Deathly Hallows - initial thoughts.
So...just finished Deathly Hallows last night. I didn't get quite as emotionally invested in this book as I did with book 6, but that's probably just because I was cracking lame jokes the whole time to try and dull the pain. (And I was reading really fast.)
But yes, I did cry, despite my best efforts to the contrary.
Full, explicit, and possibly chapter-by-chapter review coming later, but for now, my quick initial thoughts.
1. I've already noted my reaction to Hedwig's death in the prior post. I am, however, SO GLAD that Hagrid lived through all this. I think his was the most upsetting potential death in my mind.
2. Of course she killed off Dobby. Of course. I knew it. *grumble*
3. So, Harry was indeed a Horcrux and Snape did indeed love Lilly Evans. File both under "The entire fandom saw this coming."
"The Prince's Tale" did make me upset, though. Poor, awkward Severus. :( Also, Lilly, can we get some insight into why exactly you married James Potter? He was kind of a dick.
4. Oh, and by the way, JKR, thanks a lot for giving Tonks and Lupin ONE FREAKING LINE to describe their deaths. Because, you know, when a major character whom I've known since book 3 or 5 gets killed, I don't really want the main character to react to it, or even give them more than a passing description, really. *hisses*
4. a. Also, did we really need Ted Tonks the Younger, or was he just an excuse to have Nymphadora not do anything for the entire book? (Birth control would have been an extremely good idea, because this was so not the time.)
5. I felt the same way reading this book that I felt reading book 5: like I could hardly stand to read it after a while, because I couldn't just keep sitting there and watch things keep getting worse.
6. You know, I was also glad that they included those long stretched of tedium and nothing happening in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes. It made it much more realistic than your average fantasy quest; Our Heroes don't have everything figured out, and they have to do some information-gathering before the heroics can kick in.
6.a. On that note, shouldn't the plural of Horcrux be Horcrucis?
7. VOLDEMORT: Well hey, look at that. I killed Harry Potter.
BELLATRIX: Make love to me.
VOLDEMORT: ...Seriously, Bella, don't do that. It's creepy.
8. Molly Weasley killing Bellatrix = best freaking scene in the book. I cheered.
I also got an entertaining mental image of Molly, complete with apron and frizzy hair, stomping into Hogwarts in Ellen Ripley's great big yellow combat mech from Aliens. Anybody else get that?
9. I...wha...but...FRED?
*stares in shock* But...but how could you? I...you can't...oh, Fred. *sobs*
10. So that was Dumbledore's dark secret or whatever? Huh. Interesting.
Am I supposed to hate him now or something? Because that's the idea I was getting, and I just, well...don't. I don't like him as much as I did before, but I don't hate him.
Yes, it's troubling that he was a wizard-supremacist at 17, but not every 17-year-old is/was Saint Potter, and what you do or think as a teenager doesn't necessarily define who you are the rest of your life. And yes, it's inexusable that he neglected his sick sister, but again, he was 17. He made a mistake and he paid for it. If anything, all these developments do for me is make him more flawed and human - far more human than the impossibly selfless Harry.
Also, I am not as troubled as I probably should be that he knew Harry was going to die, because I was of the opinion that he also knew that Harry would be able to come back. And in response to the outcry of "He was going to sacrifice a teenaged boy?", my answer is: yes, he was.
It was a terrible thing, it was an ugly thing, and if there were any other options they should have been tried first. But there weren't. Sometime's there's no "good" or "happy" choice, and when that's the case, the lesser of two evils it is.
That's the way it is here. There were no other ways to get rid of Voldemort for good (at least that we, the readers, have been informed of), so it came down to two choices: Harry could die, or Voldemort could keep clinging to life and killing hundreds, thousands, maybe millions. The life of one boy vs. the life of millions? The boy's gotta die.
11. On a less serious note, LOL @ Trelawney chucking crystal balls at the Death Eaters. In fact, the battle of Hogwarts in general was amazing. In spite of my attempts to remain impartial I got really nervous.
12. I love Luna. And I'd wear sun colors to a wedding. It seems festive.
13. I also love Neville, and was glad that he got to be the one to finish off Nagini. I was hoping he'd get to kill Bellatrix to avenge his parents, but since I got the Badass!Molly scene instead, I'm willing to overlook that. And he still got to be a Big Damn Hero and practically thumb his nose at Voldemort, so I'm still quite happy.
14. The Hermione-gets-tortured scene worried me so deeply. I was scared that they'd run up just in time to find her dead.
15. Epilogue was pointless. Fluffy and mildly amusing (key word mildly), but pointless. Also, where do we learn where Harry, Ron, Ginny, et. al. got the 8 million Galleons for their therapy bills?
15. a. And why would anyone name their kid Albus Severus if they hoped for them to avoid a lifetime of mockery at the hands of other children with normal names?
15. b. And did Hermione ever get her parents back? I'd like to know that; why wasn't that addressed?
16. Much though I whine, I still laughed and cried and enjoyed this installment immensely. I'm sad that Harry Potter is over, but this was quite a way to send it off.
But yes, I did cry, despite my best efforts to the contrary.
Full, explicit, and possibly chapter-by-chapter review coming later, but for now, my quick initial thoughts.
1. I've already noted my reaction to Hedwig's death in the prior post. I am, however, SO GLAD that Hagrid lived through all this. I think his was the most upsetting potential death in my mind.
2. Of course she killed off Dobby. Of course. I knew it. *grumble*
3. So, Harry was indeed a Horcrux and Snape did indeed love Lilly Evans. File both under "The entire fandom saw this coming."
"The Prince's Tale" did make me upset, though. Poor, awkward Severus. :( Also, Lilly, can we get some insight into why exactly you married James Potter? He was kind of a dick.
4. Oh, and by the way, JKR, thanks a lot for giving Tonks and Lupin ONE FREAKING LINE to describe their deaths. Because, you know, when a major character whom I've known since book 3 or 5 gets killed, I don't really want the main character to react to it, or even give them more than a passing description, really. *hisses*
4. a. Also, did we really need Ted Tonks the Younger, or was he just an excuse to have Nymphadora not do anything for the entire book? (Birth control would have been an extremely good idea, because this was so not the time.)
5. I felt the same way reading this book that I felt reading book 5: like I could hardly stand to read it after a while, because I couldn't just keep sitting there and watch things keep getting worse.
6. You know, I was also glad that they included those long stretched of tedium and nothing happening in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes. It made it much more realistic than your average fantasy quest; Our Heroes don't have everything figured out, and they have to do some information-gathering before the heroics can kick in.
6.a. On that note, shouldn't the plural of Horcrux be Horcrucis?
7. VOLDEMORT: Well hey, look at that. I killed Harry Potter.
BELLATRIX: Make love to me.
VOLDEMORT: ...Seriously, Bella, don't do that. It's creepy.
8. Molly Weasley killing Bellatrix = best freaking scene in the book. I cheered.
I also got an entertaining mental image of Molly, complete with apron and frizzy hair, stomping into Hogwarts in Ellen Ripley's great big yellow combat mech from Aliens. Anybody else get that?
9. I...wha...but...FRED?
*stares in shock* But...but how could you? I...you can't...oh, Fred. *sobs*
10. So that was Dumbledore's dark secret or whatever? Huh. Interesting.
Am I supposed to hate him now or something? Because that's the idea I was getting, and I just, well...don't. I don't like him as much as I did before, but I don't hate him.
Yes, it's troubling that he was a wizard-supremacist at 17, but not every 17-year-old is/was Saint Potter, and what you do or think as a teenager doesn't necessarily define who you are the rest of your life. And yes, it's inexusable that he neglected his sick sister, but again, he was 17. He made a mistake and he paid for it. If anything, all these developments do for me is make him more flawed and human - far more human than the impossibly selfless Harry.
Also, I am not as troubled as I probably should be that he knew Harry was going to die, because I was of the opinion that he also knew that Harry would be able to come back. And in response to the outcry of "He was going to sacrifice a teenaged boy?", my answer is: yes, he was.
It was a terrible thing, it was an ugly thing, and if there were any other options they should have been tried first. But there weren't. Sometime's there's no "good" or "happy" choice, and when that's the case, the lesser of two evils it is.
That's the way it is here. There were no other ways to get rid of Voldemort for good (at least that we, the readers, have been informed of), so it came down to two choices: Harry could die, or Voldemort could keep clinging to life and killing hundreds, thousands, maybe millions. The life of one boy vs. the life of millions? The boy's gotta die.
11. On a less serious note, LOL @ Trelawney chucking crystal balls at the Death Eaters. In fact, the battle of Hogwarts in general was amazing. In spite of my attempts to remain impartial I got really nervous.
12. I love Luna. And I'd wear sun colors to a wedding. It seems festive.
13. I also love Neville, and was glad that he got to be the one to finish off Nagini. I was hoping he'd get to kill Bellatrix to avenge his parents, but since I got the Badass!Molly scene instead, I'm willing to overlook that. And he still got to be a Big Damn Hero and practically thumb his nose at Voldemort, so I'm still quite happy.
14. The Hermione-gets-tortured scene worried me so deeply. I was scared that they'd run up just in time to find her dead.
15. Epilogue was pointless. Fluffy and mildly amusing (key word mildly), but pointless. Also, where do we learn where Harry, Ron, Ginny, et. al. got the 8 million Galleons for their therapy bills?
15. a. And why would anyone name their kid Albus Severus if they hoped for them to avoid a lifetime of mockery at the hands of other children with normal names?
15. b. And did Hermione ever get her parents back? I'd like to know that; why wasn't that addressed?
16. Much though I whine, I still laughed and cried and enjoyed this installment immensely. I'm sad that Harry Potter is over, but this was quite a way to send it off.