Shameless Spoilers

That's right, you have been warned. I finished reading the final harry Potter book about an hour ago, and as none of my friends/housemates up here are finished yet, I am still busting to talk about it thus. . .online blog. So if you have not finished (or, heaven forbid, started!) yet, and don't want anything spoiled, I encourage you to visit this page at a later date.

There. That's out of the way. Overall, I am rather conflicted about this book. It is a marked departure from the tone of the earlier books; much more serious, with a good bit of the wit and good humor missing. It's not necessarily darker. . .just more prosaic and run of the mill (though any time the twins appear, it takes a much-needed jolt of good feeling).

With the darker theme (basically impending war/death) it would be expected that Rowling would up the stakes. After all, there has been a progressive darkening from the first book, when the worst thing to happen was Ron being knocked out, to the second with involved students being Petrified and Ginny being kidnapped, to the third which dealt with court-ordered deaths and Ron's more serious injuries, onto the third with the first true death (granted, Cedric Diggory, a character just barely introduced before the book and not given a great deal of face time anyway) to Sirius Black, to Dumbledore himself. In this book, who dies? A professor nobody knew existed, Tonks' father, who nobody knew existed, Tonks, who has had maybe twenty lines throughout the books, Lupin who only recently reappeared, Mad-Eye, who was forgotten as soon as he died, and Fred. Okay, yes, Fred's death was sad, but it was overshadowed by Harry's attack and the reunion with Percy.

Yes, loose ends were tied up, but almost too many. Victor Krum coming to the wedding? Snape's nauseating crush on Lily Evans? Dudley Dursley suddenly LIKING Harry? Dumbledore's suddenly revealed sleezy past? The simple truth is that more detail was added than needed, in time that could have been spent enjoying the characters we all know and love.

Perhaps that is what is most irking about the book--the fact that it is almost exclusively Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Granted, they are the main characters and the favorites, but what about all of those other characters who have featured so predominantly in the other books? The teacher's at Hogwarts, who don't appear until the last hundred pages, Neville, Luna, Draco. . .or what about Ginny? Poor Ginny, who's name is thrown in almost haphazardly every 50 pages or so to remind the reader that, yes, Harry still loves her, though by the end of the book it's been eight months between the last time he saw her. In the first six books the trio wer eharangued by others who constantly got in the way and tried to help. Dumbledore, of course, wa sthe primary interference, but others got in the way and helped as well. The first book there was Hagrid, Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Quirrel. The second had DD, Hagrid, and Gilderoy all mucking things up (and let's not forget Moaning Myrtle, as Rowling clearly did). In the third the Marauders made their glorious entrance and suddenly Sirius and Lupin joined those irksome adults who want to help. The fourth book everyone was in on the action, and the Order appeared in the fifth and through the sixth. Yet suddenly, in this final installment, everyone is content to let Harry, Hermione, and Ron wander off. I don't believe it. Not foran instant.

Or the fact that Ron, who has displayed one great skill and one skill only throughout the books--tactical ability, as shown in Wizard's Chess--suddenly can throw his voice, cast magic easily, apparate in teh most stressful of situations, hold himself against incredibly strong wizards and, best of all, can mimic Parseltongue. What's with that? Or Hermione wandering around crying every four minutes.

Romance doesn't really belong in these books. Hermione an Ron's bickering worked well. Harry's infatuations worked well. A prolonged love for a girl he hasn't even seen in eight monhs. . .yeah, it doesn't really work. Ron's compliments and one-handed hugs at the beginning o the book. . .a bit heavy-handed. And let's not even get into that passage in the middle of the book when it turned all Star Wars! (Rememer Han Solo asked LEia if she'd rather be with Luke, he's the hero. . .yeah, sound familiar?)

There were, of course, joyous and exciting moments of character development. Narcissa and LUcius' decay as Death Eaters and displayed affection for their son was believable and enjoyable. Percy's return to the Weasley clan, though expected, was pleasant, if rushed. And, of course, Molly Weasley was FANTASTIC at the end. Haven't we all been waiting forsome crazy Molly?

And, as always, it was possible for the reader to stay one step ahead of the game, which always makes or good reading, sitting there going "no, Harry, don't you get it, don't you GET IT?" Yes. I enjoyed that. And being able to yell "I was right! I was right!"

But frankly, a the end, the sacrifice didn't seem enough. The "shocking" deaths of Lupin, Tonks, and Fred? Not so much. I've been predicting a Weasley twin death since the fourth book! And, isn't it curious that not a single character from Harry's year died? All those memebers of the DA, and they all made it through? Snape as the only teacher to die? I mean, seriously, COME ON.

Some characters, who could easily have been left out, were pulled in at the last moment. Krum and Dobby most noticeably. Some didn't get the attention they deserved. IN a shout-out to the movies, Oliver Wood reappeared. And yes, Harry was the final Horcrux, and who didn't see that coming?

But I think I could have handled all of that (though disappointed by the lack of a primary character death--seriously, it's a war! And they ALL lived???? Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Ginny ALL lived?????? I'll even throw Hagrid and Malfoy in for good order. . ALL of them???) if it weren't for the epilogue. I hate the epilogue. I wish the epilogue didn't exist. And now I'm just waiting for how long it takes before someone writes "Hogwarts, the Next Generation" starring Jame, Albus, and Rose, with Scorpius as the whiny bitch at school.

Groan.

Overall, it was obviously a good read. I mean, I finished it in 12 hours. I kept going, even when it got annoying. It was just overdone, and a bit of a sell-out. And yes, I really, really wanted ROn to die. But, if you look at my predictions, you'll notice that's the only one that's really off. The rest? Yeah, I did all right.

OKay, that's it for now, hope you all enjoyed the book, I did, despite my many complaints as written here. ('ere, 'ere!)

-J