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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Clearwater, FL

    Harry Potter SPOILERS !!! REPEAT SPOILERS!!

    Just finished it (I'm getting too old to pull all nighters). Excellent book

    I was dead wrong on pretty much everything I thought was going to happen except Snape being a good guy (for the love of Lily) and Harry's survival...although I will admit to a few week pages after Voldermort 'killed' him.

    Taking a nap...I'm trying to think if there are any loose ends that didn't get tied up ... perhaps someone with a clearer head then mine will find them
    Windsor (aka Loni)

    a wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age

  2. #2
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    Spoilers!

    Now that I'm more awake...

    I really didn't like 'carrying the Syltherin lock changes your personality nonsense'...been there, read that...something about a ring and hobbits.

    I liked the house elves playing a real role in the story (did she have to Dobby off...that made me sadder than anyone else)

    I was surprised Dumbledore wasn't more involved - his brother as the bartender blindsided me completely.

    I expected more out of Petunia...I thought she was going to turn out to be magical like Lily...but they did cover why she was anti Wizard.


    Never would have guessed that at Malfoy would save the day.

    I thought Snape would end up as a 'good guy' but Rowling did an amazing job of turning him from a evil character to an almost tragic one in a few pages. Loved the Snape memories!

    I expected to be sad that the story was over, but it ended so well I was satisfied that it had been told beginning to end...I think writing anything else about those characters would tarnish the tale.

    All in all...Good triumphed over evil, Hope over came despair, paper covered rock, Voldemort died, Harry lived and if there were ewoks they would have sung!
    Windsor (aka Loni)

    a wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    Washington, DC
    Ugh, I had a horrible experience obtaining the book and was exhausted by the time I actually got it two hours later than I wanted to. Thus, sleep overtook me about an hour in. Curse you Windsor for beating me to the punch

    My first and overwhelming thought (other than the finality of it all) was that this book would make a great movie. At times, I felt like JK Rowling was writing a script complete with action shots and laugh cues. As for its literary merit, I thought it was really strong and was a fitting conclusion although I had minor quibbles abound (Mrs. Weasley taking down Bellatrix as everyone watched. Really? And it was incredibly annoying to watch the good guys just let the bad guys go and then fight them again later on. How are you supposed to win a war like that?)

    The book DID take the easy way out and will most likely appease the majority of the Potter world but just because something is easy does not mean it is not the way to go. I applaud JK for a job well done.

  4. #4
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    Spoilers !!

    Quote Originally Posted by Dukerati View Post
    I thought it was really strong and was a fitting conclusion although I had minor quibbles abound (Mrs. Weasley taking down Bellatrix as everyone watched. Really? And it was incredibly annoying to watch the good guys just let the bad guys go and then fight them again later on. How are you supposed to win a war like that?)
    I took the Mrs. Weasley taking out Bellatrix as a full circle on the power of a mother, she says something like 'leave my children alone you I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.' and then blasts her with power beyond what she normally could have mustered...plays to the whole power of mother love theme.

    I agree with letting the bad guys live...I was initially annoyed when he saved Draco..but of course it played out well in the end.

    I have always thought that Harry died in JK Rowling's original concept but I think based on popularity and the legions of fans she just could not do it.

    It will make an excellent movie. I agree that at times she is almost writing a movie script. Deathly Hallows will probably the movie truest to the book of all of them

    Sorry about beating you to the review I guess I can thank my Barnes and Noble.
    Windsor (aka Loni)

    a wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Ashburn, VA
    Overall pretty good.
    Things I could do without: the locket as some sort of LotR ring of power, the WWII / Nazi Germany parallels, the entire first half of the book...

    OK, that seems a bit harsh. But seriously, were I to reread it - unless I was just really in the mood for some H/He/R interaction study, I would skip most of the 3 of them wandering around for like 40000 pages.

    Things I called: Snape was good (not really a big surprise there - though I had no idea he liked Lily) and he died, Neville's act of heroicism (didn't know how it was gonna play out - but I knew he was gonna do something big), the repayment of Pettigrew's debt, none of the Golden Trio dying, and the importance of saving Draco.

    Though I really did expect more of a redemption story out of Draco. I fully expected a Darth Vader like turn to good by the end and him helping bring down Voldy. Oh well.

    I found the Dumbledore backstory quite interested and unexpected (though Aberforth being the Hogs Head barman was no surprise).

    Is it sad that I completely glossed over the part where Lupin and Tonks died? It wasn't till like 2 chapters later when Harry mentioned it that I was like "wait - huh - what happened?" My bad...
    Last edited by snowdenscold; 07-21-2007 at 10:27 PM.

  6. #6

    Lupin and Tonks

    I figured out Lupin dying when Harry activates the stone and sees his dad, mom, Sirius and Lupin - and I've already lent my book to someone, so I don't remember what is was called, but missed Tonks. I think that there was a point when they were taking care of the bodies that it came up. But it slipped by me too at first.

  7. #7

    finished

    Just after two a.m. Sunday morning and I have to leave town at 10, so this will be short.

    Got my copy from Amazon at 3:30 p.m., almost perfect timing -- just as I was finishing up re-reading the Half-Blood Prince.

    Overall, very satisfied ... I was a little surprised that so many of the key figures survived. Hated to lose Mad-eye, Tonks, Lupin, Dobby and Fred ... JKR was quoted as saying the Weasley family that was in the firing line, but they came out okay, compared to the Tonks' family -- Lupin, Tonks and Tonks' father, Ted ... that's rough.

    I was wrong about Harry being a horcrux -- but I can accept that he was not an INTENTIONAL horcrux. It makes sense that he accidentally captured part of Voldemort's soulk.

    I agree that the ending appears shaped as a film finish ... it will be a sensational scene when the dead Harry reveals himself in the Great Hall, just before his final duel with Voldemort.

    Also a great job redeeming Snape -- I was never quite sure how JKR was going to bring that off in a believable fashion, but she did.

    Again, a satisfying end to a classic series of books.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by highlandangel View Post
    I figured out Lupin dying when Harry activates the stone and sees his dad, mom, Sirius and Lupin - and I've already lent my book to someone, so I don't remember what is was called, but missed Tonks. I think that there was a point when they were taking care of the bodies that it came up. But it slipped by me too at first.
    Yeah, it's mentioned when Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the Great Hall after having been to the Shrieking Shack and seeing Snape get killed. The Weasley family is all clustered around Fred's body, and Ron and Hermione immediately go over there. Harry moves in that direction and there's a quick mention of him seeing the bodies of Remus and Tonks next to Fred. I, too, missed this on the first go-around, but caught it at the second mention, when Harry is pondering his death before he goes into the Forest. (and before he summons his parents, Sirius, and Remus using the Resurrection Stone)
    JBDuke

    Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”

  9. #9
    One thing that really, really bothered me was in the epilogue. There was a quick mention of Harry and Ginny's kids seeing Teddy down the platform, which begged the question - who raised him? It seemed to me that JKR made it a point to create a paralell between Teddy and Harry: parents both died at the hands of Voldemort, both have Godfather's that were great wizards, both were orphaned very young. So it seemed to me like Harry and Ginny should've raised Teddy, especially since Harry got so much pleasure out of being with his Godfather, Sirius. Maybe I missed something at some point in the epilogue (I was reading at a blistering pace the whole way through the book), but that just sort of bothered me.

    Also, I really enjoyed Snape's final scene. The memories pouring out of him was a really great idea on JKR's part and I enjoyed reading about them. Still, I think Snape's venomous attitude toward Harry was a bit over the top throughout the series given how much he supposedly loved his Mother.

    Overall though, I really, reall enjoyed it. I liked it a lot more than OOTP and HBP, not sure yet where I would rank it among the other four.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by pacificrounder View Post
    One thing that really, really bothered me was in the epilogue. There was a quick mention of Harry and Ginny's kids seeing Teddy down the platform, which begged the question - who raised him? It seemed to me that JKR made it a point to create a paralell between Teddy and Harry: parents both died at the hands of Voldemort, both have Godfather's that were great wizards, both were orphaned very young. So it seemed to me like Harry and Ginny should've raised Teddy, especially since Harry got so much pleasure out of being with his Godfather, Sirius. Maybe I missed something at some point in the epilogue (I was reading at a blistering pace the whole way through the book), but that just sort of bothered me.

    Also, I really enjoyed Snape's final scene. The memories pouring out of him was a really great idea on JKR's part and I enjoyed reading about them. Still, I think Snape's venomous attitude toward Harry was a bit over the top throughout the series given how much he supposedly loved his Mother.

    Overall though, I really, reall enjoyed it. I liked it a lot more than OOTP and HBP, not sure yet where I would rank it among the other four.
    Snape was a pretty tortured guy. Maybe Harry looking soooo much like his dad was just too much. He may have been the son of the woman he loved, but he was a constant reminder of the guy that kept him from having a chance with her.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Boston area, OK, Newton, right by Heartbreak Hill
    Quote Originally Posted by pacificrounder View Post
    One thing that really, really bothered me was in the epilogue. There was a quick mention of Harry and Ginny's kids seeing Teddy down the platform, which begged the question - who raised him?
    Someone does say Our Teddy? I took that to mean he was raised by Harry with help from the Weasleys. Sorry we didn't see a tiny bit of George in the epilogue. I'd love to hear if he kept up the joke shop, maybe with Lee Jordan.

    I was prepared for 2 major characters to die, when Mad-Eye Moody died, I thought, OK, that's early, is that one? I kept waiting for him to make a later appearance without his eye. When Dobby died, I thought, OK, that's definitely one. When Fred died, I went, Ok, there's two, when Remus and Tonks were laid out next to Fred, I thought, OK, define a major character cause we haven't even gotten to Snape yet. Didn't everybody predict Snape as likely to go? He was on my list although the Weasley I was betting on was Percy (got the last minute change of heart right though). I figure with Percy's change of heart coming, Draco's might have been overkill. The Malfoys were cowed at the end, just wanting to survive. You can't really say they had a change of heart but they weren't really fighting for Voldemort in the end either.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bostondevil View Post
    The Malfoys were cowed at the end, just wanting to survive. You can't really say they had a change of heart but they weren't really fighting for Voldemort in the end either.
    Draco refuses to confirm Harry/Herminoe/Ron's identies - giving a 'they might be' rather than a positive ID.

    It was Narcissa Malfoy who lied to Voldemort and said Harry was dead, had she not done that Harry would have been dead for good.
    Windsor (aka Loni)

    a wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age

  13. #13
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    Feb 2007
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    Winter Park FL
    I was really worried halfway through the book, it was so dark and had barely answered any questions, and raised many more. 3/4 through and I couldn't figure how she could resolve the whole Snape business (I knew he had to be good). Brilliant to put it in a pensieve and resolve in a few pages. I also liked how it resolved Harry having to die to kill Voldemorts soul within him but that Voldemort actually saved him because a part of Harry was actually within him. Despite the slow moving nature of the 1st half of the book, I was very satisfied with the ending and really enjoyed it overall.

  14. #14
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    Ashburn, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by pacificrounder View Post
    One thing that really, really bothered me was in the epilogue. There was a quick mention of Harry and Ginny's kids seeing Teddy down the platform, which begged the question - who raised him? It seemed to me that JKR made it a point to create a paralell between Teddy and Harry: parents both died at the hands of Voldemort, both have Godfather's that were great wizards, both were orphaned very young. So it seemed to me like Harry and Ginny should've raised Teddy, especially since Harry got so much pleasure out of being with his Godfather, Sirius. Maybe I missed something at some point in the epilogue (I was reading at a blistering pace the whole way through the book), but that just sort of bothered me.
    Remember the other person who lost both his parents to Voldy when he was only a baby? Teddy could have been raised by his grandmother like Neville was, and then just have hung out at the Potter's a lot...



    Also, can someone give the page # of where Draco didn't reveal identities? I don't quite remember that.


    Oh, another thing that I find interesting in the series - how young all the adults would have to be. I guess wizards just start families early or something, but Harry's parents died at age 21, so Harry would have been born when they were 20. It probably doesn't help that in the 3rd movie, Lupin, Pettigrew and Sirius definitely don't look only 33! (despite the aging effect Azkeban had on Sirius...) Nor do Harry's parents look 21 in photographs / the mirror. And I absolutely love Alan Rickman, but he has not been between 31 and 35 these past 5 movies.

    One final thing - who is everyone's kid at the end? H/G have James, Albus and Lily. R/H have Hugo and Rose. So who is Victoire? I assume it's Bill and Fleur's daughter, but I couldn't confirm that.
    Last edited by snowdenscold; 07-22-2007 at 02:54 PM.

  15. #15
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    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by snowdenscold View Post


    Also, can someone give the page # of where Draco didn't reveal identities? I don't quite remember that.
    Page 459
    It definitely was not pleasant for those around Vodemort. I could see why the Malfoys may have had second thoughts about helping him, of course they obviously could not openly oppose him.

  16. #16
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    Feb 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by pacificrounder View Post
    One thing that really, really bothered me was in the epilogue. There was a quick mention of Harry and Ginny's kids seeing Teddy down the platform, which begged the question - who raised him? It seemed to me that JKR made it a point to create a paralell [sic] between Teddy and Harry: parents both died at the hands of Voldemort, both have Godfather's that were great wizards, both were orphaned very young. So it seemed to me like Harry and Ginny should've raised Teddy, especially since Harry got so much pleasure out of being with his Godfather, Sirius. Maybe I missed something at some point in the epilogue (I was reading at a blistering pace the whole way through the book), but that just sort of bothered me.

    ...
    It bothered me, too, until I realized that Teddy would be 19 at the time of the epilogue, and therefore, he's of age and may very well not be living with the family. James, Harry and Ginny's oldest, call's him "our Teddy", so they're obviously still very close. I suspect that Victoire, who James calls "our cousin" (and also due to the Frankish name) is the daughter of Bill and Fleur. She might very well be, say, in her 7th year at Hogwarts. So, Teddy's there to see her off.

    That help you feel better?
    JBDuke

    Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”

  17. #17
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    Feb 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by Windsor View Post
    Draco refuses to confirm Harry/Herminoe/Ron's identies - giving a 'they might be' rather than a positive ID.

    It was Narcissa Malfoy who lied to Voldemort and said Harry was dead, had she not done that Harry would have been dead for good.
    Well, if Harry had said Draco was dead, would she have answered the same way? Still not a change of heart, I think. And I don't think Draco was trying to save Harry/Hermione/Ron as much as he was trying to save himself. I think he was probably very unhappy to see them because it meant Voldemort would be summoned to his home. I rather think, at that point in the story, a visit from Voldemort was something he wanted to avoid.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Durham, NC

    My 2 cents...

    My wife is still only about 200 pages in, so I need people to discuss with.

    I wrote this a couple of weeks ago:

    There is no way that JK can commit space to the discovery and destruction of the horcruxes in a worthwhile way and also deal with mourning, Hogwarts, love interests, and Snape's morality in a book that is manageable. I have this bad feeling, similar to how I felt after Clones - there is way more story that I want to hear than time to tell it.

    I am, once again, an idiot when it comes to pop culture predictions.

    I thought the book was great. Every lingering question I had - AD's hand, the smile at HP's blood in Voldy, Kreacher, the locket - they were all answered well. And she brought back so much from earlier books - the house elves, the centaurs, Fred and George's joke-shop toys used to infiltrate the Ministry.


    A well-woven tale. Finely crafted conclusion to a long and complex story. Not a complex theme, sure, but to keep track of so many moving pieces and leave a complete sense of story is impressive.

    The one thing I left wanting was knowing what Harry, Ron and Hermione did as grown-ups. After all, they didn't graduate from Hogwarts (at least, we were not given ay direct evidence of graduation.) I also wanted to know who was Headmaster. But whatever. Minor tidbits compared o everything else.

    Exiled
    Albus Severus - wow. That took me for a loop.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Western North Carolina

    Fantastic Book

    For JK, I think this book was a big fornicate-you to the movie makers. There is simply no way this book can be made into a single movie. Honestly, there are three separate movies. Here. The first is Harry going to the Burrow and the flight therein. Movie 1 concludes with the Death Eaters attacking the wedding, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione fleeing to grimmauld place.

    Movie 2 opens with The raid on the Ministry (which was like a thousand times better than Ocean's whatever), and closes with Ron comming back and destroying the locket.

    Movie 3 opens with Harry et al hitting Godric's Hollow and then at the Lovegood's learning of the deathly hallows. It closes with what could be the most effects heavy scene in moviedom to date, the Battle for Hogwarts.

    I am sorry, but there were times I had to stand up and calm down the book was so good.

    Snape was fantastic. You realized when Voldy made attendance at Hogwarts mandatory for all kids, Muggleborn, Pureblood, or Mixed, with Snape as headmaster, that Snape was good, as he was obviously behind this subtle move to bring all the children together where they could be given at least a measure of protection, away from Voldy's direct involvement. He was obviously protecting the kids. The punishments were severe, but another death eater would have used the killing curse at various points, while Snape did not. Snape also kept together a core of teachers that obviously opposed Voldy, but that would protect the students at all costs. Had to be good.

    JKR's greatest skill is that her characters are flawed (except for Hermione, whose 1 tiny imperfection, believing only that which can be proven with empirical evidence, is not that bad. Hermione looks like, and is supposed to be, JKR as a child, only smarter. She did not give "herself" many flaws.) Ron leaves, Harry questions himself, and they have to struggle. I agree about the LOTR stuff, but I saw it as more of a homage than a rip off. Standing on the shoulders of giants type thing.

    My main problem (other than Fred dying, wtf, bring back Percy, have a reconciliation, then kill him) was the epilog. What do the main characters do for a living? What happend to Luna? Prior to the book I thought she and Neville would hook up, but it seems that Dean, the ultimate background character prior to this, got Luna in the end (props Dino. We all know about the spacey, spiritualistic, arty types of girls. Kids, ask your parents when you turn 18, and date one at college). There is closure, but there isn't.

    As for the Malfoys, their redemption played to the central theme of the HP series. The power of love overcomes all. At the end of the day, the Malfoy's loved, whereas the rest of the death eaters did not. Lucious and Cissy loved each other, and they loved their son, and he loved them. It was not fear that saved them, it was their love for one another. Draco even tried to save one of his friends in the room of requirement, not unlike HP would do. Since the Malfoy's felt love, they were revulsed by what they saw in Voldy. If you were to join the Death Eaters, you could not really love anything. Even the married couples were more in the marriages for Dynastic purposes, probably even marrying other purebloods for the express purpose of proving their worth to Voldy than actual love. I can see the Malfoys, probably being like this as kids. But when voldy disappeared, they had a child that they loved. They were a close family, even if they were cold to outsiders. This love saved them. I knew when the Malfoys were looking out for each other that they would be good guys in the end.

    Truly, I only had one problem with the book, and that was the Death Eater reign of terror. Throughout the series we saw their ruthlessness and ferocity. One they had power, I really expected more of a crackdown. I really expected many more people to die as they looked for Harry potter. They did not really go after friends and family until late in the book, and then it was imprisonment, not torture and death, which would have flushed harry out. But, as this was a children's book, in theory, I will let JKR slide on this. The Nazi's would not have been so lenient towards their enemies.

    But, in this world, this was a nice moral tale on the necessity of tolerance, and again, how love conquers all.

    Patrick Yates

  20. #20
    All I can say is that I cannot imagine the book being any better.

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