Finite Incantum

[kerravonsen]

I have now finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". So out from my spoiler-free bunker I come.

General non-spoilery reaction... I started off reading this as a chore. Because everyone else was, and I hate spoilers and everything. There were bits I skimmed over quickly. But still, by the time I was about half way, I had got caught up in the story (though there were still bits I skimmed over). And by the time I got to the end, I was liking it. Whereas I gather that a number of people felt rather ambivalent about it. Perhaps because there was very little I was hoping for, and the little I was hoping for, I got, rather than many people who'd been building up and up and anticipating stuff that they didn't get, I enjoyed it more than I might have otherwise.


(shouts and does happy dance)

Snape was NOT EVIL!!! All Along!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

That's all I wanted.
I wasn't surprised that he died; it seemed very likely.

Other good bits:
- Neville helped kill Voldemort! And the good old Sorting Hat came through with the Sword even though it had been stolen.
- the lesson that nobody's perfect: Dumbledore was not a perfect saint, and Snape was not a perfect devil
- Ron's return after he left; heroes don't have to be perfect either; friends can argue and be forgiven.
- that Snape and Dumbledore had cooked up the death between them (I know that that was a theory that was going around my flist, but I can't remember who said it, but I'm glad that it turned out to be right).
- Harry grew up.

Some bit that I skimmed over:
- it was very hard to read the extracts from Rita Skeeter's biography of Dumbledore; I loathe her poison pen. I hate her almost as much as Dolores Umbrage. And I hate Dolores Umbrage more than Voldemort. When all's said and done, Voldemort is just an insane megalomaniac. Dolores Umbrage is a whitewashed tomb.
- the robbery of Gringots
- I also skipped ahead and back a few times

I'm also kind of relieved that it's over, that I won't have to hear about insane Harry Potter fans any more. Well, not as much, anyway.

I wonder who Draco married? His wife doesn't seem to be described at all.

Let the AUs commence!

Now I'm going to read everyone else's reactions.

Comments

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

That's all I wanted.

Me, too. :)

Dumbledore was not a perfect saint, and Snape was not a perfect devil

I do very much like that whole shade-of-grey thing. It's surprisingly rare to see that done well in this kind of fantasy story, and Rowling does seem to have a good handle on it.

(I know that that was a theory that was going around my flist, but I can't remember who said it, but I'm glad that it turned out to be right)

I was certainly convinced of it! And am very glad it was right, as I really can't think of any other possibility that would have made sense to me in character terms.

[kerravonsen]

Me, too.
Snapefen of the world unite!

I do very much like that whole shade-of-grey thing. It's surprisingly rare to see that done well in this kind of fantasy story, and Rowling does seem to have a good handle on it.

I think the way it was done also points out that (though it's been touched on before) that a poison pen can twist truth into deception -- like the Goblin's Mirror in "The Snow Queen". Or, like in a fic I read recently (though I can't remember where) which was an AU Doctor Who thing... where the Master tells Martha that the Doctor destroyed Gallifrey (and the Doctor hadn't told her) -- and Martha's reaction was not "no, it can't be true" but "if it is true, then it isn't true in the way that the Master is telling it, everything he says is twisted".

Harry's doubts about Dumbledore, that he wrestles with, things that he wants to deny... and I wanted to shout at him, "Look, can't you see that Rita Skeeter is twisting the facts?"

Er... I think I'm rambling.

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

But still, by the time I was about half way, I had got caught up in the story
That's the genius of Rowling, really. She does craft a good potboiler.

[kerravonsen]

Not always, though. Some of the middle ones really dragged.

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

Agreed. The middle of the book really dragged. Most writers would have sank into writer's block at this pint, with their characters on a quest with no clue whatsoever.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

I can hardly complain, since I got nearly every single thing on my 'official' wish list, and a whole boatload of things that I thought it would have been too much to hope for; in particular there was lots of Luna. And Neville got a much more important role than I was expecting, even though he was annoyingly offscreen until nearly the end.

I enjoyed it muchly, but it did have a bit of disorganized, 'kitchen sink' feel to it; Rowling tells a good story about likable characters, but she really doesn't tell it as well as I wish she did.

[jthijsen.livejournal.com]

I missed Hogwarts. Rowling made that a magical place, and I would have liked to have seen more of it. However, when they finally did get there, it came through marvelously. And Ron and Hermione getting basilisk fangs from the room of requirement was a stroke of genius. I love it when supporting characters get to be smart independently from the hero.

I also rather liked the robbery of Gringots. Setting the dragon free was a very Hermione thing to do :-).

I would, however, have liked to see a little of how the Dursleys fared in their hiding place. I wonder how often they had to send new wizards to protect them, because the old ones left in disgust...

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

Hogwarts. Rowling made that a magical place
In every book, Harry discovers at least one new room inside Hogwarts where he's never been before. In this case, the Ravenclaw Common Room. I quite liked the idea of having to answer a question in order to enter. And how, on being told that Harry was trying to get into Ravenclaw Tower, McGonagall thinks he wants to change houses.

[kerravonsen]

I quite liked the idea of having to answer a question in order to enter.

Oh yes, I liked that idea!

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Yes, I officially want to be a Ravenclaw now. :-)

[kerravonsen]

I think I always would have been a Ravenclaw, but this makes me like it more.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

No, I think that she was just being sarcastic. BTW I hope that she succeeded Snape as Head.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

She doesn't quite have Terry Pratchett's gift for tying a complex plot together that he displays in the Watch stories. Having said that, her books (at least after the first two) are remarkably addictive. I suspect that was the point that she realised that she was getting a large adult readership.

She's said that there will be no more Harry Potter, but I think we might yey see "Hogwarts: The Next Generation".

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

I wonder who Draco married? His wife doesn't seem to be described at all.
There's a bit of argument about this, but my take is that it is an indication of her lack of status. All the women marry up, socially (Hermione into the pureblood Weasley clan, Ginny into the very wealthy Potter family), so we'd be looking for someone for whom even the washed-up Malfroys are a rise in status.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I think you're trying to have it both ways. Hermione's family must surely be richer than the Weasleys, and Ginny is marrying a none pureblood. And which of Ron and Hermione do you thing wears the metaphorical trousers in their household. (Molly is the dominant force over Arthur, too.)

As to Draco, I suppose one likely candidate would be Pansy whathersname.