Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
It seems inadequate to sum up by saying "I liked it." I think this is a book that I need to allow time to grow on me, as was the case for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I need to reread it, but it's now in the hands of others in the family, so I'll have to wait.
We did figure out an awful lot ahead of time, didn't we? Yes, Harry's scar was the 7th horcrux. Yes, Snape loved Lily. Yes, stoppered death, sorta almost. (But not enough that Snape wasn't guilty of murder. And yes Snape's bitterness: so we want to prevent Malfoy's soul from being ripped, but what about my soul?). I really like regan_v's essay Justice for Severus Snape and urge you to read it. I agree with her: Snape got an extraordinarily raw deal in this book--over the course of an entire lifetime, actually. He didn't die doing something noble--he died because Voldemort entirely misread the situation and killed him off for something that wasn't even true. Edited to add: You know, upon reading maeglinyedi's analysis here, I take it back. Snape's death laid the groundwork for Voldemort's defeat. A sacrifice that made a difference in the end.
I just wish that he could have known it.
I suspect that Rowling really really REALLY hated the real-life teacher that Snape was based upon.
I think the part of the book that broke my heart the absolute most was Snape telling Harry, "Look at me" as he lay dying, so that Lily's eyes would be the very last thing that he would see.
I would just like to say that Severus Snape is one of the greatest characters created by any author, for all time. He's a man who will live for the ages. Rowling has created a man who was incredibly brave and true, without being the least bit nice. Heroic in the face of unspeakable bleakness. Bitingly funny and commanding, tragic, and heart-breakingly human. Brava, J.K. Rowling.
I realized that I forgot to include in my predictions in book 7 one thing: that there would be some kind of breach between members of the trio. I didn't put it in my predictions, but I did expect it. We'd seen it before, to some extent, in Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, but I thought that there would be a bigger breach, looking like a final one, for awhile, but it would be overcome by the ending of the book. It made sense that as the stakes got higher, the difficulties to overcome would seem larger, and since the relationship of the Trio has been a bedrock of Harry's support, threatening it seemed necessary.
I LOVED it that when Ron came back, Hermione doesn't fall into his arms (as he obviously halfway expects). No, she tries to beat him up. That was both hilarious and felt very in-character.
I like that Ron really came into his own in this book, even coming up with a genuinely smart idea of how to get rid of the horcruxes (going into the Chamber of Secrets to get the other basilisk fang).
I wish that we could have had more Harry/Ginny development. Yeah, Harry kept himself away from her to protect her, but still. Maybe it's because the relationship within the Trio is so well-developed that the lack of Harry/Ginny interaction makes the relationship seem so less in comparison. But props to Ginny for joining in the resistence at Hogwarts. It's clear that she wasn't just sitting around waiting to be rescued, but she was out there taking risks, too. Wish we could have seen more of it directly.
I don't have much interest in Draco as a character. (Sorry, all you H/D lovers out there). It did seem, however, that she didn't quite know what to do with him in this book. Draco couldn't quite bring himself to make a choice at the top of the tower in the previous book. Instead, he lets events get away from him, and now he is painfully aware that he has gotten in over his head (a realization that Lucius and Narcissa seem to have come to as well in this book). All three of them don't quite throw their lot in anywhere in Deathly Hallows, although Narcissa does protect Harry at a critical point at the end. But for the most part, they're just trying to get through the events of the book keeping their skins intact.
Which, I guess, when I stop to think about it, probably is pretty much in-character. Malfoys are out for themselves.
I didn't stop to wonder whose was the doe Patronus (it was 4:00 a.m., and I was just reading for speed). But if I'd stopped to think about it, I think I would have guessed "Snape's."
I cried at Dobby's death, Snape's death and when Harry entered the woods and met the ghosts of his parents and the Marauders.
Part of achieving adulthood is seeing that the heroes of our childhood have feet of clay. And so I liked what she did with Lupin and Dumbledore. Well. . . not liked it, exactly. But understood why it was crucial to the story and the right thing to do. I remember that she said in an interview once that Remus' great weakness was that he wants so much to be liked that he will go along with things. So it does makes sense that he would have agreed to marry Tonks, despite his inner doubts. I'm glad that Harry yelled at him, and I'm glad that he straightened himself out. Not glad that he and Tonks died. *sob* Who the heck raised Teddy? His grandmother, I guess? Wish she could have made that clear. That makes him sort of a doppelganger for both Harry and Neville, then.
Dumbledore. Another one with feet of clay. It's a good explanation for why Dumbledore has never sought power at the Ministry of Magic. Um . . . I don't know how I feel about this. And yes, it leads to another scene where Dumbledore Explains It All to You and I was sorta hoping that she would find another way to do this, being that he's dead and all.
Potterwatch was a tip of the hat to PotterCast. You think?
Neville, Neville, Neville! So much Neville love. So proud of you, you big woobie. I take great proprietary pride in Neville drawing the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat and whipping Voldemort's butt by killing Nagini. I know that people expected him to off Bellatrix, but I think it is better, and deliciously ironic that he, of all people, would avenge Snape. Besides, it gave Mrs. Weasley the chance to whip some butt of her own.
I was bothered more than in previous works in the series by recognizing similarities to other fantasy books, and even fanfiction. Yes, Ron getting strained and nasty from carrying the Horcrux was an awful lot like carrying the Ring. (And really, why did they have to carry it around their necks? Why not just shove it into a pillowcase or something?) The whole business reminded me much of Harry and Draco's flight across England, sleeping in a magical tent and writing in the Tom Riddle diary horcrux, and Draco lets the horcrux take him over in psychic_serpent's Harry Potter and the Time of Good Intentions. Yes, Harry going into the wood to lay his life down was like Aslan's sacrifice in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Yes, Snape/Lily love was like any number of fanfics (like psychic_serpent's The Lost Generation. Ah, well. Yes, I wasn't particularly impressed with and I did want more than I got in the epilogue.
So that's preliminary reactions. I liked it, mostly sorta. Not as much fun as previous books, (hard to be fun, with that death count) but it seemed necessary for what had to happen. I wasn't necessarily looking for fun as much in this book anyway, but necessary closure, and this book did much to deliver on that. Parts seemed clumsier than I would have liked (i.e., chat with Dumbledore as expository device, the epilogue). Parts were brilliant and broke my heart (e.g., Snape's death). I think it will grow on me.
I am sure that the moviemakers may have blanched while reading it. It looks like it it will be a very high budget movie. But one which will probably be a summer blockbuster hit.
Links to reactions at daily_snitch here. Also see hallows_reviews, hp_essays and discuss_book7.
We did figure out an awful lot ahead of time, didn't we? Yes, Harry's scar was the 7th horcrux. Yes, Snape loved Lily. Yes, stoppered death, sorta almost. (But not enough that Snape wasn't guilty of murder. And yes Snape's bitterness: so we want to prevent Malfoy's soul from being ripped, but what about my soul?). I really like regan_v's essay Justice for Severus Snape and urge you to read it. I agree with her: Snape got an extraordinarily raw deal in this book--over the course of an entire lifetime, actually. He didn't die doing something noble--he died because Voldemort entirely misread the situation and killed him off for something that wasn't even true. Edited to add: You know, upon reading maeglinyedi's analysis here, I take it back. Snape's death laid the groundwork for Voldemort's defeat. A sacrifice that made a difference in the end.
I just wish that he could have known it.
I suspect that Rowling really really REALLY hated the real-life teacher that Snape was based upon.
I think the part of the book that broke my heart the absolute most was Snape telling Harry, "Look at me" as he lay dying, so that Lily's eyes would be the very last thing that he would see.
I would just like to say that Severus Snape is one of the greatest characters created by any author, for all time. He's a man who will live for the ages. Rowling has created a man who was incredibly brave and true, without being the least bit nice. Heroic in the face of unspeakable bleakness. Bitingly funny and commanding, tragic, and heart-breakingly human. Brava, J.K. Rowling.
I realized that I forgot to include in my predictions in book 7 one thing: that there would be some kind of breach between members of the trio. I didn't put it in my predictions, but I did expect it. We'd seen it before, to some extent, in Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, but I thought that there would be a bigger breach, looking like a final one, for awhile, but it would be overcome by the ending of the book. It made sense that as the stakes got higher, the difficulties to overcome would seem larger, and since the relationship of the Trio has been a bedrock of Harry's support, threatening it seemed necessary.
I LOVED it that when Ron came back, Hermione doesn't fall into his arms (as he obviously halfway expects). No, she tries to beat him up. That was both hilarious and felt very in-character.
I like that Ron really came into his own in this book, even coming up with a genuinely smart idea of how to get rid of the horcruxes (going into the Chamber of Secrets to get the other basilisk fang).
I wish that we could have had more Harry/Ginny development. Yeah, Harry kept himself away from her to protect her, but still. Maybe it's because the relationship within the Trio is so well-developed that the lack of Harry/Ginny interaction makes the relationship seem so less in comparison. But props to Ginny for joining in the resistence at Hogwarts. It's clear that she wasn't just sitting around waiting to be rescued, but she was out there taking risks, too. Wish we could have seen more of it directly.
I don't have much interest in Draco as a character. (Sorry, all you H/D lovers out there). It did seem, however, that she didn't quite know what to do with him in this book. Draco couldn't quite bring himself to make a choice at the top of the tower in the previous book. Instead, he lets events get away from him, and now he is painfully aware that he has gotten in over his head (a realization that Lucius and Narcissa seem to have come to as well in this book). All three of them don't quite throw their lot in anywhere in Deathly Hallows, although Narcissa does protect Harry at a critical point at the end. But for the most part, they're just trying to get through the events of the book keeping their skins intact.
Which, I guess, when I stop to think about it, probably is pretty much in-character. Malfoys are out for themselves.
I didn't stop to wonder whose was the doe Patronus (it was 4:00 a.m., and I was just reading for speed). But if I'd stopped to think about it, I think I would have guessed "Snape's."
I cried at Dobby's death, Snape's death and when Harry entered the woods and met the ghosts of his parents and the Marauders.
Part of achieving adulthood is seeing that the heroes of our childhood have feet of clay. And so I liked what she did with Lupin and Dumbledore. Well. . . not liked it, exactly. But understood why it was crucial to the story and the right thing to do. I remember that she said in an interview once that Remus' great weakness was that he wants so much to be liked that he will go along with things. So it does makes sense that he would have agreed to marry Tonks, despite his inner doubts. I'm glad that Harry yelled at him, and I'm glad that he straightened himself out. Not glad that he and Tonks died. *sob* Who the heck raised Teddy? His grandmother, I guess? Wish she could have made that clear. That makes him sort of a doppelganger for both Harry and Neville, then.
Dumbledore. Another one with feet of clay. It's a good explanation for why Dumbledore has never sought power at the Ministry of Magic. Um . . . I don't know how I feel about this. And yes, it leads to another scene where Dumbledore Explains It All to You and I was sorta hoping that she would find another way to do this, being that he's dead and all.
Potterwatch was a tip of the hat to PotterCast. You think?
Neville, Neville, Neville! So much Neville love. So proud of you, you big woobie. I take great proprietary pride in Neville drawing the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat and whipping Voldemort's butt by killing Nagini. I know that people expected him to off Bellatrix, but I think it is better, and deliciously ironic that he, of all people, would avenge Snape. Besides, it gave Mrs. Weasley the chance to whip some butt of her own.
I was bothered more than in previous works in the series by recognizing similarities to other fantasy books, and even fanfiction. Yes, Ron getting strained and nasty from carrying the Horcrux was an awful lot like carrying the Ring. (And really, why did they have to carry it around their necks? Why not just shove it into a pillowcase or something?) The whole business reminded me much of Harry and Draco's flight across England, sleeping in a magical tent and writing in the Tom Riddle diary horcrux, and Draco lets the horcrux take him over in psychic_serpent's Harry Potter and the Time of Good Intentions. Yes, Harry going into the wood to lay his life down was like Aslan's sacrifice in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Yes, Snape/Lily love was like any number of fanfics (like psychic_serpent's The Lost Generation. Ah, well. Yes, I wasn't particularly impressed with and I did want more than I got in the epilogue.
So that's preliminary reactions. I liked it, mostly sorta. Not as much fun as previous books, (hard to be fun, with that death count) but it seemed necessary for what had to happen. I wasn't necessarily looking for fun as much in this book anyway, but necessary closure, and this book did much to deliver on that. Parts seemed clumsier than I would have liked (i.e., chat with Dumbledore as expository device, the epilogue). Parts were brilliant and broke my heart (e.g., Snape's death). I think it will grow on me.
I am sure that the moviemakers may have blanched while reading it. It looks like it it will be a very high budget movie. But one which will probably be a summer blockbuster hit.
Links to reactions at daily_snitch here. Also see hallows_reviews, hp_essays and discuss_book7.