[pabbi1]

OK, I choked up when Hedwig got smoked, and also agree this ending wasn't hard enough. Given how weak some other aspects were in OOTP (George & Fred being relegated to a cheap fireworks display, no screaming Madam Black, etc), it just makes me sick thinking about what will be skipped (glossed over and waved at) in HBP and DH.

Of course, when the Director's cuts box sets come around, I will be so there, and don't each of these deserve 3.5-4 hours worth of film anyway? Just hope the theater releases are someday augmented with more faithful renditions... like I'm still holding out for the dark ending to LOTR.

Anyone else see a quick revisit trilogy, once something else runs amok later, or do you feel real finality? For some reason, I just do not feel absolute Thelma & Louise over.

 

[GTRacer]

I felt that the epilogue was extremely glossed over, we don't know what they all did over the 19 years (aside for have kids). It read like extremely poor fan fiction. I can see a book or two focussed on Albus Severus Potter though, so that would be a way to further flesh out what happened.

 

[stewtheking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRacer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I felt that the epilogue was extremely glossed over, we don't know what they all did over the 19 years (aside for have kids). It read like extremely poor fan fiction. I can see a book or two focussed on Albus Severus Potter though, so that would be a way to further flesh out what happened.

It seemed like an almost breathless end to the series to me. Like she felt the need to write something just to confirm that Vold... he-who-can-now-be-named... hadn't come back and everything was genuinely all okay.

 

[trivik12]

I had read the pdf scan last week. Good that I did looking at wikipedia page.It has every little detail.

I thought book had few weakness. The middle part where Harry,Hermoine and Ron(sometimes without Ron) searching for horcruxes, the story seems dragging. They seem to have had no purpose but just moving place to place avoiding voldemort. Also I was disappointed that Godric Hollow had no significance except historical. I had hoped they would have used that place more. Also epilogue was horrible.I wish JKR had used fred/george bit more as well. Too many deaths and I did not feel for most of them.Hedwig and Dobby were only ones which affected me.

There were few Positives . I liked the way they get hufflepuff's cup. Also getting real locked from Ministry was also great. Concept of deathly hallows and how it blended with core story was really good. JKR had written quite a few of these scenes keeping the movie in the mind. I think it would look spectacular.

PersonallY I prefered Book 6 and 3 before this one.Still overall a good read.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYCeT /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's also strange when the Elder wand able to struck Harry in Forbidden Forest however it bounced out in final battle killing Voldemort. It seems to me JK Rowling, after being pressured by Editor and afraid of fans reception on Harry Potter's death, decide to be safe by making this ending. I prefer Harry Potter to die, it will be a sad ending however it will make a better story overall.

From what I gathered, and incorporating my personal interpretation, the Elder Wand truly belongs to Harry, which Dumbledore informs Harry in the "other" realm. Wands, as explained by Ollivander, choose their master, and in this case appears unwilling and unable to harm what it claims as its master. Therefore, the Killing Curse in the forest didn't have its full effect. When Harry is revived back in his body, this is reinforced by the fact that he experiences no pain from the Crucio curse. In the end, Harry is able to conjure an Expelliarmus spell, which knocks the Elder Wand out of Voldemort's hand, and returns to its rightful master.

The best part for me was definitely Snape's memories in the Pensieve. Wrapped up a lot of things not only from HBP but even as far back as the beginning of the series. For me it kind of villified Dumbledore which was shocking but really affected me emotionally while reading it. To hear Dumbledore exemplify "For the Greater Good" was almost evil, and showed his Dark tendencies. I almost prefered to have an all knowing, all good and pure Dumbledore, but the memories show that Dumbledore, despite his enormous ability, is as human as any one else, and prone to the same darkness that humans can sucuumb to.

I'm happy overall. The only drag was inarguably the initial quest for the horcruxes, which merely led them in circles with nothing to really develop plot wise.

 

[RYCeT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldsoccer4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif but what I don't understand is that if he was so desperate for the hallows in his youth, when he had the wand and the stone, why didn't he ask Harry for his cloak at Hogwarts, with how it was described it seems as if Dumbledore would not have been able to resist the temptation of having all 3 at once and becoming the master of death (I believe this is why Harry could come back btw, because he was the master of death, not really having to do with him being in Voldemort.)

Dumbledore got the cloak in the past already (when he borrowed from James and return it to Harry later on) During that time he never able to master it since it's not his from the start. He also did not need the cloak since he can do invisibility by himself.
The stone is the downfall of Dumbledore since he desired it for less noble purpose.
The only one he's able to master is the Elder's wand since he won it and use it for the benefit of others.

 

[Cata1yst]

Sorry to derail a little bit...but who here is kind of sort of depressed....like the i left somn crucial behind feeling...

i mean it was great closure...my new favorite book...but now i know i cant close the book...get over my depression and know that in a couple years ill pick up the next one and have that world open to me...

oh well...ill just shut up now and go back to looking at amps

 

[pabbi1]

n/m

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cata1yst /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry to derail a little bit...but who here is kind of sort of depressed....like the i left somn crucial behind feeling... i mean it was great closure...my new favorite book...but now i know i cant close the book...get over my depression and know that in a couple years ill pick up the next one and have that world open to me... oh well...ill just shut up now and go back to looking at amps

There will be other good fantasy books. If anything, the series proves that there is life in the genre still, and that it will hopefully survive the Jordans and every once in a while produce the Rowlings.

Check out Greg Bear's "Songs of Earth and Power" for a very refreshing take on the genre. It's in two parts; the first one was written when Bear was 19 (!) and is passable, the second was written much later and is absolutely brilliant.

 

[braillediver]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=45ETM5uMMjA


Mitch

 

[pabbi1]

MP-5 sucks... he should use my HK-91.

 

[Mrvile]

Ok I'm going to put down my impression of the book before discussing what other people have to say.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series, though I was never really able to get through the third book (found it boring when I was a kid and never got around to rereading it). The first two were pretty good, albeit being somewhat brief and seemingly underdeveloped, but as the series went on it matured greatly and appealed to me even more. Deathly Hallows is obviously my favorite, followed closely by Goblet of Fire, then tailed by Half Blood Prince. Order of the Phoenix was horrible, comparatively, and reading it was almost a chore.

Anyway, onto the seventh book. It was structured rather differently (no Hogwarts) and throughout the beginning of the book the mood was rather lonely. Because of this, Rowling had a lot of time to develop the three main characters, further rounding them out and feeding dynamicism into them. Also, the concept behind the book was pretty complex, and as Harry would take time to ponder over things, more and more would be revealed and Harry himself really seemed to grow up. The delivery of Harry's thought processes was done very nicely, and I found that as my own thoughts of the reading quickened during those "Eureka!" moments, Harry's also became more and more abstract, fragmented, and seemed to fit perfectly. The pace of the book could use a little help, as I sometimes found that parts would drag on and on (like the camping scenes) and others went a little too quickly, but it didn't really affect the impact of the book itself.

The characters were all portrayed very well, though I thought several of them could use more exposure (again, due to the fact the main three didn't attend Hogwarts this year). I personally think that the characters themselves were what really took hold of me throughout the series, and since I'm about the same age as Harry and the gang, I was able to easily relate to them as we all sort of grew up together. This time around, Snape was by far my favorite character, and the way Rowling was able to turn him from a hated murderer to one of the bravest and noble characters in the book was fascinating. "The Prince's Tale" was one of my favorite chapters of the book, and reading it ran chills up my spine and brought a tear to my eye. Dumbledore was another rather intriguing character in this book - in all the previous books he represented that single, untouchable character who was the epitome of Good, up until his final moment at the end of book 6. However, being able to delve into his enigmatic past turned Dumbledore into a much more dynamic character than he had ever been, bringing him down from his god-like status to someone with feelings and flaws just like you and me. Otherwise, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and the rest of the lot, though still loveable, remained rather predictable.

As for the ending...I had fully expected Harry to die while taking down Voldemort and what ended up happening sort of took me by surprise. However, I do believe that Harry's death would have put a lot more meaning behind his decisions and actions, though I would've been greatly saddened at the same time (yeah I guess I'm still a kid at heart). The ending seemed like a huge relief, knowing that everything turned out ok, which is I guess what Rowling was forced to intend for the well-being of her audience. Nevertheless, the ending wasn't nearly as important as what had occurred throughout the book and what had been revealed, so either way I wouldn't have been disappointed. The epilogue was largely unnecessary, though I do think the whole "Albus Severus Potter" thing was kind of cool.

So yeah, those are my thoughts on the book. After finally finishing it I was actually kind of sad it was all over...Harry Potter was something I had grown up with and had no less attachment to than an old pet or a favorite teacher. Now I'm probably going to read through the sixth book again. Then the maybe I'll read the second one again. And I'll probably find time to finally get through the third...

 

[Mrvile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYCeT /img/forum/go_quote.gif JK Rowling needs to play world of Warcraft so she can describe a wizard/witch battle. Her battle description is awful. It seems that every wizard, as long as they know the words, they can cast any spell. Other thing, as long as you're good at dodging, you won't die. Hogwart's battle looks more like a brawl instead of high caliber battle between wizards. There should be a way to differentiate each wizard capability. ex: Lupin got some werewolf influence spell, etc. It's strange how Mrs. Wesley can win against Bellatrix considering Bellatrix supposed to have more experience, cunning & cruel. If Rowling introduced the concept of specialized wizard capability, there can be a good explanation how Mrs. Wesley can win, ex: Bellatrix's spell element doesn't match good against Mrs Wesley's.

You know, as I was reading the Hogwarts battle scene I couldn't help but laugh at what I was picturing going on in my head. It was total chaos; I couldn't really figure out how exactly the witches and wizards were "dueling," and the spells, their effects, and how they were cast were often a bit nebulous. However, I didn't worry too much about the fight scenes and actually sort of appreciated how my confusion added to the imposed confusion that Harry and the others had to endure during the battle.

As for Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix - Mrs. Weasley's grace in the kitchen had always left a pretty powerful impression on me and even though she never really fought, she always seemed to quite capable. However, the kitchen isn't the battlefield, and when it came down to it, the majority of Mrs. Weasley's fight came from the death of her son. Throughout the book, Rowling really emphasizes the power of a mother's love, and this is no different.

 

[Mrvile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldsoccer4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Kingsley or Shackbolt couldn't have killed Voldemort, how anti-climactic would that have been? Harry had to kill him for revenge or vengeance or whatever, the only other person that I could have seen killing him and it would have been a good ending would be Ginny.

I think having Ginny kill Voldemort would have been just as anti-climactic as Kingsley or Shacklebolt. I think we can all agree that if Voldemort's death wasn't by Harry's hand, we all would've been gravely disappointed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldsoccer4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lastly, the death of Voldemort was weak. Rather than having his own curse rebound back at him I really thought Harry should have had to kill him with the killing curse. Does the killing curse sound like Abra Kadabra to anyone else?

I kind of agree here. I would liked to have seen Harry be a little more assertive in the final fight between him and Voldemort. Throughout most of the series Harry never came off as especially adept with magic, so having him put all his feeling into a final Avada Kedavra to take out Voldemort once and for all would've been nice. However, on the other hand I think having Harry use an unforgiveable curse, even on Voldemort, would've been a little out-of-character. Instead, using Voldemort's own greed and ignorance to kill himself contributes to the actual meaning of the book a little better.

 

[Squeek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrvile /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think having Harry use an unforgiveable curse, even on Voldemort, would've been a little out-of-character. Instead, using Voldemort's own greed and ignorance to kill himself contributes to the actual meaning of the book a little better.

He used an unforgivable curse in this book. In the tower when looking for the Tiara. He thought to himself that Bella was correct...you have to mean it. It was the Cruciatus Curse. He used Imperius Curse as well many times.

I thought it was nice that he used his trademarked Expelliarmus spell to kill Voldemort. After all, the Death Eaters laughed at him for using it almost exclusively.