELL deserved better than what they got. But then, there are also others who deserved better, too.
I'm also one of those who was wincing like hell through the epilogue. But then, I've always hated the whole "fast forward so many years, everyone's married and popping out babies" epilogues. And I can understand wanting to honor those who have died, but those names... ehh. It felt like trying to make things too perfect as an ending after all that had happened.
... My thoughts on the whole thing are likely very scrambled and ranty, and I'll be surprised if any of it makes a lick of sense. But overall, when I closed the book, I did not feel satisfied. I felt empty. As I wrote last night, I was crying, felt ill, and was pissed. I'm not so pissed today, I'm not crying, and I only feel a bit ill -- but I still feel empty, and very sad. Very, very sad.
I will not ever re-read this book. The others, sure, but not this one. I'm disappointed, but I guess that's the way things go.
... But maybe sometime, I'll still do fanart of Tonks and Lupin. I never got around to it, but perhaps someday.
Eeesh, that was long.
And now, I'm gonna go grab something to eat and play EarthBound some more. Three Star Pendants... well, it'll take some time, but I'll damn well get them!
I'll start by saying this: I'm one of those who honestly didn't like the book.
And amazingly enough, I went in without having been spoiled on anything. Granted, I had a couple close calls due to arseholes on other LJ communities posting big 'ol spoilers to piss people off, but ended up having the ninja-like reflexes required to dodge them. (Granted, I could have just stayed away from such places at all, but I'm stubborn like that.)
I'm also one of those who finished the thing in pretty much a single shot -- well, stopping to eat and go to the bathroom, of course. :p
I don't think it's a terrible book. I certainly won't go yelling at everyone "ZOMG IT SUXXORS DUN READ IT" or whatever. In fact, there ARE a lot of thats that I really enjoyed.
I rather adored the chapter of "The Prince's Tale" -- seeing those memories, seeing little Snape and Lily and Petunia, realizing the real meaning behind that one memory being Snape's worst one. And maybe it's just the romantic in me, but I enjoyed the whole Snape/Lily angle, too. Also seeing that he DID have his good qualities, his loyalty, his own fears and doubts... I've always had a bit of a secret liking for Snape, but this bumped him up to being one of my favorites. Granted... that did make his death all the more painful (and the way he died struck me as kind of craptacular and almost... goofy), but the whole wanting to see Harry's eyes, to see the eyes just like Lily's before death sent a chill through me. It really did.
I also rather came to like Kreacher -- I had, unfortunately, fallen into the trap of hating him for a while, but this book helped hammer it into my head why he did what he did and what it would take for him to change. And bless his little heart, leading the other Hogwarts house elves into battle, that was just really great.
For much of the book, I was afraid that Neville wouldn't get much of a part, but damn he was awesome. Or rather, he always has been awesome, but was awesomely awesome in this -- especially wielding the sword and offing Nagini like that.
I also thoroughly enjoyed Bellatrix getting PWNED by Mrs. Weasley. :D "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" indeed. And while going on about the Weasley love, I'm relieved Percy got his head on straight in the end -- and also adored his snippy little remark to the Minister.
Going back towards the start of the book, the bit with Dudley and Harry, and then Petunia's exit, was just... really touching in its way.
Nagini's attack on Harry in Godric Hollow was CREEPY AS FUCKING HELL and I loved it.
... Also, it's probably just my dirty mind at work, but some of the "wand" comments (like the whole thing of "people wanting a bigger and better wand" when speaking of the Elder Wand and so forth) made me snicker like hell. >_>
There are other parts, too, but my mind's still a bit sleep-fogged. But, I didn't completely loathe it.
However...
While I realize that the books have been getting darker and scarier and more grim, and yes this was a friggin' war going on here, I felt like a lot of the drama was being milked TOO much. Granted, some of it is probably me getting more sensitive about these things lately, but there were just a lot of the darker points that made my stomach twist in a way that's unpleasantly-unpleasant, rather than pleasantly-unpleasant (or unpleasantly-pleasant?). Just some of the cruelties/tortures/beatings and so forth struck me as overly sadistic.
There's also the deaths, but I'll get to that in a moment.
The pacing of the book felt odd to me, going too slowly at times and then once things got going, getting too rushed at points. The entire "going from place-to-place in the tent" sequence, for example, felt immensely slow and it was a bit tough to get through it. And the whole "you this amount of time to hand over Harry" bit with Voldemort didn't... seem to fit right. Especially when it was done twice.
The deal of the Hallows themselves also struck me as pointless in the end. The cloak itself has of course been vital through the whole series, but the stone and even the wand, as well as the deal of the three of them as a whole, just felt disappointing.
Harry "dying" and then coming back... I'm still not quite sure what to think about that. I'm actually glad he didn't end up croaking off for good, but there's still something that feels off.
How Voldemort got whacked in the end makes sense, yet it also felt really anti-climatic.
And then there's the deaths.
For me, I felt a LOT of the deaths were gratuitous. Again, yes, it's war, it's dark, of course people are going to die, but a lot of them just had me staring at the pages going, "... why?"
Frickin' Hedwig got killed off, for cripes sake! I know it would have been really damn difficult for Harry to travel around with her, but for crying out loud, killing his poor owl? Worse yet, killing her while she was in her cage? That struck me as an incredibly cheap shot.
Dobby's also bothered me, and I just like him okay-ish. The whole thing of digging his grave by hand was beautiful, sure, but good lord... I suppose at least he got to do something noble before he got offed. But was it really that necessary? (And it would've been awesome for him and Kreacher to have joined forces in the whole leading the house elves to attack bit. Gargh.)
I'm also wondering why in so many stories and such, when there are twins, one of them gets knocked off? Yes, I was angry that Fred got killed. I guess George having his ear permanently blown off wasn't gruesome enough. It just feels so damn WRONG to have one of them die, though, and in a rather half-assed way, too.
... Colin Creevy, too?! What the hell was that even for?
Again, some deaths I can understand -- like Mad-Eye's. And hell, I LIKE Mad-Eye. The bit of his magical eye being used on Umbridge's door like that just... *shudder* And Crabbe, but that was his own damn fault. And Snape, even though it didn't make me very happy. But some were just... bwuh? It's not entirely because of character-bias, either.
I'm actually surprised that Luna and Neville didn't get knocked off, and I'm immensely glad they didn't. I rather like those two (I just wish they would've been able to hook up or something...).
I do rather wish that something worse had happened to Umbridge, though -- but then, characters like her tend to make me feel really bloodthirsty. >_> I felt it was rather unfair that she didn't get what was REALLY coming to her.
... Oh yeah, there's two I forgot to mention, and that's because it just doesn't involve their deaths -- and thinking back, it doesn't just involve this book, either.
So lemme talk about Lupin and Tonks.
Yeah, this is likely running off of full character-bias, I'll admit it, because I adore the hell out of these two. Even more so, I adore them as a couple. When I was told that I would like Lupin, before I had read PoA, that was RIGHT on the money. And the first I read about Tonks, I was totally and completely "... She's AWESOME!"
However, both due to this book and a lot of thinking, in retrospect, it feels to me like their relationship got the short end of the stick -- and in the end, so did they.
I'll say that I'm happy they did end up together in canon (... although if they hadn't, I probably would've ended up supporting them as a pairing anyway >_> ). But, while the entire deal of Lupin being worried about the relationship with Tonks -- or hell, with anyone else!) -- due to his werewolf condition and his status in the wizarding world because of it is completely understandable, I also felt there was something lacking. And Tonks... not to say she wouldn't cry or anything else like that, but that she would pretty much get rather emo (not good wording, but yeah) left a bad taste in my mouth. It all felt rather incomplete and rushed, but in the end I guess I just was happy they did end up together.
And then we come to DH.
The marriage thing felt rushed. I figured, at least on Lupin's part that he'd want to wait some more time before going ahead with that. Still, while it made me wince a little, I went with it.
But the whole baby thing bothered me a LOT.
It felt even MORE rushed, and very, very contrieved -- just another source of empty drama and emotional manipulation. For me, it just didn't fit, and was kind of insulting to both of them in many ways.
Of course, Lupin would worry about inflicting his condition on a child of his, but the entire thing of how he acted over it and that he was trying to throw himself into danger felt very out-of-character and unfair to him. It also felt unfair that Tonks was taken out of action for some time for that, too. The pregnancy seemed to come across as accidental -- sorry, but I would think, ESPECIALLY with Lupin being worried about his condition being carried over to the child, that there would be some protection involved for both of them. Or that he and Tonks could work something out to at least hold off for the time (maybe wait 'til the whole war was over so, y'know, any child of theirs wouldn't end up an orphan... and look what did happen), try to work out some kind of compromise if she really did want to have kids.
(And again, very likely my bias speaking, but I don't really seem them as the sort of couple to have kids. Very likely act like parent figures to the children of their friends, perhaps, but... yeah.)
It's just felt to me that since HBP, both Lupin and Tonks' respective characterizations were getting rather borked up, even more so in putting them together, which makes me really sad. And then the baby angle threw them even more so out of it, which is even more aggravating. I also so wish their realationship could've been taken more slowly and been more developed -- true, they're NOT main characters, but it still would've been nice.
And then they die.
When I started reading DH, I was praying they would both make it out alive. There were so many times I was fearing they would be killed. Just before the entire big battle in Hogwarts thing, that fear was starting to calm, I thought they would be okay...
And bam. Dead. Both of them.
I'm likely silly for it, but I cried and cursed like hell when I read that. It felt like a huge punch in the gut.
And it's not just that they died, which is bad enough -- but the way their deaths were presented was terrible. It felt like a throwaway, an afterthought, and they damn well deserved better than that! Even the reactions felt extremely half-assed and barely there. Even with everything else going on, there should have been something more, or else just leave them alive for crying out loud!
Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks -- they both DAMN WELL deserved better than what they got. But then, there are also others who deserved better, too.
I'm also one of those who was wincing like hell through the epilogue. But then, I've always hated the whole "fast forward so many years, everyone's married and popping out babies" epilogues. And I can understand wanting to honor those who have died, but those names... ehh. It felt like trying to make things too perfect as an ending after all that had happened.
... My thoughts on the whole thing are likely very scrambled and ranty, and I'll be surprised if any of it makes a lick of sense. But overall, when I closed the book, I did not feel satisfied. I felt empty. As I wrote last night, I was crying, felt ill, and was pissed. I'm not so pissed today, I'm not crying, and I only feel a bit ill -- but I still feel empty, and very sad. Very, very sad.
I will not ever re-read this book. The others, sure, but not this one. I'm disappointed, but I guess that's the way things go.
... But maybe sometime, I'll still do fanart of Tonks and Lupin. I never got around to it, but perhaps someday.
Eeesh, that was long.
And now, I'm gonna go grab something to eat and play EarthBound some more. Three Star Pendants... well, it'll take some time, but I'll damn well get them!