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I finished reading �Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows� a few minutes ago. I�m not ashamed to admit I was in tears at the end: if anything, that�s a credit to JK Rowling � it�s only the very best writers who can draw such an emotional reaction from their audience (alternatively, I could just be a giant sap). I�m going to put my specific reaction down in a post, but so as not to spoil the book for those who haven�t yet finished, I�m going to delay that posting until Monday or later.
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Unlike such other diversions as the Wii or guilt-free sex, this one was readily available at several stops along my shopping route today. I leafed through a copy, never having read any of 'em, and was surpirsed as to how grown up the prose could be at times. Maybe I'll finally read the first book sitting on my shelf.
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I got my copy opening day, but took one look at my sister and gave it to her to read first. She's sick as a dog and severely dyslexic, so I found myself a copy of the Carpet Version(tm) to tide me over. It's not immoral if I've already bought it, right?
I'm going to endeavor to be as non-spoilery as possible, though.
Yeah, the last three chapters had me crying. I'm a sap. It was really the scene where Harry's going through the forest that did it for me.
I agree with Snay: Trelawney and the crystal balls ruled. "More for everyone who wants them!" or whatever. (I'm not finding the exact quote.)
From a purely editorial perspective, though, this book made me shudder. It's kind of funny to see how much editorial control she wields now compared to the first books. The earlier ones were a lot tighter with regards to both details and major plot points. But as she's more and more famous, I can imagine the "Because I'm the author!" attitude that she has with her editor. And I'm sure the publishers are backing her up because she's famous.
Example: HP&CoS and HP&HBP clearly establish that while the Ministry can detect magic in the area of underage wizards, they can't automatically tell who did what spells (which is how people from wizarding families can get away with doing magic in their homes, as well as how Dobby could frame Harry for doing magic outside school in CoS). HBP cements this, stating this fact exactly. It's not conjecture. And yet there's a big plot point in HP&DH that blows this out of the water.
And the epilogue. I understand why she has it there, but GAH. It reads like bad fanfic, it really does. Surely she could have done something more interesting with it?
On a lighter note, I can't wait for the really insane fanwanks to get going. *gets out the popcorn*
-------------------- "Don't fight forces; use them." --R. Buckminster Fuller
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Snay: The Trace. When the Death Eaters find them in Tottenham Court Road, they think at first it could be because they found a way to continue tracing Harry's magic use after he came of age. Their talk indicates that it's the wands that are traced, so they can tell who does what.
-------------------- "Don't fight forces; use them." --R. Buckminster Fuller
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Snay: That's the truth. But they thought otherwise when they didn't know about that. That spell was called the Taboo; the Trace was supposed to follow underage wizards.
-------------------- "Don't fight forces; use them." --R. Buckminster Fuller
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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