la_belle_laide (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
la_belle_laide) wrote2007-07-26 02:26 pm
la_belle_laide) wrote2007-07-26 02:26 pm
Entry tags:
HARRY POTTER SPOILERS
On finishing Harry Potter
Gotta keep this short, so I'll sum it up quickly, the short points of what I liked and didn't like. Sorry if this sounds rushed and rambly; it is. I'm half carrying on a conversation as I'm typig this. And please forgive the typos, because this keyboard is effed.
What I knew, or at least guessed: Harry was a Horcrux. (I think everyone guessed that.) Snape was good. I always knew it, I always trusted Snape, no matter how bad it looked for him. I also knew that he was the one who had Lily spared. That was easy. Also easy to figure out that Dumbledore was begging Snape to kill him. A few oter things that I can't think of just now.
What surprised me: Dumbledore's past. But I think that surprised me because I never paid too much attention to Dumbledore. I'm sure more observant people had better guesses about Dumbledore's history. A fw of the deaths surprised me, but I'm okay with that.
Liked: The book overall. Because Rowling is a great writer with mostly good pacing (although I admit that the middle was very draggy.) She's not writing great literature, but her stories are epic and are part of the culture, and it couldn't happen to a nicer or more deserving lady. She is a billionaire because she just knows how to entertain. This book kept me entertained. The whole series did. It was a fun ride. I liked watching the characters develop and change without losing their basic original characterization. She crafted them very well. My cousin![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hyenarave would like to add--and I agree--that she's glad that Dumbledore wasn't perfect and pure. I loved that Molly Weasley owned Bellatrix. That part was realy cool. I liked Harry's sacrifice. That was the only way it could be.
I was okay with the deaths. I knew she she was going to kill Lupin and I was prepared for that. The Marauders had to all be dead by the end. I'm square with that. I was all right with her killing Fred. The deaths were mostly dealt with quickly, maybe a little too quickly, but still. It wasn't as upsetting as when Sirius died. At least for me. And I wasn't too upset over Dobby, either. He had the most dramatic death scene out of most of them, anyway. The hardest death for me, in this book, was Snape's. I can't yet put my finger on why that is, though. Oh! Hedwig saddened me, but I'll tell ya what: I knew she was going to die. Not because anythingparticular in the plot said so, but because of the way Hedwig was acting before she got killed. That's weird, I know, but all I was thinking of was, "JK has spent some time around birds." That's how they act right before they die. Even though she got killed in battle, it still made me think that she was on her way out.
Mostly, I loved Snape in this book. He was a total hero in this. She did him justice. I liked snivelling little Malfoy git. I liked that Harry saved him. I liked, kinda, Narcissa in this.
What bugged me: Draggy middle. The whole searching thing was too long and too dull. It was supposed to be dreary and it was, but, maybe a little too dreary. Another one of Rowlign's habits that bugs me, is how she reeeeally stretches some plot points to get the plot to where she needs it. Like Narcissa's not giving Harry up, just to keep things simple. She actually does that a lot. She writes herself into a corner, and then relies on "OH, BUT THIS IS WHY!!!" silly reasons to keep it moving. And she also relies heavily on Occam's Razor. S'up, HUGE expositional dialog? There was an awful lot of, "but then the wand changed masters and you were the real owner and you didn't really kill, oh but, it was supposed to be handed down, then he stoled your blood and that's why he, you had this connection because of the spell/the wand/the blood/my ass, also and, it was because of love, and sacrifice, but also it was because he didn't really murder, and, and , and...." Way too much of that "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die" kind of nonsense. Pick a simple reason, and go with it.
What I really hated, most of all? The fracking stupid epilogue. I mean, come on with the "years down the road" easy wrap up, and leaving the bloody Hogwarts main hall action hanging. Worst of all--FREAKING WORST!--was not finding out what Harry, Ron and Hermione were doing with their effing useless lives. We knew that Neville became a teacher; cool for him! But hello, does Harry get a job? or is he just a baby making machine? After all of that, all he can manage is to get married and for Ginny to pop out some teeny wizards, all named after Harry's dead. Hello, Fred Potter? Seriously, WHAT DID THESE KIDS DO WITH THEIR LIVES? I really wanted to know. But hey, eff us! As long as they are a happy little family, who effing cares what they ended up doing, for, like, MONEY and stuff. Or how about that little matter of usefulness and self-fulfillment. ut maybe when you save the wizarding world, you just don't need to get a job after that kind of thing.
Also, the last word was supposed to be "scar." It wasn't. WTF.
However, that silly little banal fanfiction ending aside, I really did like this book. It was engaging, fun, a quick read. A good finish for the many years it has been with us.
Maybe I'll have more to say at some point in the future, but... maybe not. I'm in Florda right now on my laptop, and Jo-chan and I are going to go trolling youtube for a while. It's hot as a crotch down here. Ah well. Later taters.
Gotta keep this short, so I'll sum it up quickly, the short points of what I liked and didn't like. Sorry if this sounds rushed and rambly; it is. I'm half carrying on a conversation as I'm typig this. And please forgive the typos, because this keyboard is effed.
What I knew, or at least guessed: Harry was a Horcrux. (I think everyone guessed that.) Snape was good. I always knew it, I always trusted Snape, no matter how bad it looked for him. I also knew that he was the one who had Lily spared. That was easy. Also easy to figure out that Dumbledore was begging Snape to kill him. A few oter things that I can't think of just now.
What surprised me: Dumbledore's past. But I think that surprised me because I never paid too much attention to Dumbledore. I'm sure more observant people had better guesses about Dumbledore's history. A fw of the deaths surprised me, but I'm okay with that.
Liked: The book overall. Because Rowling is a great writer with mostly good pacing (although I admit that the middle was very draggy.) She's not writing great literature, but her stories are epic and are part of the culture, and it couldn't happen to a nicer or more deserving lady. She is a billionaire because she just knows how to entertain. This book kept me entertained. The whole series did. It was a fun ride. I liked watching the characters develop and change without losing their basic original characterization. She crafted them very well. My cousin
hyenarave would like to add--and I agree--that she's glad that Dumbledore wasn't perfect and pure. I loved that Molly Weasley owned Bellatrix. That part was realy cool. I liked Harry's sacrifice. That was the only way it could be.I was okay with the deaths. I knew she she was going to kill Lupin and I was prepared for that. The Marauders had to all be dead by the end. I'm square with that. I was all right with her killing Fred. The deaths were mostly dealt with quickly, maybe a little too quickly, but still. It wasn't as upsetting as when Sirius died. At least for me. And I wasn't too upset over Dobby, either. He had the most dramatic death scene out of most of them, anyway. The hardest death for me, in this book, was Snape's. I can't yet put my finger on why that is, though. Oh! Hedwig saddened me, but I'll tell ya what: I knew she was going to die. Not because anythingparticular in the plot said so, but because of the way Hedwig was acting before she got killed. That's weird, I know, but all I was thinking of was, "JK has spent some time around birds." That's how they act right before they die. Even though she got killed in battle, it still made me think that she was on her way out.
Mostly, I loved Snape in this book. He was a total hero in this. She did him justice. I liked snivelling little Malfoy git. I liked that Harry saved him. I liked, kinda, Narcissa in this.
What bugged me: Draggy middle. The whole searching thing was too long and too dull. It was supposed to be dreary and it was, but, maybe a little too dreary. Another one of Rowlign's habits that bugs me, is how she reeeeally stretches some plot points to get the plot to where she needs it. Like Narcissa's not giving Harry up, just to keep things simple. She actually does that a lot. She writes herself into a corner, and then relies on "OH, BUT THIS IS WHY!!!" silly reasons to keep it moving. And she also relies heavily on Occam's Razor. S'up, HUGE expositional dialog? There was an awful lot of, "but then the wand changed masters and you were the real owner and you didn't really kill, oh but, it was supposed to be handed down, then he stoled your blood and that's why he, you had this connection because of the spell/the wand/the blood/my ass, also and, it was because of love, and sacrifice, but also it was because he didn't really murder, and, and , and...." Way too much of that "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die" kind of nonsense. Pick a simple reason, and go with it.
What I really hated, most of all? The fracking stupid epilogue. I mean, come on with the "years down the road" easy wrap up, and leaving the bloody Hogwarts main hall action hanging. Worst of all--FREAKING WORST!--was not finding out what Harry, Ron and Hermione were doing with their effing useless lives. We knew that Neville became a teacher; cool for him! But hello, does Harry get a job? or is he just a baby making machine? After all of that, all he can manage is to get married and for Ginny to pop out some teeny wizards, all named after Harry's dead. Hello, Fred Potter? Seriously, WHAT DID THESE KIDS DO WITH THEIR LIVES? I really wanted to know. But hey, eff us! As long as they are a happy little family, who effing cares what they ended up doing, for, like, MONEY and stuff. Or how about that little matter of usefulness and self-fulfillment. ut maybe when you save the wizarding world, you just don't need to get a job after that kind of thing.
Also, the last word was supposed to be "scar." It wasn't. WTF.
However, that silly little banal fanfiction ending aside, I really did like this book. It was engaging, fun, a quick read. A good finish for the many years it has been with us.
Maybe I'll have more to say at some point in the future, but... maybe not. I'm in Florda right now on my laptop, and Jo-chan and I are going to go trolling youtube for a while. It's hot as a crotch down here. Ah well. Later taters.
no subject
In Rowling's defense, she did admit a couple weeks ago that she had changed some words around and that "scar" was no longer the last word but was near the end.
no subject
I found an article about an interview JK did and she said she is going to write an encyclopedia on the series. She claims that in the encyclopeida she will explain the lives of many of the characters, both main and otherwise, and also says that Harry returns to Hogwarts occasionally to teach lessons in the Dark arts class.
I was excited to know that Neville was the Herbology instructor. so great. I love Neville. I, too, wanted to know what they were all doing with their lives in that 19 year span of time. Great that you all ended up in the marriages I knew you would but what else have you done?
Anyway, it was a good book and excuse my rambling here... no one else I know has finished the book yet and I've read it twice so I just had a few things to say. HA.
Have fun in FL. :)
no subject
i second that
later tater? THEEEEIF no no just kidding...
glad you had a wonderful time in FLA