[QuickTidal]

Cold Iron. My how someone must have hurt your very soul as a child.

I will agree with all the points that have been brought against your ludicrous (read: assinine) arguments so far, that you haven't read the books, that you seem to think those who would read both SE and Rowling are for some reason....beneath someone like you...ect. All crap. You're argument holds no water I am afraid. It's all the blather of someone with too much time, and as Rake said above...why you feel the need to come into the thread and get your hate on for a series you haven't EVEN read....is frankly QUITE laughable.

I really doubt as to whether I need to go into the fact that this series, over the last ten years, has made people READ again. People I would have never imagined with a book in their hands are clamoring and devouring HP. My niece is included in this. She now reads almost as much as I do, and I have already started her on some Neil Gaiman as well. This is the very BEST bit about Rowlings achievements.

Now, that being said, I have ALWAYS...ALWAYS been able to enjoy the merits of entertainment for youth. I STILL can be caught watching the occasional episode of Disney's Gummi Bears with my girlfriend, and I just yesterday ordered the Chipmunk Adventure DVD from Amazon. I PRIZE my Harry Potter hardcovers. They hold a place of special honour on my shelf. My comfort books. They are blissfully fun to read. I am 30 years old, and I am just as young as I feel.

That being said, I also, read and LOVE Erikson, Gaiman, Martin, Hobb, Scott Lynch, Phillip Pullman, Pratchett, Clarke...ect. I dig things like Classical antiquity (ie. Greece, the Roman and Byzantine Empires), Shakespeare (Titus Andronicus is my fave), Many varied types of music, from Sarah Brightman to Linkin Park, from Madonna to Bach.

Having said all this, I have the weirdest time trying to understand WHY you seem to dislike the idea of people reading both SE and Rowling.

Or did we go back to highschool cliques here? Where you must only like one thing, and be only part of THAT crowd. Fuck that, I was eclectic in Highschool, and though YOU might be a teenager, I am not.

here's a bit of a story...

When I was young, my grandfather, who was probably in around his mid-fifties at the time, used to get up EVERY Saturday morning, and come over and watch cartoons with me, and he enjoyed them almost more than I did. He was always being goofy and youthful. Those are treasured memories for me, as he died not too long after these memories of him when I was 3. That's all I have of him, all I can recall. I am told from family members who knew him best, that he never wanted to fully grow up. He knew responsibility (he raised a family of 5 children who all grew up well), but he also knew how to have fun and be youthful.

They say I inherited this spirit, and I am glad of it. This means that my kids will have my youthful exuberance to grow up around.

That is what I am sure you are missing. That your childhood didn't have any nice memories.

I feel sad and sorry for you.

[Cause]

Okay ill withdraw the apperating comment. I could not recall them studying it in book six. But I still feal the book relies too heavilly on half explained answers. So who cares if voldemort himself has not declared himslef minister for magic, the aurors are like the special forces of magic they should be smart enough to know whats going on and determined enough to stop it. They should not be hunting mudbllods over night. I also dont think the death eaters were in anyway shown to be remotley behinf the scenes in anything were shown.

Also too much just works out for harry potter. The deluminator suddenly has wierd powers to help ron find harry? Never explained the connection between light and finding people or how dumbeldore knows ron will need it.

[Varunwe]

The bad:

Too much camping.

Some very convenient things happened. Like Griffyndor's sword showing up like that.

Wormtail's deathscene.

The good:

Dudley and Kreacher. Didn't see that coming.

Snape. I knew it, he's on Dumbledore's side

Neville. He's become quite the badd ass.

Mrs. Weasly. Do not piss of that woman.

Harry lives! And so do Ron and Hermione. For a moment there I thought Ron had died. But it was Fred. Still very sad though. I loved the twins.

Some random comments.

Did the locket remind anyone else of the One Ring?

In the story of the three brothers, I pictured Hood as Death

[QuickTidal]

By Gryffindors sword showing up like that, did you mean when Harry found it at the bottom of that cold lake? (in which case, it is clear by the end that Snape put it there because it was in his office as Headmaster, and then used his Patronus to lead Harry to it, and he knew where to find Harry because of Phinneas Nigellus portrait....as explained in The Princes Tale chapter)...OR do you mean when Neville pulled it out of the sorting hat at the end? (because we already have known since book 2 that a TRUE Gryffindor, could in times of need make the sword appear....and Neville showed just as much courage and bravery that night as Harry did. Making him able to bring forth the sword and slice that damn Nagini's head off!)

So, in both cases, I think the sword showing up is perfectly explainable, and not at all "convenient for the sake of".

[Varunwe]

When it shows up in the lake. When you read that part for the first time, and don't know yet that Snape put it there, it seems very convenient. It probably won't bother me on rereads.

I loved that Neville destroyed a horcrux as well

[Grimjust Bearegular]

ch said:

The last line left some ambiguity as to whether there'd be sequels, imo. Harry muses to himself that his scar hasn't pained him for the last 19 years, so all is well...

Volume 1, Scene 1 of next series: "Harry's eyes opened in wonderment as his scar began to itch and then burst into excruciating debilitating overwhelming pain and he knew in the depths of his wizardly heart that one of his dear precious children had been captured and horribly maimed, if not killed and dismembered..."

lol! Maybe you should write the sequel:D


I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It always annoys me when the main character is invincible... but then again the character of Harry Potter has always sort of annoyed me, I don't like him as much as I like some of the other characters:confused:

but I'm so happy Snape wasn't evil after all! He's cool:D

[Kage-za]

Deathly Hallows was a very satisfying, very exciting read. It was accessible but not too childish, and it did a great job of emotionally investing me in the story.

I don't think anyone could argue that it is a perfect series, but it was entertaining for millions of people without ever being dumbed down for the masses (ok, at least not after they change the title of book 1 for American consumption). Moreover, Rowling has earned enough credit from me that I will read whatever she does next, whether she returns to the HP world or not.

The other great thing about my experience--I was in the middle of Bakker's The Darkness that Comes Before when my copy arrived, which I put down to devour DH. It is hard to imagine another series that is more dissimilar to HP in the fantasy genre than the Prince of Nothing. Good times.

Favorite chapter: "The Silver Doe," especially after finishing the book and discovering it was Snape. Snape's tragic, twisted, and yet unfailing love for Lily was moving. Harry's character flaws as a 17 year-old are partially forgiven for the perspective he shows in the flash-ahead epilogue. Of course I would have liked to know more, or seen more of Ginny and Neville during the book, but in the end I have no complaints.

[wintermute]

I was glad that Snape was good. Otherwise, Harry would have been right about pretty much everything in the series, ever.

But Mrs. Weasley killing Bellatrix LeStrange? That pissed me off. It seemed so fake. "Gerrr, anger power because children are threatened".

[QuickTidal]

wintermute;203592 said:

I was glad that Snape was good. Otherwise, Harry would have been right about pretty much everything in the series, ever.

But Mrs. Weasley killing Bellatrix LeStrange? That pissed me off. It seemed so fake. "Gerrr, anger power because children are threatened".

Actually I really liked that, because we have never been exposed to Mrs. Weasley's fighting before. You knew she had to be good though, so when she brought it out and kicked Bella's ass....that was WAY cool! I mean, I know we all wanted Neville to avenge his parents, but let's face facts, Bellatrix was way to strong for him, even as a 7th year.

[RodeoRanch]

I liked it.

It made me grin that Ron and Hermione got together. I'm such a softy.

[chill]

After reading all the posts in this thread
I feel that I must say
that, in my opinion,
this is the worst HP book.

My reasons? 200 pages and 3 months of utterly boring camping before Godric's Hollow, and 2 months afterwards! For Fuck's Sake!
And, what's even worse, I had a feeling that a big hole in storyline would appear as soon as I read the last chapter of the 6th book - when Harry said he's not coming back to Hogwarts.
That one sentence dissapointed me like nothing before in those books. Rowling combined Harry's schooling with his adventures so good you just don't notice how important Hogwarts is. But in 7th book, there's a big hole where Harry's classes used to be, and Rowling tried to fill it with camping all over the country.
As a school kid that had the chance to grow up with this series, I found Hogwarts the best part of Harry Potters life and, more than once, I thought what would it be like to go there. Of course, the book is just fine like this, but still...
And all those sudden revelations. After 300 pages it was perfectly clear Harry won't be able to bring down V-man without serious intervention, so every time he stumbles upon a clue, suddenly he instinctively knows everything about it and excactly what he's supposed to do. And you know he can't be wrong, cause otherwise that book would last forever.
I also have to say that, in my opinion, 6th book is the best. All that careful planning to take down V-man, and incredible insight in his life - I know it's just setting a stage for the 7th book, but I still like it. Also because Harry stops acting like a cretin.

[Dancer+]

I have to agree with the poster above, I believe the sixth was the best and seventh was the weakest.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I see your point about Harry not being at Hogwarts, but with everyhing going on, it would have been a little strange to be worrying about passing classes when he had to save the world. Could have done with a little less camping though, to be sure.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I found an interview where rowling gives more details about what happened to harry and friends after the book. enjoy.

If you found the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rather vague, then J.K. Rowling achieved her goal.

The author was shooting for “nebulous,” something “poetic.” She wanted the readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9¾ through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not.

“I do, of course, have that information for you, should you require it,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira rather coyly in her first interview since fans got their hands on the final book.
Ummm … yes, please!
Story continues below ↓advertisement

Rowling said her original epilogue was “a lot more detailed,” including the name of every child born to the Weasley clan in the past 19 years. (Victoire, who was snogging Teddy — Lupin and Tonks’ son — is Bill and Fleur’s eldest.)

“But it didn’t work very well as a piece of writing,” Rowling said. “It felt very much that I had crowbarred in every bit of information I could … In a novel you have to resist the urge to tell everything.”

But now that the seventh and final novel is in the hands of her adoring public, Rowling no longer has to hold back any information about Harry Potter from her fans. And when 14 fans crowded around her in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland earlier this week as part of TODAY’s interview, Rowling was more than willing to share her thoughts about what Harry and his friends are up to now.

Harry, Ron and Hermione
We know that Harry marries Ginny and has three kids, essentially, as Rowling explains, creating the family and the peace and calm he never had as a child.

As for his occupation, Harry, along with Ron, is working at the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. After all these years, Harry is now the department head.

“Harry and Ron utterly revolutionized the Auror Department,” Rowling said. “They are now the experts. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what else they’ve done.”

Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron’s wife, is “pretty high up” in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, despite laughing at the idea of becoming a lawyer in “Deathly Hallows.”

“I would imagine that her brainpower and her knowledge of how the Dark Arts operate would really give her a sound grounding,” Rowling said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t join the same Ministry of Magic they had been at odds with for years; they revolutionize it and the ministry evolves into a “really good place to be.”

“They made a new world,” Rowling said.

The wizarding naturalist
Luna Lovegood, the eccentric Ravenclaw who was fascinated with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Umgubular Slashkilters, continues to march to the beat of her own drum.

“I think that Luna is now traveling the world looking for various mad creatures,” Rowling said. “She’s a naturalist, whatever the wizarding equivalent of that is.”

Luna comes to see the truth about her father, eventually acknowledging there are some creatures that don’t exist.

“But I do think that she’s so open-minded and just an incredible person that she probably would be uncovering things that no one’s ever seen before,” Rowling said.

Luna and Neville Longbottom?
It’s possible Luna has also found love with another member of the D.A.

When she was first asked about the possibility of Luna hooking up with Neville Longbottom several years ago, Rowling’s response was “Definitely not.” But as time passed and she watched her characters mature, Rowling started to “feel a bit of a pull” between the unlikely pair.

Ultimately, Rowling left the question of their relationship open at the end of the book because doing otherwise “felt too neat.”

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom: “The damage is done.”

There is no chance, however, that Neville’s parents, who were tortured into madness by Bellatrix Lestrange, ever left St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies.

“I know people really wanted some hope for that, and I can quite see why because, in a way, what happens to Neville’s parents is even worse than what happened to Harry’s parents,” Rowling said. “The damage that is done, in some cases with very dark magic, is done permanently.”
Photos by Andrew Kandel for TODAYshow.com

Rowling said Neville finds happiness in his grandmother’s acceptance of him as a gifted wizard and as the new herbology professor at Hogwarts.

The fate of Hogwarts
Nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry is led by an entirely new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”) as well as a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx that kept a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from remaining for more than a year.

While Rowling didn’t clarify whether Harry, Ron and Hermione ever return to school to finish their seventh year, she did say she could see Harry popping up every now and again to give the “odd talk” on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

More details to come?
Rowling said she may eventually reveal more details in a Harry Potter encyclopedia, but even then, it will never be enough to satisfy the most ardent of her fans.

“I’m dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry’s great-great-grandparents,” she said. Not that she’s discouraging the Potter devotion!

“I love it,” she said. “I’m all for that.”

[Red_orbiT]

I thought the book was pretty good(though I would, in my own morbid way, have prefered Harry dead)...
Good to see an author actually finish a long serie without falling into the "develop a legion of secondary character povs" that Jordan and even G.R.R.M have fallen to.

[Abyss]

Neville's grandmother is like the Dassem of the Potterverse.

- Abyss, liked it.

[Flawed]

I quite liked the book all in all. I was a little dissappointed or deflated with the ending and thought the 19 years later bit could of been missed out but other then that i did a few chortles ( which is nice ) and a few ahhh's ( in a manley way )

She did bump quite a few people off though, more then i thought. I was quite surprised.

All in all, good!

[Abyss]

QuickTidal;203611 said:

...never been exposed to Mrs. Weasley's fighting before. You knew she had to be good though, so when she brought it out and kicked Bella's ass........

If we want to rationalize it, Bella was already tired from fighting the whole battle by the time Mrs W threw down. On the other hand, i like the notion that this spirited mother of like 30 kids was always a kick-ass witch and we just never saw it because she focused on her mommy role. Similarly McDonnalgol (sp), the ever present matronly teacher who, it always seemed might be a powerhouse, but finally, finally brought it in this book. Contrast that with Sirius, Lupin, Moody and Tonks, all supposed warrior types who got deaded, mostly off-screen.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" was the defining moment when JKR acknowledged her adult audience, and the fact that a chunk of her readers had become adults while reading these books.

(i don't mean that the books prompted puberty or something, rather that many kids had moved from really young to tween/teen/young adult over the seven or so years the series ran).


- Abyss, "NOT MY BEER, YOU BASTARD!"

[Cold Iron]

MOD EDIT:

Quit with the unnecessary flaming and trolling will you, that goes for all of you, now back on topic.

IH

[polishgenius]

Abyss;205052 said:

(i don't mean that the books prompted puberty or something, rather that many kids had moved from really young to tween/teen/young adult over the seven or so years the series ran).

Came to ten actually. Which meant I was in first year of secondary school when I read the first book, but the lad didn't keep up with me...

>_>



Coldy, I know it's easy to feel superior over us poor deluded tasteless Potter fans, but considering the man read into it what you obviously intended to be read with the intention of making the post you just made, you're clutching at ego-straws here.