Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

'His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.' With these words "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" draws to a close. And here, in this seventh and final book, Harry discovers what fate truly has in store for him as he inexorably makes his way to that final meeting with Voldemort. In this thrilling climax to the phenomenally bestselling series, J.K. Rowling will reveal all to her eagerly waiting readers.

What more pedestrian and popular book could I choose to write my first review on than this, one of the great bestsellers of all time from the woman who went from coffee shop to the first billionaire author?

Still, I just finished it and having trawled (and at times laboured) through all seven Potters, I figure it's worth a few comments to add to the many gazillion already out there.

I will try go easy on the spoilers as all good reviewers should.

For starters, one must say there has been comparatively little noise and fanfare about this book save for the ceremonials of the launch day and the feverish reviews thereafter. My theory as to why this is, simply, that this book has rather fewer surprises than we may have hoped. I've heard all the gaaning-aan about how "dark" it is and how it has many twists and turns and resolves years worth of mysteries. And it does. Sort of. But while the details would have been hard to guess, the broad resolution strategy which Rowling picks is ultimately rather ordinary.

The biggest gripe I have about this volume is its long, needlessly fluffed out non-action sequences, which have been growing in magnitude ever since The Order of the Phoenix. Pages and pages of Weasley meals and inane chatter between minor characters. Like Tolkien, Rowling has tried to create a living, breathing world with 3-dimensional characters that we care to know a whole lot about. Like Tolkien, perhaps, she has not quite succeeded. Let's face it, the only things we adult readers care about is a) who dies and b) who wins. The rest is just boring.

Or it would be if it weren't written with the usual easy style and edge-of-your-seat suspense that makes Rowling every bit as un-put-downable as Dan Brown. Even though I can sum up the first half of the book as "they find and break a locket" (I mean that quite sincerely) it all does feel kind of exciting. I'm not sure her characters -- at least outside of Harry and Hermoine, Ron is a flat twit -- are all that interesting. Voldemort is drawn with the same complexity as Fox news' portrayal of Osama Bin Laden; the rest of the Weasleys are closer to wombles than wizards; and the myriad of other guest stars are appealing only in their recognisability.

My fiance points out that it feels like this was written with the film in mind, and it seems likely by now that that's true. It's not weaker for that, but the sense that you are being swept along by a cyclonic marketing storm instead of simply having fun is always there.

This is not a bad book, or an especially good book. It's best parts are nowhere near as good as the best of the earlier books which somewhat pre-dated the really crazy sales figures. It's an obvious must for anyone whose paid attention to the franchise over the years, old and young. And we mustn't forget that great achievement amidst all this serious critique: this is a series that appeals almost equally to adults and children, and that, among many other reasons, is what makes JK Rowling one of the greatest writers of all time.

phillygirl reviewed this book on 14 December 2007:
I liked this book, as with all the other Harry Potters in the series. But, I must say I'm glad the series is now closed. It's not that I wouldn't read another, if it were written ... it's more that I think JK Rowling has run out of Harry Potter stories to tell.

As I read I did have a theory or two about how she was going to end it, since she was not only ending a book, but an entire institution. She handled it delicately and I guess the way one would since there were so many fans out there waiting with bated breath. Still, as I said, I liked it (although the future based epilogue really annoyed me).

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