Posted on 07/21/2007 5:18:11 PM PDT by JenB
So you finally know what happens to Harry. All our questions are answered. Or not. What are your reactions? Whose death hurt the most? Do you want more, and about whom?
SPOILERS are ok on this thread! You have been warned!
Wow. It's over.
ping to a few who might want to chat.
What happened?
Quick synopsis.
Ping to names I pulled off the “waiting for” list. SPOILERS!
OK, so I made that up. Check on page 604...
Must...Not...Look...
LOL!
Knocking off Fred was more than a bit frustrating, it was almost like she was pulling names out of a hat to decide who died. I’m also rather unclear - wasn’t the sorting hat burned? And if it was, what does the sorting at Hogwarts now? But Harry tells him that the hat listens, so, hey, guess they got someone to fix it up?
Best ‘blip’ appearance in the book - Former Divinations teacher and Hogwarts Resident, Trelawney, tossing crystal balls from her bag at the death eaters. Really, really got a kick out of that mention.
Most frustrating death: Fred, without a doubt. Come on, could have given Percy a chance to save his brother and redeem himself for being a twit.
Overall, it makes up for the previous two books, but I really would have liked to have read about this year from the perspective of one of the Hogwarts students.
Harry is taken away from the Dursleys and sets off on his quest for Voldemort’s Horcruxes after Bill and Fleur’s wedding. By this time, there have already been three deaths, one we care about. The locket horcrux was, as suspected, taken by Regulus Black, but is not destroyed but in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. H, R, & H sneak into the MoM and steal it, freeing a crowd of Muggleborns waiting to be hauled off the Azkaban in the process.
They discover the Horcrus is extremely hard to destroy. Ron eventually quarrels and storms off into the night. Harry and Hermione continue alone. They visit Godric’s Hollow, where Harry was born and where Dumbledore’s family lived. They are discovering disturbing truths about Dumbledore and his family, including that he was once friends with Grindelwald, the second most evil wizard either. They also recieve tantalizing hints about the Deathly Hallows, three magical objects which allow the user to be MAster of Death...
They are led to Godric Gryffindor’s sword by a mysterious doe patronus, and Ron rejoins them. They are captured by Death Eaters and taken to the Malfoy Estate, escape, and rob Gringotts for the cup Horcrux which is stored there. Harry realizes that the final Horcrux is at Hogwarts. They return with help from Dumbledore’s brother, the innkeeper at the Hog’s Head, and Neville leads them into the school. Neville has been leading the resistance movement at Hogwarts.
Harry has the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s army, and his old Quidditch team secure the school against Voldemort while he finds the final Horcrux, a diadem which belonged to Ravenclaw. Voldemort arrives. He demands Harry. Dumbledore kills Snape, who he believes has been a faithful servant. Snape’s dying act is to give Harry his memories, which reveal that Snape loved Lily Potter from childhood, that Dumbledore asked him to kill him (Dumbledore was dying already), and that Harry must face Voldemort - and die.
Harry goes to face Voldemort, has a near death experience, revives. Neville kills Nagini the snake. Harry faces Voldemort - and wins.
The epilogue is 19 years later, as he and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione, are seeing their children off to Hogwarts...
Death toll that we care about: Mad-Eye Moody, Dobby, Fred Weasley (sob), Remus Lupin (sob) and Nymphadora Tonks, who are married and leave behind a son, Colin Creevey, Snape. Crabbe or Goyle, I forget. A bunch of random people like Scrimgeour and the Muggle Studies tacher.
The whole point was that Harry finally got to be what he always wanted - normal. He has a family who loves him (the Weasley family! A big family too.)
Fred’s death was the worst, yes. Lupin’s was off screen, so it had no impact. It took my three reads through the page before I could believe Fred was dead.
I don’t suppose you’d change “readciton” to “reaction” in the title for me?
Sheesh, spellcheck, girl.
Sweet. I will go out this week and buy the last book.
LOL! How fast do you read? My commie-librul sister is still incommunicado with the thing in hand...
When we got there, we were refused entry - we didn’t have one of the precious wrist bands they had issued an hour earlier, thus, we weren’t going to be permitted into the store, nor permitted to purchase the books we had reserved.
I called my credit card company to cancel the charges, and it was handled in moments, American Express had heard from a great number of customers across the country as they too were denied books at various stores, and there wasn’t the slightest bit of hesitation as it was canceled.
Instead, we went to our local Walmart, got in line, got wrist bands from a sorting hat, posters, book marks, and the coveted books, all with the minimum of fuss and muss. Made additional purchases while there, and we were out the door with our purchases while there was still a huge line left to process across the street at the B&N.
I can not fathom why, after getting a confirmation e-mail from the store of our reservation, and double checking the day before that we were on ‘the list’, that B&N would choose to treat their customers in this manner. But it does make us realize just how stupid a company can be on what is realistically one of their most important sales days in two years.
I made a commitment to buy, they made a commitment to sell, and I tried to keep up my end of the bargain, shame they couldn’t put forward the same effort. I’ll have to think twice before going there again.
It’s just so weird for me. Almost ten years of waiting for the next book.
I wrote fanfic. I wrote fairly ok fanfic for a 16 year old girl. I was the most popular Harry Potter fanfiction author for a while, based on fanfiction.net’s statistics. I made some friends I still have and some I wish I had still. My siblings and I would read the books aloud together the day after they came out. I didn’t this year because I’m grown up and married and living far away but the other six all did.
Now I will have to go and write the stories I like, since there is no other author I can rely on to give me the stories I crave. Well, she inspired my writing once. Maybe this time I can actually write my own world rather thank borrowing hers.
Here’s to you, Jo Rowling, and thanks.
It was only second stringers that died, so none of them had the impact that killing Albus did, she played it safe.
Minor Political Correctness moments:
“bonded for life” instead of “husband and wife”
Bible verses on tombstones, but nothing to indicate the quote was from the Bible.
The Malfoy’s were nearly absent, they didn’t really redeem themselves or continue as before, they just kind of sat around sulking mainly. Should have done more with them.
I agree the non-search was very boring, should have gone to Hogwarts to keep things interesting, show Snape in action, make us wonder what he was up to.
So shouldn’t Harry have been raising Teddy since he was his godfather?
Somewhere out in the UK, Rupert Grint is very happy about getting to snog Emma Watson.
The elves were underused, killing Dobby just seemed contrived, just a way to keep things hard for Harry.
Overall, very good, not great.
I slowed way, way down and tried to savor every word. It took me something like 7 hours.
I assume Ted was raised by his grandmother Andromeda. Since family is so important in the books, Rowling would not have wanted Ted brought up by friends, even locing ones, when he has family around.
Second stringers? Fred Weasley is no second stringer. Remus’s death was ok because of the scene at the end - the true Marauders together in death as they once were in life.
True enough, just really my own expectations were different than the author's. The only real hanging string, actually, are the Dursleys. I really would have liked to have known what happened to them in the end, even a little teaser about Harry having to write Dudley when he got home would have been nice.
Don't get me wrong though, highly enjoyed the book. Really didn't expect her to leave the door open for more books in the universe, and quite pleased she did.
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.