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July 22nd, 2007
 | 04:48 pm - The Seventh and Final Installment in the Epic Tale of Harry Potter
Somehow, the library had some copies, set aside as "Hot Picks," and I read for 12 hours yesterday, in my apartment, in the library, at Crepevine, in Diesel, and in my apartment while chatting with  jeeperstseepers. It took me 3 more hours today.
Fifteen hours to plough through a conclusion ten/seventeen years in the making.
I don't think I recall another book during which I was exclaiming "Fuck!" or "Oh fuck!" or "Jesus fuck!" or some derivation thereof on such a regular basis. The first few chapters are really intense, and then all throughout the book there are revelations that spell more doom and danger for our intrepid heroes, and the last few chapters, of course, are one big clusterfuck of aaaaaaaah.
I can't believe she killed Hedwig. That's just MEAN! What did Hedwig ever do to anyone??
I am finding it hard to write a post about a 700-page book. I really liked it, I think as much as I've really liked one since Book 4. Though Book 6 and Book 7 sort of form a two-part behemoth of a story. Book 3 is still my favorite, however.
This was really the trio's book, and it was nice to watch their dynamics (and chuckle at the canonization of Ron/Hermione and anti-canonizaton of Harry/Hermione (sister!)). I loved loved loved Ron saving Harry's life, and Harry's response that he'd been telling him all those years that all his adventures only sounded cool, and he'd never had any reason to be jealous of him at all (subtext). I awwwwwed out loud, similar to my reaction when Dudley (Dudley!) was oh-so-sad that Harry was leaving them.
I really missed Hogwarts and all the students; it feels like HBP was the last "real" Harry Potter book, as this one had a completely different structure. That being said, I am sure the ficcers are going wild right now writing about Hogwarts under Snape's rule. Our favorite kids got the crap beat out of them a lot, it seems.
I am very curious as to what the movie will be like, not only because I can't figure out how they'll stuff all the necessary plot into a three-hour movie (the inevitable streamlining will be irritating, since there are many great set-pieces) but also because I find it amusing that Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend half the book Polyjuiced and the other half invisible. (She could have called this book Harry Potter and the Polyjuice Potion Solves Everything, eh? Although the repetitive use got a little irritating, I had to admit it was always a good option, especially since they were on the run.)
Hermione is awesome. Truly. She's incredibly quick-witted, always ready with the appropriate spell or charm at a moment's notice, and she's also full of bright ideas. You never really get a sense of how awesome Hermione and Ron are in the movies. In the books, they really shine.
The history of Dumbledore was interesting, despite the fact that it shot down my beloved Ron=Dumbledore theory (he's going to be marooned in time, you guys!) in Chapter Two. Dumbledore's presence permeated the book even after his death, and I like that he wasn't really the superawesome goodie-goodie that he's been presented at. He had a secret past! And he may have killed his sister! Also, he was friends with a dark wizard, but, hey, he thought Tom Riddle was pretty swell too. In a manner of speaking. I'm glad that Harry got to be sort of pissed at Dumbledore for never telling him anything, because, seriously. That guy had issues.
R.A.B. was Regulus Black. Huh, no one guessed that. (I'm glad it was. It made sense, and there was no need to further complicate things.) And, aw, Kreacher. Making them sandwiches! Rallying the troops at the end!! Adorable.
Voldemort is Senator Kelly! I wonder if children grasp all the political and social subtext in these books. Because for us, it's all really obvious and blatant, and I'm sure there will be some nice dystopian fic about the world under Death Eaters. Wait, will there be? Would the HP fandom actually bother to write that? Because it's there waiting to be written, folks. Quit with the Harry/squid shit.
So, the Deathly Hallows. I liked the idea of wizard fairy tales ("Wait, they met Death?"), and, of course, the idea that the fairy tales could be real, as that all hits my storytelling kink, but at the same time, my initial reaction was, "You're adding another scavenger hunt in the middle of a scavenger hunt??" I also wasn't particularly fond of random magical items just introduced in this book magically saving the day, even though I did love that the Cloak and the Stone, at least, had turned up already. I had always wondered about the Invisibility Cloak and how fucking awesome it was because you'd think something like that, well, you'd think more people would have it. It seemed really, really special, and now we know why.
And then Harry became Sloane, obsessed with Rambaldi to an unhealthy degree, but as Griphook said, Harry is one of those guys who is not after cool shit for personal gain.
I was really sad when Harry's wand got broken. It's funny how we get attached to objects as much as people, sometimes. But, whew, he fixed it at the end!
Let me just take a moment to say, oh, Harry. That kid has really grown up, hasn't he? I mean, think back to the first book. He was such a little kid! And how he's been in the shit, and he's actually become pretty smart and clever along the way. It's not always luck that saves his ass; sometimes he even knows what he's doing.
Speaking of knowing what he's doing, oh my God, I could never for the life of me figure out why they couldn't fucking tell anyone about the fucking Horcruxes. Like, I know Dumbledore said to tell only Ron and Hermione, but what the hell? The Order can't know? Did he just not trust anyone? You'd think other people might be of some help in this quest. It bugged me that Harry and Co. couldn't just say, "We're off to stop Voldemort," because, what the hell, of course that's what they were doing. And then McGonagall, all, "You're acting on Dumbledore's orders?" No, Minerva, they learned about Horcruxes all on their own. Also, if they had, you wouldn't have helped them? (Although "Potter, aren't you supposed to be looking for something?" was awesome.)
Was anyone else totally unnerved and creeped out by Harry using the Imperius Curse? I mean, that was freaky.
Voldemort was an interesting character in this book, as we saw him not only admit to making mistakes but also being totally fallible, right there in front of us. I loved that he inadvertently turned a Hallow into a Horcrux because he can't be bothered with magic outside his own domain. I also laughed when he made fun of Dumbledore's THE POWER OF LOOOOOVE stuff...even though, well, the love magic was real (and Harry's sacrifice protecting everyone else was pretty clever), for better or worse.
Potter Potter Snaaaaaape. For most of the book, I was sort of boggling, all, "Dude, it's really hard to think you're good, and if you're evil, that's STUPID." So thank God for the Pensieve infodump. At first, I was sort of annoyed, like, dude, didn't we already know Snape loved Lily? Or was that just a fanon idea implied in canon but never confirmed? But as we got more of the story, something really awesome hit me. All this time, I thought Snape hated Harry because of James. Because James made fun of him and married Lily. But that's not it (well, not all of it). Snape hated Harry because he blames him for Lily's death. Lily would not have died had it not been for Harry Potter. (Interestingly, she wasn't supposed to have died in the first place. Voldemort was going to spare her, according to the flashback. Did we know that?) So the very existence of Harry must be torture, as he looks at him with Lily's eyes.
I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that Dumbledore was dying anyway, and Snape's murder was almost a mercy killing in addition to the other measures it served. It's kind of cool, but it seems to take some of the gravity away from his death and Snape's act.
So, Harry's death. Er. I don't even know. Dumbledore is nuts, man. Way to raise the kid to die; you might as well have killed him at age eleven, you know? Then go capture your precious Horcruxes. I'm sure many people will call it a big cop-out, and maybe it is, but I think it vaguely follows. Vaguely. If only because it's Harry and Voldemort, and they're so intertwined, you can make up any shit you want for them that doesn't hold for regular wizards. Sure, Harry's blood is in Voldemort, so he can't die! Sure! You have to suspend more disbelief than you've ever had to suspend in one of these books, really, but bully for Rowling. She managed to make the statement "Harry dies" both a spoiler and untrue.
There was a moment in the book when I exclaimed, "Yes yes yes yes yes!" It was when I realized Neville was going to kill Nagini and fulfill his ambiguous role in The Prophecy. And he did. With the Sorting Hat giving him the sword of Gryffindor. OMG AWESOME. (Griphook's gonna be pissed, though.)
Now, the other reaction I had when learning about the Deathly Hallows was that I hoped Harry didn't get a fucking unbeatable wand and thus defeat Voldemort, because that would be lame, so I was both frightened and relieved when Voldemort purportedly got a hold of it. But as it turned out, he had it the whole time, and I totally do not understand how it worked. I feel like the Elder Wand is a wooden plot hole. Isn't it kind of bullshit that Ollivander didn't recognize it? How did the wand "choose" Draco? Because he was going to kill Dumbledore? The hell? How did he get Dumbledore's wand? What wand was Dumbledore buried with? Did it really require murder to transfer true ownership, since Dumbledore didn't kill Grindelwald and Harry didn't kill Draco (did he even beat Draco? he just sort of snatched his wand, didn't he?)? The whole thing is full of brilliantly/insanely convoluted wand magic logic that only Rowling would understand and really wouldn't be intuitive to a reader, although Harry somehow figured it out. And made Voldemort look like kind of an idiot. Hubris was his downfall!
It's funny that Harry killed Voldemort with Expelliarmus, his signature spell.
Luna is awesome.
All right, let's talk deaths.
Mad-Eye Moody was a good one to off early because he has enough of a name to have an impact on the characters, but the reader doesn't have a real attachment to him, since we never got to know the real Moody, so much.
George's ear! Ooooowww.
I thought Hagrid was going to die three times, and he never did.
Wormtail's...silver hand strangled him? For not killing Harry Potter because he owed him his life? That, that was entirely lame. Yes, Harry, you're so lucky he didn't kill you because you had saved his life...despite the fact that if he had been dead, he would not have been trying to kill you in the first place. Shut up, Dumbledore. Oh my God, if Harry had just let Lupin and Sirius kill Pettigrew, Voldemort would never have risen to power in the first place. This is quite possibly the lamest thing ever.
The first death that really hit me was Dobby. God, he used to irritate me, but now I just want to snuggle the poor dead house elf. He always was trying to save Harry, wasn't he.
I think the death that will affect most people the most is, of course, Fred. Dude. I just had to stop reading for a bit because I didn't want to turn the page. I was afraid of what else was in store, if she was just going to off Fred like that for no reason. I don't even know why the wall exploded. It was very reminiscent of another Unexpectedly Brutal Death of a Comic Relief Character. You know who I'm talking about.
Snape's death was no surprise, but I never expected him to go like that. That was cold. Damn.
Lupin!! What the hell?? Don't do that! And Tonks?! Who ended up serving no purpose at all, ever? Whose being a Metamorphmagus was completely and utterly pointless? Gah.
Colin Creevey! Crabbe! FIFTY OTHER STUDENTS?!
And Molly kicked Bellatrix's ass. Very nice.
The epilogue was sort of vomit-inducing in a bad-fanfic kind of way. I don't want to read about thirty-six-year-old Harry and his gaggle of children named after people! Gah! "All was well"? That's how it ends? Happily ever after? I hope she doesn't think we want a whole series about the next generation or something like that. I think that epilogue was pretty unnecessary, even though the one thing I liked is that it did show a happy future for Hogwarts post-Voldemort. It's still running, and such. And, aw, Neville teaches Herbology. His Gran must be so proud.
Man, I can't believe it's over, after all this time. All the adventures we had with these characters. Oh, awesomeness. I will miss you.
Finally, no review can be complete without the following observation: J.K. Rowling has discovered the colon. I hope you really enjoyed it, Jo: one day, I hope you learn how to use it properly.
Current Mood:  accomplished
Current Music: Nine Inch Nails - I Do Not Want This
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I felt the same way about the epilogue, but I did enjoy it overall. I felt like I was at a huge disadvantage not re-reading book 6 first, and my books are all six hours away. Poor Lupin and Tonks, to exist only to have a baby who gets a throwaway line in the epilogue. Draco's wand wasn't the Elder wand. Dumbledore's was. He won it from Grindelwald. Then when Draco expelliarmed Dumbledore, he won control of it. Voldemort thought Snape was the rightful owner of the wand, since he offed Dumbledore, which is why he killed Snape. But Draco was the correct owner. Since Harry expelliarmed Draco's regular wand from him, he was the owner of that one. But anyway, that's why the Elder Wand wasn't unbeatable, because Voldie didn't earn it.
I'm still too sad to talk about Lupin and Tonks and Fred. Draco's wand wasn't the Elder wand. Dumbledore's was. He won it from Grindelwald.
I know.
Then when Draco expelliarmed Dumbledore, he won control of it.
Thaaaat's the piece of information I was missing, not having recently re-read book 6. Thanks.
But Draco was the correct owner. Since Harry expelliarmed Draco's regular wand from him
Aaaand that. Okay, it looks like Disarming is magic as hell, when it comes to the Elder Wand.
But anyway, that's why the Elder Wand wasn't unbeatable, because Voldie didn't earn it.
But Voldie never had the Elder Wand, is the thing. Harry had it the whole time, after taking it from Draco. It was very reminiscent of another Unexpectedly Brutal Death of a Comic Relief Character.
Anya, noooooo!
And yes, I was bugged a whole lot by all the colons: Capital letters that came after them.
But Neville kicked ass, so I was happy. Anya, noooooo!
Not who I meant, fool! He was a leaf on the wind!
And yes, I was bugged a whole lot by all the colons: Capital letters that came after them.
YES. OMG. But when you put it that way, it makes me think it's a shout-out to her newish husband.
Is his name Colin?
Opening the book with the two news articles was not the way to go, imo.
I didn't mind the news articles, since I enjoy that she puts them in the books, fully.
I am a little confused why Harry and Dumbledore thought that eliminating the Horocuxes was all Harry had to do, but the killing Voldemort could be left for another. Harry didn't even fight. Like, WTH? At least assume you're going to *kill each other*.
Yeah, it was kind of weird to think the order of events would be "Harry destroys the Horcruxes and then dies. Er. And then someone stabs Voldemort, I don't know." I was talking to someone who was all "PLOT HOLE! How did the hat get the sword back, huh? huh?", and I think I came up with a reasonable explanation or two. 1) Griphook had a change of heart and tossed the sword back, and B) the hat was imbued with the same sort of magic as the Room of Requirement, which makes sense seeing as though it's primary use was to sort students into where they were needed most. However, it gave us Neville FTW!! And Gran who is so very beyond FTW that I think I have to award her an internet of her own.
I seem to be one of the few people who liked the 19 Years Later coda. No, it wasn't perfect in any way, but it gave us the line about Snape which made me go "awwwww".
I totally agree with you about Fred (and I had the same reaction) and the sheer pointlessness of Lupin and Tonks (NOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY?!?!?!?) being offed. Seriously, Fred was one of my favourite characters, and possibly my favourite Weasley. Dobby, however, didn't really effect me that much. I think it was because he was taken over, in my mind at least, in the "comedy magical creature who also helps the plot along" by Kreacher.
As for the Elder Wand, I don't think Ollivander had ever seen it (to the best of our knowledge), which is why he never had a chance to identify it - if he and Albus had any interaction at all, and I'm not remembering it, by all means tell. Because, let's face it, if anyone could pick it out of a lineup, it would be him.
Out of all the Deus Ex Machinas that were pulled out for us, the only one that made me go "ohh, cool" as well as "ohh, for fuck's sake" was the Hog's Head barkeep being the brother. But the fact that he got totally shirty over the pub being used as Kings Cross for evacs did make me grin.
Snape's death, as I said in mine, was a wee bit undignified for what he meant to the overall story (I thought he'd at least get zapped, not just snaked), but the next chapter reveal was just brilliant.
As for if the writers will write various things that you have postulated - as soon as you pressed the Post button, there were at least 100 fics dealing with Snape!School! and Death Eater Future. That's the law of the interwebs. B) the hat was imbued with the same sort of magic as the Room of Requirement, which makes sense seeing as though it's primary use was to sort students into where they were needed most.
Definitely that. I can totally buy that the Sorting Hat can pull that shit. I mean, where the fuck did it get it from when it gave it to Harry?
Seriously, Fred was one of my favourite characters, and possibly my favourite Weasley.
You could tell him apart from George?
Dobby, however, didn't really effect me that much. I think it was because he was taken over, in my mind at least, in the "comedy magical creature who also helps the plot along" by Kreacher.
But Dobby goes all the way back to BOOK TWO, dude. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/58246499/6082128) | | From: | smrou |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 12:21 am (UTC) |
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Was anyone else totally unnerved and creeped out by Harry using the Imperius Curse? I mean, that was freaky.
I loved it. Just completely loved that he used the Imperius Curse.
Dobby's death wrecked me. Fred's, too, but less so because Rowling didn't dwell on it.
The epilogue is one of the worst things I've ever read.
I've already talked at some length at the Dragonfly, so these comments are brief.
How did the wand "choose" Draco? Because he was going to kill Dumbledore? The hell? How did he get Dumbledore's wand?
Draco won the wand from Dumbledore because he Expelliarmus-ed it from Dumbledore at the end of HBP. I'm bullet responding to a couple of points:
1. Snape loving Lily was not canon until this book, it was a fandom thing that JKR sort of confirmed or encouraged by admitting that Snape's love life was relevant or important.
2. Draco's Hawthorn wand was not, as I understood it, the Elder wand. The wand in Voldemort's hand was indeed the Elder Wand but he didn't take possession of it by simply killing Snape. The wand belonged to Draco because Draco bested Dumbledore, even though Draco didn't take possession of it. When Harry bested Draco, he became the possessor of Draco's wand, even if Draco wasn't holding it and Harry didn't touch it. It just belongs to him, so when Voldemort tried to use the Elder wand against it's owner, the wand backfired. The Hawthorn wand was just a wand and that's why it meant nothing to Ollivander.
3. I suspect they couldn't tell anyone about the Horcruxes for fear of Voldemort or any death eater finding out. Both a trust issue and a safety issue for those involved. It is a lot easier to convince someone you are ignorant if you are and it was too great a risk that someone would be captured and tortured, like Ollivander, and give up the details. Once Voldy knew what he was up to, he freaked and they were put on a clock so keeping quiet seemed to be a smart thing to do.
4. Did you catch the dates on the headstones? I hope you had a little 'Anna was right they were 21-22 when they died. ' Barely 21.5 years which is so immensely sad.
5. I think most people feel similarly about the epilogue. It wasn't what I expected and it was kind of random. I think it is also obvious that it was written in the era of the first book.
6. I want a follow up novel of all the things that happend at Hogwarts while Neville was being a total badass. "Dumbledore's Army, now recruiting" you know Fred (sniff) and George were so proud.
I was talking to Kel about how I always felt Fred was the twin we knew. We rarely heard from George independant of Fred, but Fred was often heard/seen without George. Thus I was very concerned for him but also assumed that if we lost a twin, we'd lose George because we both can imagine Fred on his own and because Fred's grief would resonate with us more. And then she took Fred. Very very sad indeed. Probably the character outside of the trio that I was most sad/worried about losing. Though reading, I cried hysterically only for Dobby. I teared up for Fred but we were moving through the plot so fast that I wiped them away and kept going. Dobby hurt, though. A lot. Yes. The part where Harry's digging Dobby's grave without magic? And then everybody joins in? And the tombstone with "Here Lies Dobby, a Free Elf"? Almost made me cry. I just finished and definitely agree with you on most of these points.
The whole "wands choose their owners" bit seems very... fluid. But if I recall correctly (or maybe I'm just guessing, I'd have to go back to book 6 and check), Draco was at least the one who disarmed Dumbledore and thus "defeated" him. So while I don't really understand the rules that well, I get how that follows them. What I *don't* get is how Harry disarming Draco of his wand made the OTHER wand belong to Harry. I'm not upset with it, I'm happy to suspend my disbelief for thinner stretches, but it's never really explained satisfactorily.
And the last chapter definitely was unnecessary in that respect. We could all assume they were all going to marry and have beautiful babies that went to Hogwarts. What I really wanted to see for some kind of wrap-up was some aftermath, and at least Harry and Ginny doing a little "snogging" for crying out loud!
But all in all, I'm definitely happy about how the series has ended and there are TONS of things I absolutely loved about this. :D What I *don't* get is how Harry disarming Draco of his wand made the OTHER wand belong to Harry.
Yeah, I mean, what the hell? Fuck you, Elder Wand! Make some sense already! Oh, wand magic. I liked my explanation, untrue as it is: Harry was BSing Voldemort about who really had control of the Elder Wand.
Also Tonks. Tonks Tonks Tonks Tonks there is a hole where my heart should be Tonks.
OH! I just remembered something I loved: the callback to Ron and Hermione's "are you a ____ or what?" + Wingardium Leviosa exchange. It was the first book - I think when they were fighting the troll, yes? - that Hermione says, "I don't know what to do!" and Ron screams, "Are you a witch or what?" and she uses the levitating spell. Then, in this one, when they're trying to get into the Whomping Willow, Ron is all afluster and Hermione goes "Are you a wizard or what?" It was a nice bit of symmetry. I remember that now! Awwwww. I can just imagine the movie people reading this and going, "Aw, fuck. Thanks a lot, J.K. Rowling."
The Slytherin house got shafted in this book. What happened to unity among the houses?
Hedwig! *flails* It bugged me that Slytherin was totally evil except for Slughorn (and Snape), basically.
And, yeah, can you imagine fitting all this shit into a movie? And do it any sort of justice? The Battle of Hogwarts alone needs to be, like, forty-five minutes long. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/65321645/1829108) | | From: | raelee |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 01:19 am (UTC) |
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She could have called this book Harry Potter and the Polyjuice Potion Solves Everything, eh?
I agree. However, to be fair, if they hadn't been using it, I would have wanted to know why. Once you introduce something like that, it makes it all that much harder to explain why they WOULDN'T just use it instead of having to come up with another way in. (The same could be said about the Cloak which I often felt was overused throughout the whole series even though I understood why.)
Speaking of knowing what he's doing, oh my God, I could never for the life of me figure out why they couldn't fucking tell anyone about the fucking Horcruxes.
Well, Voldemort didn't know they were destroying them and the final battle all comes down to beating him to the one at Hogwarts so I think it was just that, if everyone knew about what they were doing, the word could get out and Voldemort would have found out what was happening much sooner. In the end, when he does sorta share what they are doing without outright saying it, it's because Voldemort already knew. (Note: Harry never seemed to figure that out so I can see why he doesn't outright ever tell anyone himself.)
What wand was Dumbledore buried with?
I'm sure someone else has covered this already but I'm commenting as I go instead of reading comments first. Dumbledore was buried with his wand. Harry was referring to earlier events when Draco took Dumbledore's wand from him. Eventually it was returned to Dumbledore. Harry took Draco's old/current wand which I guess meant that any wand that belonged to Harry was rightfully Harry's? That part gets a little murky but the Elder Wand was not the wand Harry had gotten from Draco... it flew to him when Voldemort tried to use it against him. (And Harry figured it out because he saw the Snape/Dumbledore convo about Draco mingled in with all of the other flashbacks.)
I'm not sure how I feel like the epilogue. I don't have a problem with the happily ever after... it's a children's book so I get that. However, it felt very sterile and that kinda bugged.
However, to be fair, if they hadn't been using it, I would have wanted to know why. Once you introduce something like that, it makes it all that much harder to explain why they WOULDN'T just use it instead of having to come up with another way in. (The same could be said about the Cloak which I often felt was overused throughout the whole series even though I understood why.)
Totally agree. Like I said, I admit it was the best solution in all those cases.
However, it felt very sterile and that kinda bugged.
Sterile! That's a good word. It felt SO WEIRD. Someone else said it lacked depth, which is also true. Anna thinks it seriously is just the chapter she wrote seventeen years ago, and she didn't bother to rewrite it after writing six books and improving as a writer. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/32605099/149276) | | From: | jinian |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 01:30 am (UTC) |
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nice dystopian fic about the world under Death EatersI am getting myself thoroughly spoiled via friendsfriends just now, so thank you for the detailed post. After checking on your userinfo that you are not like twelve, and even though you don't sound like you read fic, I will also recommend the lovely, dark, twisted dystopian fic The Bloody Stare of Mars, which has been around for quite a while now. Heh. I don't read fic, but thanks for the rec, as I'm sure some of my commenters will appreciate it. I ... enjoyed the epilogue. There, I said it. Didn't get the impression she wrote it back when she wrote HP1 or anything. My only complaint was not finding out what happened to Luna.
I finished yesterday around 8pm (started around 3) and have been re-reading since. I just found this one so satisfying.
Agree with you re: Senseless Death Quotient (SDQ) being very very high. Especially Remus & Tonks, when Tonks was one of the coolest and most underutilized characters - especially in a series where (outside of Hermione) there are scant few strong/smart female characters.
Here's where I cried: Hedwig, Dobby, Fred, Colin Creevey, and when Neville totally came into his own. That last one was sort of a happy kind of crying - because I have always had a soft spot for poor stunted Neville. Gosh, I just loved his Gran at the end.
Now I'm just free-associating. My only complaint was not finding out what happened to Luna.
Amen. I always hoped she'd hook up with Neville, oddly. He's so grounded and she's so off in her own space (and yet so much more 'there' than she appears) that I always thought they'd balance out well. Finally, no review can be complete without the following observation: J.K. Rowling has discovered the colon. I hope you really enjoyed it, Jo: one day, I hope you learn how to use it properly.
I give you a world of yes: it did make me cringe.
Regarding Snape, his death was HARSH. But. I thought it was pretty excellent that he accidentally removed a Weasley's ear, and then just ran with it in a George-of-the-Jungle I-meant-to-do-that kind of way. Thing is, he appeared to be aiming at the Death Eater's hand. So what was he going to say if he hadn't missed and ended up, like, slicing the dude's hand off? "Ooooh, sorry, I was aiming for the boy! My bad!" That'll look good when he reports back to Voldie. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/62091210/9373140) | | From: | gymble |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 03:03 am (UTC) |
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Wait, it took you fifteen hours to read the final installment? I can't read that much faster than you, can I?
I can't believe she killed Hedwig.
I know! I hate animal death. I guess it set the stage for anyone could die though! Seriously, the body count was off the charts.
I really missed Hogwarts and all the students; it feels like HBP was the last "real" Harry Potter book, as this one had a completely different structure.
I know what you mean; I was pretty upset after reading HBP and she basically announced that the next book wasn't going to be at Hogwarts. At least the final fight was there; really, it had to be.
She could have called this book Harry Potter and the Polyjuice Potion Solves Everything, eh? Although the repetitive use got a little irritating, I had to admit it was always a good option, especially since they were on the run.
Hee. Yeah, that's always the problem in fantasy (and comic books and the like); you come up with a cool gimmick that solves a problem in one story and then realize that you're stuck with it for all time and it ends up being overused because otherwise you have to invent some excuse as to why the first cool gimmick doesn't work anymore.
That kid has really grown up, hasn't he?
He has! I was thinking about how much he'd grown while reading. Aw.
It's funny that Harry killed Voldemort with Expelliarmus, his signature spell.
I loved that. It came full circle to the beginning of the book where Harry explained why he didn't stun/kill Stan. Harry is a good person and that's what saves him in the end!
It was very reminiscent of another Unexpectedly Brutal Death of a Comic Relief Character. You know who I'm talking about.
Dear God, yes. No Wash, no!
The epilogue was sort of vomit-inducing in a bad-fanfic kind of way.
I don't think it was that bad. Although yes, I can see where everyone is coming from. I think it's my love of sappy happy endings that gets me through it. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/43490495/9045142) | | From: | spadada |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 03:43 am (UTC) |
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Oh. Wash. That was unexpected and brutal and jarring and awwww. Aw, thanks! Nice. I like how all the comments are reccing fic, and it's like...dude, I was just saying. I don't actually care. Also, punch that one guy. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/98495882/9045142) | | From: | spadada |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 03:16 am (UTC) |
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Harry Potter and the Polyjuice Potion Solves Everything
TOTALLY. That was my biggest complaint. (And oddly I came back to LJ to add that to my last post only to find out you thought the same thing!) And don't the bad guys ever use it? Or test for it? Ha ha ha! No, the bad guys don't even know Polyjuice Potion EXISTS, apparently. Here via  metaquotes, and you are the only other person on the entire internet, as far as I can tell, that is mourning Hedwig. Dear, sweet, lovely Hedwig. *sniff* Also, man, I was already crying about Fred, did you really have to put Wash in my head too? Now Fred will always equal Wash for me. Waaaaaaaaaaaah. Red-headed woe. There are more of us who mourn Hedwig! mutinousmuse! gymble! eirefaerie! Poor little owl. Seriously, it was just so...she got CURSED to death, for Christ's sake. WHO CURSES AN OWL?? oh Dudley. so heartwarming. I'm glad it was saved for the seventh book so it was a little more of a surprise.
Harry using the Imperius curse bothered me the most, out of anything. Wasn't that the whole point, it's not that good people can't or don't want to do evil-y powerful things, it's that they choose not to?
I'm glad Snape lulled me into a false sense of security. I definitely was like, OH NOES OH YESES. Snape loving Lily must have totally been a fan thing, because nothing in the other books ever made me go yes, he totally wants to get into Lily's pants. I definitely never got the impression that he grew up with Lily and in the process stole her from Petunia, causing her to feel lonely and inadequate. What if after his first year Harry had just told Aunt Petunia that he hated Snape? She might have given him cake.
I already thought that Snape killing Dumbledore was a mercy killing (from the potion, not the ring curse though) so I guess it didn't bother me? And Snape was such a mother hen to Dumbledore.
It's not lame! If Harry had just killed him he'd be a jerk! A JERK.
Oh Dobby! Kreacher was sweet, but he was so devoted to people he did whatever they wanted. Dobby decided Harry was a good person even though he'd never met him before, and even when he did meet Harry he still did whatever he thought was right regardless of what Harry thought.
Fred's the death that made me lay awake at 3AM wondering how George will cope. What happens to their joke shop?
Tonks served the purpose of being adorable. please.
The part where Crabbe died was another awwww moment to me. Cause you (or at least I) totally think Crabbe and Goyle are just people Malfoy is using and then it turns out he really loved them after all. d'aw.
I'm so angry Molly got to Bellatrix. I mean, yes, she's awesome, and yes, Neville killed the snake and rocked it in a billion other ways, but I wanted him to get revenge.
Yeah, the epilogue was a little bit of terrible. I don't care how much you love Dumbledore, Albus is a middle name. I did awww at his middle name being Severus (I am a sucker) and thought it was kind of cool that Bill and Fleur named their kid Victory. I'm at a little bit of a loss as to why she went to Hogwarts and not Beauxbatons. Fred's the death that made me lay awake at 3AM wondering how George will cope. What happens to their joke shop?
I wanted a scene with George crying, "Now you'll be able to tell us apart, mum. I'm the one who's not dead." I may have a sick sense of humor.
The part where Crabbe died was another awwww moment to me. Cause you (or at least I) totally think Crabbe and Goyle are just people Malfoy is using and then it turns out he really loved them after all. d'aw.
Yeah, the Malfoys showed that they have hearts after all. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/98830004/564389) | | From: | sterope |
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| Date: | July 23rd, 2007 05:59 am (UTC) |
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Book 3 for life!!! Hedwig's death was the only one that I got really upset about. I think I might want to rip the epilogue out of my book and burn it, and then I'd be a lot happier about the "happy" ending. Mad-Eye Moody was a good one to off early because he has enough of a name to have an impact on the characters, but the reader doesn't have a real attachment to him, since we never got to know the real Moody, so much.
Speak for yourself, hon. I know why she killed him - far too powerful - but this was one I was pretty upset about.
And Tonks?! Who ended up serving no purpose at all, ever?
Oh, but she did: she had Lupin's baby. Bit of a sexist purpose, sure, but at least she tried to make her interesting before.
The epilogue was sort of vomit-inducing in a bad-fanfic kind of way. I don't want to read about thirty-six-year-old Harry and his gaggle of children named after people! Gah! "All was well"? That's how it ends? Happily ever after?
After seventeen years of wallowing through all that misery, she probably wanted some nice fluff in the end. Besides, the books don't only have adult readers - although I'm not sure how many under 10 year olds will get to read this - for them it might be reassuring. And dude, Scorpius Malfoy!
Good stuff. I'm really happy to read your thoughts, since the "reviews" online are so very very vague. I understand that newspapers write non spoiler reviews, but there's a place for detailed reviews too.
I'm try to sort through things that were going to be answered in Book 7:
- The importance of Lily's eyes: check
- Harry's power of love: So he'd sacrifice himself? That didn't give him any help in actually offing ("vanquishing") Voldemort, though.
- Someone gaining magical powers late in life: ?
- Why Sirius had to die: so his mirror would be passed on to Aberforth? Not sure on this one.
Agreed that the epilogue was unnecessary. I'm fine learning what happens to the characters, but I'd prefer an explicit reckoning or family tree rather than the cutesy story.
I'm fine learning what happens to the characters, but I'd prefer an explicit reckoning or family tree rather than the cutesy story.
Agreed. You've gone through a lot of the wand lore stuff in the comments, but one more confusion:
Ollivander says a wand "may" belong to Harry if he disarmed its previous owner. It can't be the case that every time a wizard is disarmed, ownership of their wand passes to the disarmer--we've seen too many disarmaments, including DA practice in OotP and Harry disarming Voldemort in GoF, with no mention of the wands' behavior changing afterward. So is there any particular reason the Elder Wand chose Malfoy? Or, more to the point, any particular reason Harry would have for thinking it did? *is confused*
(personally, I'm dissatisfied with all of the wand lore craziness and think it would have made more sense for JKR to just bite the bullet and kill Harry along with Voldemort, having taken it as far as she did. but that's just me.) |
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