Harry Potter... Warning: Spoilers

[chris_f]

soooo anybody finish yet, if you happen to be a dork like me?

WOW... hell of a way to end it all!!

[Cynic]

I may eventually read the books, but at present, I have no interest. I wasn't all that impressed with the movies either.

[LT Hebert]

I read the first one, but that's it. It was good enough, just not my usual type of book.

[FlyinM]

I am not into HP, but Mrs. FlyinM is. The book arrived Saturday and she had it finished by Sunday afternoon. She gave it 'thumbs up' but is sad the series is now over.

[Paradigm]

Finished it and definitely think it was awesome. The first couple books were definitely so-so, I felt that the plot finally got good starting at book 3. I'm glad that the series ended without deus ex machina to resolve any loose ends.

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

I've never read any of the books nor seen any of the movies. Someday I just may have to see what all the hype is about.

[UConnJulie]

Shark, I reread book 6 on Sunday, having received my book 7 in the mail on Saturday (I love Amazon!), and finished book 7 on Monday. I am now reading it again because I always pick up more stuff when I'm not in a hurry to finish and find out how it ends. I thought it was just great ... but I am sad that the series is over. I wonder if she'll start another series ...

[SpacecityPaula]

I picked up Sunday Morning and finished it by Sunday Evening. I think she did a really good job with how she ended things. There were a number of things I wasn't expecting in the book.... Hedwig for one.... Dobby.... Snape's relationship with Lily Potter.

[chris_f]

Originally Posted by Cynic

I may eventually read the books, but at present, I have no interest. I wasn't all that impressed with the movies either.

If you're using the movies as a basis for the books, you'll never want to read them. the movies blow.

I got hit with so many twists. The fact that Snape isn't actually evil... the whole novel i was pissed at off at him, only to find out the internet rumors were true, and snape and dumbeldor had conspired to have dumbledor killed (this was speculated about two summers ago on web groups)...

I'm amazed at who she killed off: Dobby, Lupin, Tonks

Also, Kreachers attack on Voldemort as leader of the house elfs gave me chills of joy. He was probably one of my more favorite surprises in this one (not just that scene, but his whole role in the book)

[Jokerz]

I'm in the process of re-reading the series, as I do not really remember what happened in most of them. But I hear good things about the last one.

[chris_f]

I also really enjoyed how Neville has really come into his own. He's slowly been building confidence since the first book, but in this one he was just a mega-badass... i loved it!

[Dr. Casey]

Originally Posted by shark

If you're using the movies as a basis for the books, you'll never want to read them. the movies blow.

You stole my response.

I loved Deathly Hallows, though. It's my favorite of the seven. A lot of people complain about the slower parts of the book during the fruitless months the three spend searching for the Horcruxes, but I loved those parts. I thought they were very atmospheric.

I never cared about Tonks (too perky in the fifth book, too sullen in the sixth) and Lupin was never that interesting to me, but Dobby's death was done very well. It's also the one that Harry shows the most emotion over, interestingly enough. Loved the message he put on Dobby's grave.

I was impressed with Neville's growth, too. He rose to the occassion whenever given the chance in Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, but he never had that air of confidence or self-actualization that he does in Deathly Hallows. It's more than just being brave; it now seems that he always holds respect for himself rather than having spurts of showing his true colors whenever the situation arises. He's come into his own and is always at his best.

I liked how dark and hellish the 1996-1997 year of Hogwarts was; kind of wish we'd gotten more insight as to what all transpired. Until the Battle of Hogwarts in June, the whole year was really dark and miserable. Kind of romantic in a way. Sure would suck to be a first-year, wouldn't it? It would be like the exact opposite of Harry's first year experience, when the wizarding world was at peace and everything was so innocent and cheerful. I bet Ginny and everyone else will love the 1997-1998 year, being able to enjoy a normal term of school for once.

Was anyone else surprised at Draco Malfoy's very small role? This is by far the least exposure he's gotten in any of the books. And shark, has your opinion on Dumbledore gotten better or worse as a result of the light shed on his background and psyche? What do you think of Scrimgeour now? (I have nothing but respect for the guy after he protected Harry like that. Makes him feel quite fatherly, actually.) What do you think of the dozen or so memories shown in "The Prince's Tale"? Did you think Percy's redemption was completely fucking awesome? Were you disappointed Harry went with Luna instead of Cho to find the lost diadem? (I'd have liked to see some more Harry/Cho interaction, personally...) I probably have other questions, but I can't remember them so I'll ask them later.

Also, the scene where Harry cries at his parents' graves and Hermione conjures up that wreath was great. Very touching scene, that. I like to think of the scene while listening to "Disenchanted" by My Chemical Romance. Think it fits well for some reason.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by shark

If you're using the movies as a basis for the books, you'll never want to read them. the movies blow.

Oh, I'm quite aware of how movies rarely capture the scope and scale of a book. The 80s version of "Dune" was perhaps the biggest eye opener. Liked the movie, read the book a decade later and changed my opinion of the movie.

[chris_f]

wow Casey, you brought up some GREAT talking points! Let me see if I can actually address all of them.

Excellent assessment of Neville, first off.

I'm not sure what years you're talking about. I go by year 2, 3, year 7, etc. Not actual dates - care to clarify?

I wasn't terribly surprised by Draco's small role, given his failure in book 6, though I guess i expected just a little bit more from him. Not major disappointment, though. I'm still sorting out my feelings on dumbledore. I guess i see him as more human now. He took a big gamble on harry's life, though. Glad it paid off.

Scrimgeour will always have my loathing. I think he's an ass, and even though he protected Harry, I'm still definitely not a fan of him.

Not overly impressed by percy's redemption, but FLOORED by Snape's Penseive revelations. I hated him throughout the series, and now - he's actually a great guy? WTF?? Great twist.

Never really liked Cho either, so no loss there. And I LOVE Luna - she's weird like me!

[SpacecityPaula]

I think the stuff with Dumbledore reflected real life in many ways. Nothing more shocking or disillusioning to a child to realize that a parent or mentor is just as human as he is - it takes a while to sort out and I think that was part of the horacrux journey.

Neville was just badass in that last scene. I wanted to jump on the bed and scream "YEAH Neville!"

Thought that the duel scene between Bellatrix and Molly could have been better. The "Get away from my daughter you bitch" line was swiped directly from from Aliens. Was a little disappointed in that.

Snape getting killed kind of shocked me... the penseive scenes were probably some of the best written in the book. They explained Snape in a way that you couldn't hate the guy any more. I can't wait to see how they handle that in the last movie. The penseive scenes made me cry too.

There was no need for harry to go back with Cho to Ravenclaw. She and Harry were old news. Harry was clearly in love with Ginny.

Some friends of mine in on another board wanted more explanation in the Epilogue but I thought she did a good job there, except for the reference to the scar. Wasn't sure why she would do that since the scar's creator was dead and there were no more links between harry's soul and voldemort.

[chris_f]

Paula, why she would do what? Note that he'd gone 19 years with no pain?

The pain in his scar had been progessively building throughout the series... it was just another piece of closure.

Excellent point about seeing your parents and mentors as human, and how it's confusing and difficult. I too LOVED the journey just as much as the action - it was a slow build followed by a whole ton of action!

I would have liked the molly/belatrix scene to contain more "stuff," for lack of a better term. More back and forth, etc. I liked that line a lot, though

[ODBSGIRL]

In expression of my not so hidden Dorkdom-I got the book on Saturday evening but couldn't start reading until Sunday night because my dorky self was out doing a duathlon I hadn't trained for at all. I finished Tuesday morning.

A) to echo so many others- I love Neville. I have been waiting thru 3 books for him to shine like a star. Actually I harbored a secret wish for HIM to be the real chosen one. The character development-his continuing emergence as a capable wizard versus his first year-his imroving memory etc. could have been part of building him into an even more important role than he was given. But that's MHO because I think dorks are hot.

B) I dunno-I could have lived without the Epilogue altogether. Personally I find messy books should not end up like 1/2 hour sitcoms-all neatly tied in a bow with everyone happy. Really- not that 19 years would have provided healing but to lose so many people who were such HUGE parts of your formative years, puhleez. I don't like stories that end too neatly and this one did, but only because of the addition of the epilogue.

C) I really really really wanted Draco and his father to SUFFER in this book, there is no way I wanted to see redemtion for them in any way. Kreacher though, that made me smile.

[chris_f]

ODBsGirl: Hi! Where's hubby??

You brought up a great point (C) about the Malfoy family - they got off really easy. I wish Voldemort had gone to town on them a bit more. Particularly Luscious and 'Cissy, but also Draco. That Harry saved him from the fire is, I think, a testament to the power of his love for all and what a great person he is. Would have been cool if Draco "switched teams" so to speak after that.

[Erika]

You can still dislike Snape - his actions were never for Harry or for the good of it, it was strictly for love of Lily. (It comes back to Love.)

Rather than re-read 1 through 6, I went to sparknotes online and read the synopsis and analysis of the books. I was very glad I did too.

I loved the lengthy middle. The were lost with no clues or ideas for months, she couldn't have conveyed that well if it was a simple paragraph.

I would have preferred more Draco too - I didn't like them getting to hang with the the reuniting families in the great hall - I wanted more suffering or some show of shame on their part.

[ODBSGIRL]

Hubby is busy. Sometimes it even has to do with family things instead of work!!! yea! I know he won't read this, he hasn't read any of the books and except for the most recent-has either not seen or fallen asleep in the movies.

Snape. The character we love to hate. I thought it was interesting the way she finally gave him a more "human" core. Not just that he loved Lily, but that it was an unrequited love and then the fact that she married the boy who had basically bullied him thru school. Ouch. And even then he wanted to save her, even if that was selfish to the point of sacrificing her husband and child. I think his reaction to Harry's presence seemed malevolent without this piece of information. Now it almost makes me hurt for him. Almost.

[chris_f]

Excellent analysis ODB's girl... i'm conflicted. He's so easy to hate, but JKR has given him a human element he lacked before. Even though Harry was very much like his mother, Snape couldn't look at him and not see Harry's dad.