I don't think that he cast it on himself- I think that it was cast on the word Voldemort through some sort of ritual. If Voldemort had cast it on himself, wouldn't it have been cast on the words Tom Marvolo Riddle? Any theory is purely fanon, though, unless JK confirms it with that Potter encyclopedia.

 

Eh? Potter Encyclopedia you say? Is this official rumor or just wishlist rumor?

 

I can't find the interview, but I think that she said that she might do another charity book in the future. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain she said that once.

 

Well, well, well.

People already out for JKRs head? I do admit it could have been better, but hey! Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I am sure that H/G fangirls are ecstatic now. Surely the book was not that bad. I enjoyed most of it.

Deathly Hallows came out of the blue, I admit. Noone could have predicted it. Harry killing greatest Dark Lord of all time with a Disarming Spell was kind of lame, but hey! She gave lots of reasons for it.

Clever fanfic authors have correctly guessed Horcruxes, their locations and few other things with great accuracy. So its nor fair to blame her for all the cliches. (remember she is the real author - cough Griphook cough )

Overall I think the book was a good read, though lagging at places. It looks lame in comparison to many fanfics, but the canon has always been obsessed with keeping everything in a K or K+ rating. For a children's book, its simply awesome. We who are adults now, got hooked with HP when we were aroung 11-12 and now we don't like what we used like then. Its as simple as that folks.

So I will give it 4/5 because I think Severus Potter is the last thing Snape would have wanted, his name along the word 'Potter'. That was cruel JK.

 

Hmmm.... This sucks balls. And everyone already knows why. 1/5.

 

"Severus Potter." I can't believe I forgot about that part. I bet, in that Limbo/Afterlife place, Snape is just plotting his revenge. After hating James for so long and anything to do with the name "Potter," he ends up getting a Potter kid named after him (and Dumbledore since Dunbles was the only one to actually ever trust Snape.)

 

Overall, I actually liked the book. Despite the way-too-numerous WTF moments (Molly/Bellatrix, Ron's parseltongue, Harry's character, the ending, Griphook, etc.), there were plenty of good moments that balanced it out. The high points of the book for me were:

1) The fight at Bathilda's house.
2) Rita Skeeter/Elphias Doge interaction.
3) What Voldemort did with the Ministry. (Muggleborn registration reasoning especially)
4) Fred and George.
5) The escape scenes from the Ministry and Gringotts.
6) McGonagall/Snape battle.

I hated when Harry and Hermione were camping out and not doing anything, and Harry refusing to learn Occlumency, even though by doing that he ended up saving the day. (Which begs the question, what happened to Voldemort being aware of and manipulating the link like in OotP?)

3/5 for me, would go in the trash bin if it was a fanfic.

 

I'll give it a 4.5/5 for personal taste.

I feel sorry for JKR in a way. Her books are so huge that she's allowed herself to get stuck trying to please too many people over a massive age gap. For the age range that the books are slotted for, the book is great, exceptional even. JKR is an excellent author and wordsmith. There are parts in the book that left me honestly impressed with her, which is not an easy task. I'm picky.

Unfortunately for us, who like our heroes a bit more practical, powerful, and intelligent, rather than idealistic and, well, weak, we get kind of jipped. That's what fanfiction is for, however, as well as more adult books (Read: The Dresden Files).

The reason so many people label book four as the turning point of the series, usually in a negative tone, is because it was. At that juncture Rowling could have either had Harry begin to grow up, which would necessitate the series no longer being called a Children's Book, or have Harry remain more or less a child. Obviously she chose the latter, though not easily, thus resulting in Harry being pretty much useless in OotP and HBP, and adult wizards being nearly god-like in comparison.

Would many of us prefer bad ass Harry? Yeah. Oh well, no use crying over it and cursing Rowling's name. It's her brainchild, afterall, not yours.

As for the book itself. The only parts I truly found myself unhappy was when the scenes dragged on needlessly. Much of the wandering throughout the English countryside (Just go to the mainland, thanks), and the lengthy planning sessions for what turn out to be rather simple plans. Fortunately all the plans went to shit, which is where Harry generally shines.

The final bit with Harry and Voldemort was rather cliche, but things become cliche for a reason, and I found myself enjoying Harry Potter with balls. A rare treat (That sounds so wrong).

I look forward to the fanfiction to come from this, as most of the stories following HBP were quite crappy. I forsee some great AU's where Harry ends up a sadistic genius because he's being corrupted by Voldemort's little itty bitty baby soul.

TL;DR.

 

I was perusing a blog when I found an article detailing the benefits of of having a kid with you while buying DH. While the meat of the article was funny, the author went above and beyond and decided to rewrite the ending for our benefit.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, last paragraph:

As Harry Potter stood by the train leaving for Hogwarts, it suddenly occurred to him that for all his childhood adventures, he ended up being just another worthless soccer Dad. As he waved goodbye to his children, he thought to himself, “I should have fucking killed myself when I had the chance.”

I think that pretty much sums up how I feel about DH.

EDIT: Here's the link for the whole article.

http://www.violentacres.com/archive...y-potter-book-is-the-very-definition-of-shame

 

Dumbledore said (in either the Prince chapter or the chapter where Harry was "dead") that TMR figured out at the end of OotP that Harry, because of his emotions for other people, was too painful to possess. The love hurt him, or something like that, which is what drove him out in OotP.

 

Actually, didn't Dumbledore say that Voldemort had realised the dangers of such a two-way link and thus began employing occlemency against him?

So...where'd Voldemort's occlemency barriers go? He's one of the most powerful Dark Lords to ever reign, I highly doubt they poofed away simply because he was excited.

 

umm, im not sure if this was said already (im not gonna look through 9 pages just to check) but i got a flash of deja vu from Resistance of Azkaban from this story, what with Voldy controlling the ministry and snape being headmaster. Of course Shezza's story was, IMO, much better seeing as how it had a real ending, not just Harry winning by a technicality.

 

I read some parts of the book. I didn't like it very well. I skimmed most of it because it was kind of dull, honestly. This book could have been a hell uva lot better. I give it a 2/5 for it. I wasn't very impressed. I'm sure a lot of people will re-write the book. And of course, Harry's still a friggin pussy in the book, still names his kids after a manipulative headmaster, and SNAPE of all people. UGH! He must have been on drugs. Snape torments Potter all his 6 years at Hogwarts, and he forgives the shithead, AND names a kid after him? What a little retard...Anyway...enough of my ramblings. Book could'a been written better...A LOT better.

Richard.

 

Not to be offensive, more to be very offensive, but if you're leaving a review stating how horrible the book is when you've done nothing more than skim a book that is over 700 pages, then you're an imbecile and a bandwagon-riding jackass.

If you're going to go through the trouble of criticizing a book aimed at teens because it doesn't fit your personal preferences then atleast read the damned thing.

 

I "skimmed" the book because I said it was DULL. I didn't like the book because it was mostly boring, and didn't keep my attention. HPB held my attention more than DH did, honestly. Don't like what I said? Aint my problem. I couldn't care less what you insult me with.

Richard.

 

I meant skimmed it as in I read 1 or 2 sentences in the paragraph, then I only read a few words in the rest of the paragraph and moved onto the next one. I do this when I don't want to keep reading thoughts I don't really need to, I get the gist of the paragraph by doing this.

Richard.

 

I loved it, I really did. There are a couple of things that did make me grimace, but they are minor compared with the rest of the book.

I disliked Snape being in love with Lily.

Snape secretly loving Lily is an idea I profusely toyed with, when I first discovered the books -- I was 13 at the time. I quickly got tired of this idea though when I thought how easy and overused an explanation it would be for Snape's hatred of Harry. JKR went with that explanation, partly at least. Bah. I'll get over it... it's not as if it had plagued the entire book, although the chapter "the Prince's tale" was a little irksome to read. It's not as if Lily returned the feelings, no matter what hysterical Severitus fans say. As JKR said herself, no, Snape did not have any children, and no one would want to have Snape's children.

I was confused by the epilogue.

It was simply this whole feeling of un-necessity that I got while reading it. I can see, a posteriori, why it was necessary -- the return to a normal and happy world, the circle being complete, and most importantly the very last sentence of the book, which had a nice finality to it. But... ah, I don't know, the they-all-lived-happily-ever-after, married-each-other and called-their-three-kids-James-Lily-and-Albus-Severus sort of rubbed me the wrong way.

Now, let it be known that I am one of the fiercest Ginny-haters around this place; I have been ever since OotP. Of course there was some H/G. Of course the epilogue was a hundred per cent H/G. But it was discreet. There was no more character development for Ginny, and it was fine by me: development of her character should've taken place ages ago, and adding some in DH would have felt like hastily filling a hole at the wrong moment. Let the hole be, and leave the romance in the background -- that was the wisest decision, and that's the one JKR took (although I wouldn't have the arrogance to claim she had this very reasoning and consciously took this specific decision).

Those were the only points that could have ruined the book for me. In the end they didn't. Reading DH was a bit like hiking in mountains -- to enjoy the beauty of the landscape, you have to set aside the blisters. The three points above were three big, throbbing blisters, and after a little practice it's not hard to push them to the back of your mind and learn to live with them. The landscape was spectacular enough for me to overcome three poor little blisters. (And yay for crappy metaphors!)


Harry's character. I already had a deep affection for him before DH, now I am truly, insanely fond of him. How deeply human he is, how likeable, yet how strong-willed and ingenious; how he fights his way through the impossible task Dumbledore left him, without any sudden burst of power -- simply using his brains in the way he has used them for years, although never in such dire circumstances. The man who found out about the Deathly Hallows is really the same who figured out what was hidden under Fluffy's trapdoor, how to get inside the Chamber, and what Malfoy was plotting in his sixth year. The Harry who had the sudden inspiration to jump on a dragon's back or out of a window in order to escape is the very same who fought his way through the Triwizard Tournament (no matter how much help he got) and the Department of Mysteries. Harry's character was in no way distorted, but he matured.

I might add that I actually cheered him on when he called Lupin a coward. He had it coming for years.

Hermione and Ron -- I was never bothered by the RHr romance so it didn't ruin anything for me in DH, either. I liked the way Ron's character was treated. He faltered once, then was loyal to the very end. His redemption was as complete as his 'betrayal' appeared to be. Ron is all the braver since he doesn't have Harry's strength of will, thus has to overcome greater fears and doubts.

Hermione... was Hermione. She was brave and knowledgeable. Always the practical one, she thought through every aspect of their quest; and if at first I was a bit annoyed at how prepared she was, compared to the other two (the tent, the spare clothes, the hiding spells etc.), I eventually shrugged it off. It's coherent with her character, and that's all I'm asking.

Now, Dumbledore.

Well, Dumbledore's story followed a trend we caught a glimpse of in OotP: Dumbledore as a man like any other, making mistakes and never forgiving himself for them. I personally thought she wrote him with astonishing subtlety and finesse. He seemed so real, this man highly aware of his own talent and hating to waste it. This young man with his confidence and his dreams of grandeur. This young man who gave up on everything when he saw how dangerous he could be if wielding power, and settled on being 'only' a teacher at Hogwarts. He manipulated Harry, to some extent; but his character is a complex one, that can't be labelled for a second "good" or "evil". Dumbledore had his share of suffering and made his share of mistakes, and his character only earned more depth. He is, too, deeply likeable.

McGonagall -- GO MINERVA! My favourite teacher to the very end. "We duel to kill" is one of the best lines in the book .

Voldemort? Voldemort was, too, well-written. What did we know about this character? That he was magically powerful and exceptionally intelligent; that he was ruthless and inhuman; and he was all this. But we didn't know what were his flaws, or rather, how large they were. His pride and self-confidence, his greed for power, pretty much were his downfall. And that is a much more likely way for him to be defeated, than Harry suddenly becoming super-uber-powerful. Dumbledore bet on Voldemort's weaknesses, and so did Harry, although not as consciously.

I could go on for hours. The Malfoys, Bellatrix, Pettigrew, Ollivander, even Grindelwald -- all those characters were given a complex personality that made them incredibly real. Plotwise, I expected neither the Deathly Hallows or the huge importance of Dumbledore's past, and his fighting Grindelwald. Stylewise, I was deeply impressed.

I did find odd that she would spend so little time on Harry's thoughts when he used Unforgivables for the first time; that is not how I would have written it. He didn't blink an eye, and neither did McGonagall when he tortured the Death Eater. This I found strange, and I think it could've been done better. But I suspect it's my nitpicker-reviewer reflexes showing through -- again, minor blister, beautiful landscape.

So yes, I enjoyed Deathly Hallows like a fangirl. I am happy that Harry would conquer death again, for the whole passage when he was walking to his own death was expressing such deep despair that I almost dropped the book. I can only bow to JKR's talent if she made me feel so intensely the emotions of her character. I spent wonderful hours reading DH, and for this only, it deserves the 5/5 it got from me.

Now there are those blisters I need to take care of.

Which means fanfiction.

 

Disappointed! thats what i am first and foremost, i was cut that i had to endure reading how the mudblood was the ducks nuts, "do this", "do that", "NO! your wrong! im right!" but what really grated on me was the consistent barrage of occlumency, every fuckin time it was the same shit spewing out the filths mouth!

The fact that half the book took up describing the actual mission to get the locket that the others seemed glossed over! Ron the parrot paselmouth?! going to get the fangs to finish off the cup? the diadem and the destruction in the fire?...half a chapter each for there discovery and less then 1-2 pages for there destruction!

Harry...still the ungifted, pathetically skilled wizard as ever! how is it that these three actually surpassed what Dumbles (a Prodigy) was not able to accomplish? but the final duel...actually the ridiculous one spell fight that ended the book was disgusting!

Lupin...wow Lupin at the start was fantastic, hinting that Harry should not bother with simply disarming, but actually going the whole hog, Minerva was top notch saying things along the same lines! But Harry, no Harry "my spell saved my life before" that useless stubbiness that only increases his ineptitude.

All round piece of shit. The fights were shit, the three not quite musketeers were shit, Molly fucking Weasley was shit, the Hollows? Nyx be damned...shit! 2/5 for the fact that Dumbles and Grindelwald were sweet as well as Minerva and Lupin for showing that Harry was the weak little bitch that he truly is.

It's truly hard to put down my full opinion when i can't fully convey my anger and disgust (used this word quite a bit i think) in writing.

 

I did not like it.

Why? Ah, come on, check this thread out for fucks' sake.

I also liked it.

It was an proper end to the series, and a lot of things were done well in the book.

It's just that there's so much shit I did NOT like. If you need examples that bad, look through this thread, I see no need to bring up all of it again.

Therefore, the final score for this fucking book (as in: NOT fanfiction) is a 2/5.


PS. Yes, now count me as a assrider and a cocksucker to BioPlague or whatever, like people can't have a negative opinion about this book without sucking off someone who had a similar opinion earlier.

Ah, btw... why do people call Kreacher 'Kreature'? He is called Kreacher all the time, at least in the DH I have lying in front of me.