Finished DH, sort of

[averygoodun42]

I did a combo pack... half spoiler, half real deal. I will read - or re-read, rather - the entire real deal later, probably after Geoff has finished with it.

Ergh... so tired I'm starting to sway, so I'll try to make this quick.

I liked it, for the most part. Beyond the obvious editing errors in the spoilery version, I thought that the first hundred pages were not very good... well, actually, that's not true. I liked the first hundred pages very much, but it didn't feel like Harry Potter to me.

I absolutely loved how she did the Ron/Hermione relationship. Love it. Especially the first kiss.

I didn't mind how she did the Harry/Ginny thing either, although what kind of hypocrite is Harry calling Lupin on being noble when he's done the same damn thing. Okay, maybe not quite the same as he and Ginny weren't married, and she obviously wasn't preggers...

I loved Pottertalk. Loved it.

I hated the Wealsley death. Hated. Even if I did expect it.

Surprised Hagrid survived, but pleased.

Not surprised McGonagall was good, but pleased.

Loved the professors and their rallying. Especially Trelawney.

I found Kreacher's tale quite moving, even if his miraculous recovery from embittered, rebellious elf to model elf is a bit rich.

Go Neville! Go Neville!

And Luna! Her room was a fantastic touch!

HAH! I was right about it being a goblin on his back! Hee.

The wandlore aspect.

I also liked the Dumbledore backstory. Not evil, quite, but a bastard all the same. At least he was shown (or perhaps told?) to be a repentant bastard.

I'm sure there are other things I liked, but I'm so tired right now I can barely stay upright let alone dredge them up. There were lots of things I didn't like, not least of which were things that, while not completely inconsistent with what's in her books, is inconsistent with what she's told us.

I didn't like how it ended up feeling like a reworked version of Narnia, although I really should have seen that coming.

I REALLY don't like, not at ALL, how this is marketed towards children. I'd be hard pressed to let anyone under twelve read this book. The nightmare potential is, I think, far greater than HBP, which was fairly gruesome itself.

I thought Snape's death was blah, though very consistent with Voldie's MO.

It was unevenly written. Some parts were fabulous while others were... rushed, overdone or otherwise lame. I really hope that JK will be willing to take the time to rework the last three books (or four) and polish them to a higher degree. The story itself is worth it.


EDIT: OH! And I absolutely frickin adored the duelling scene between Molly and Bellatrix. Especially Molly calling Bella a bitch.

Also: "Shall I kill you now or would you like a little time to write up an epitaph?" or whatever it was (book not in front of me). Yes!!!

Comments

[zalena.livejournal.com]

So, you read an online version, but not the actual book?

I just finished the book and I'm a little confused by a couple things, but like most the previous books just gave up as we headed to the ending with a resigned, "Fine! Have it YOUR way."

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Yeah, pretty much. When the book came, I looked through the real thing and found it was pretty much the same (minus a few typos), so I didn't bother going back to the beginning. Yet. However, once the book was here, I switched to it. So much more comfortable to read.

What are you confused by? It seems there's a lot to choose from.

Hee. Yeah, I think that's how most people felt. What would you have done differently, though?

[darth-kittius.livejournal.com]

I loved Pottertalk. Loved it.</I. I forgot to mention that on my own list. Yes... LOVED that bit.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

The first kiss cracked me up. Oh man.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

I laughed pretty hard, too. It was great.