Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - **SPOILERS**

[happyvac]

DON'T READ IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK

Anyway, I personally thought this was a good finish to the series. IMO the epilogue, was some transparent fan-service, (did we really need Hermione and Ron turning up?), but I know some folks will like it. I thought it was at least one of the best books of the series, in that it was surprisingly well-paced and much more exciting than previous ones (how many deaths and battles were there???)
I thought the deaths of Hedwig and Moody seemed a little...unnecessary. Was blowing up Hedwig really that important to the story? Couldn't Mad-Eye Moody have just joined the fight at Hogwarts and survived?
I was very impressed with Rowling's tying up of all the loose ends. The insights into Snape and Dumbledore's lives were interesting, put all of my questions to rest, except...
...who was the cowering creature in the train-station?
EDIT:
Who got their predictions correctly?
I thought that Harry was a horcrux
I thought that the Malfoys would redeem themselves
I thought that Snape was good
I thought that Harry would die (kind of right)
I thought that Neville would play a large role
I thought that R.A.B. was Regulus A. Black (duh)
I did not think that so many deaths would occur
I thought that Ron or Hermione would die
I did not see the Bellatrix-Molly showdown, which, honestly, was kind of odd
I did not see Harry resurrecting (although in hindsight, with the phoenix theme, it was kind of obvious)
I did not see any of the Hollow stuff

 

[feelingfishy]

Dude i hate reading but this sounds really interesting how many pages have you read?

 

[happyvac]

Finished...I mentioned Epilogue.

 

[dmitry]

I didn't think the deaths of Hedwig and Mad-eye were any less necessary than those of Fred, Lupin, and Tonks. And Colin Greevey! Where did he come from again?! Somebody had to go and I think Rowling wanted to set the tone early by killing 2 beloved characters right off the bat. I am surprised she killed Lupin and Tonks, especially right after they had a baby. And I always figured one of the Weasley twins would die.
I think everyone always knew that Snape wasn't altogether evil - but what form his redemption would take Rowling kept hidden very well.
I loved the structure of the book overall. We spent most of it on the run, not at Hogwarts. And knowing nothing about what was happening at Hogwarts. When we finally do arrive it's only fitting that the last stand against Voldemort would take place there.
I suspected Malfoy would redeem himself, but I didn't think his parents would join in - that's where Rowling played her "love" card. Voldemort underestimated Lucius and Narcissa's love for their son (love is something he did not understand) and it backfired. It's also interesting that his desire to be the one to kill Harry ultimately led to his downfall - if he had one of his Death Eaters use the curse on Harry in the Forbidden Forest, Harry would have died. But Voldemort's determination to do it was his ultimate downfall. And fascinating how the very same weapon that destroyed him the first time around destroyed him again, but this time for good.
Great scene of Neville pulling the sword out of the Sorting Hat and killing Nagini!
The Epilogue seemed a bit over-the-top to me, but a part of me is glad it's there - don't we all deserve a happy ending? I just wish all the kids weren't named Lily, James, etc.
Also, I'm surprised she had the characters wear RAB's Horcrux locket around their necks - and it made them do crazy things. And it leaves a scar on Harry's chest. She must have realized just how much this screams "The Lord of the Rings." Why would she open herself up to ridicule this way? Another comparison was the last-minute involvement in the battle by the Centaurs. Not unlike the Army of the Dead in LOTR.

 

[happyvac]

Yes - and the eagles - oh, sorry, the hippogriffs and thestrals, saving their butts in the final battle was a little revealing.
Couldn't they have just left the horcrux on a table/in Hermione's hammerspace bag?

 

[rubberduck]

Originally Posted by HappyVac
Yes - and the eagles - oh, sorry, the hippogriffs and thestrals, saving their in the final battle was a little revealing.
Couldn't they have just left the horcrux on a table/in Hermione's hammerspace bag?

ahhhhhemmmm....lord of the rings and narnia seem oddly familiar with the book now i think of it

 

[dmitry]

Originally Posted by RUBBERDUCK
ahhhhhemmmm....lord of the rings and narnia seem oddly familiar with the book now i think of it

The thing is that both LOTR and Narnia aren't entirely original creations. So much of them comes from ancient pagan and Christian myths. Tolkien, for example, was annoyed when his books were compared to Richard Wagner's operatic tetralogy "The Ring of the Nibelung," but he did protest too much. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how much Tolkien lifted, just like Wagner did, and many others.
But I am still surprised Rowling used some very obvious images in her book - I'm certain she knew what she was doing. She obviously has done a great deal of studying of this ancient lieterature. I just don't understand why she did it because I think for many these things will be viewed in a negative light.

 

[m0nk]

Personally I think that the way that everything came together was nicely done. It must have been difficult for JK to know what she was going to do with the story line from the very beginning without giving too much away.

 

[renogaw]

she did well with this book, finishing a lot of loose ends, although i think to believe that voldemort didn't know his horcruxes were being destroyed was a little odd.
i honestly thought that she did a great job putting to rest whether or not snape was bad or good. I don't like how rushed the book felt though. i think she could have probably made the book another hundred or more pages long just slowing the book a little.
I feel there were some loose ends still though--what happens to all the death eaters, giants, etc that fought? what happened to all the people that were under curses? if Harry was the godfather, why didn't Teddy Lupin live with them (says he only comes over for dinner)?
I guess i'm going to have to read the whole series again just to tie everything together again.

 

[dmitry]

I think Teddy Lupin only comes over for dinner because he is already 19 and might very well be living on his own. We don't know who raised him, though. Don't forget Harry is quite young when Teddy becomes an orphan. It's unlikely he'd be raising a todler all on his own at this early stage. And Ginny is still in school.
I think the assumption is that all those who fought on the side of Voldemort this time suffer the same fate they suffered the last time Voldemort was in power. Giants go back to their mountains. Death Eaters are put on trial. Etc.
I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that Voldemort wouldn't know his Horcruxes were being destroyed. He has no attachmen to the soul hidden in them, so he wouldn't know if parts of it were being killed off.

 

[adairable]

SO... I just finished it!
I'm so sad that it is over and call me sentimental and girly, but I am glad that Hermione and Ron are together and I liked all the children's names

I do wish like someone had said before, that there was more of an ending. Like what happened to the house elves??? And how about the ownership of the sword? Did the Goblin get it back? Are they all frieds now and there is peace between the races? I wish there was more of an "after"

 

[happyvac]

Also, my sister happened to bring up a good point - what are their jobs?

 

[adairable]

Aurors, at least for Harry.....IMO

 

[rylan1]

What is the facination with Harry Potter. I am not a Harry Potter hater or anything but why is these books/movies so popular?

 

[happyvac]

I thought he said he'd had enough excitement, isn't auror a dangerous job?
Anyway, I'm not sure why Harry Potter's reached the incredible popularity level it has. But I am sure that it's a fun, easy to read, and exciting book for kids/teens/adults.
The movies probably don't hurt either.

 

[m0nk]

There was a recent interview, after the book release, where Jo answers some of the questions such as Ron, Harry, and Hermione's careers. She said that all 3 work at the ministry, Ron and Harry as Aurors (Harry is the department head) and Hermione in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Here's the article based on the interview:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/

 

[adairable]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
What is the facination with Harry Potter. I am not a Harry Potter hater or anything but why is these books/movies so popular?
Honestly the reason I got into the series was to support my brother. I am the oldest of 5 and I have this one deliquent younger brother. When he was in elementary school he refused to read. Somehow he got into the series, I think a teacher was reading it to the class. Anyway, I wanted to support him and be able to talk to him about his first "chapter book". So, I read it with him, being the huge book worm that I am. And you really do get hooked on them. They are just so easy to read and action packed.

 

[adairable]

Originally Posted by m0nk
There was a recent interview, after the book release, where Jo answers some of the questions such as Ron, Harry, and Hermione's careers. She said that all 3 work at the ministry, Ron and Harry as Aurors (Harry is the department head) and Hermione in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Here's the article based on the interview:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/
KNEW IT!!!!

 

[dmitry]

NBC will be airing an interview with Rowling (the one this article is based on) on Sunday.
I think the ending is good as it is. I think we need to accept that there is no way to tie up every single thread. And some of them perhaps don't need to be wrapped up. I suspect many things will continue being as they were before Voldemort. It's doubtful that Goblins and humans will become buddies: Goblins didn't join in the fight against Voldemort because they are opportunitstic. Giants joined with Voldemort, so they're likely to remain outcasts (Grawp aside). Centaurs and humans might develop better relations because they joined the final battle. But I don't think it's necessary to spell all these things out. We can draw our own conclusions.

 

[dmitry]

Also, let's talk about Snape. He is by far the most complicated character in the books (though Rowling certainly complicated a lot of people in the last book.) Harry calls him the bravest man he ever knew. Do we agree with this? Certainly Snape's actions over all this time were heroic, but he was still a, for lack of a better term, bad man. His treatment of Harry (as well as Hermione and Ron, and anyone else not belonging to Slytherin) was reprehensible. Look at how he treated Neville, for example. What was Neville's sin as far as Snape was concerned? Snape's love and affection for Lily all these years don't entirely soften the blows. He died looking into Harry's eyes (which, let's remember, were exactly like his mother's.) Even though Snape despised James Potter and Harry was so much like his father, his - Snape's - affection for Harry's mother didn't give him all that much human decency. He was a jerk, in short. So was he the bravest man Harry ever knew? Of course, brave does not equal good.