The Deathly Hallows

Shamelessly disregarding all tact, I am writing about this book as if you have read it. I am letting you know this now so I don't spoil it for you.

Whew...2:30am I have just finished the book. I know, I know, I am a slow reader. There is a lot I want to go over, not just about the book, but the series, the characters, the writer, etc. I have a people I could talk to about this (and I guarantee I will), but my thoughts seem clearer on "paper." So if I just get this little debate/argument/rant out of my head perhaps it will stop pestering me.

**Lets begin with a quick pragmatic review of the book: #7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It was a fitting end to an excellent series, I believe. It was really everything you expected it to be. Easily, anywhere from 100 to 200 pages could have been edited out though. There was some meandering in the "front-middle" that could have been slimmed down. Now I know Rowling explains this towards the end, when Dumbledore tells Harry that he was hoping Hermione would slow him up a bit. But really, I got as tired as Ron and Hermione did, aimlessly wandering-wondering what to do next. And I do have a few issues with her writing style. Perhaps if we had had a side story to break up the wandering, it wouldn't have been so bad (but that would have meant more pages).

Yes, this book made me cry. I am going to say from the early 400s on to the end I found something to cry about every few pages. And really, you can't have a book with Death in the name and not expect a few people to die.

#4 is still my favorite, but this final installment had more emotion in it than any of the others.

**Commenting on predictions
I like to make predictions of how things will go, and usually I am pretty good. But this book found me lacking. The only prediction I made that was close to being accurate was the Harry/Ginny relationship (which was an obvious one), but that was weak at best because I didn't expect Harry to live, so it wasn't like I was seeing marriage and kids.

Like I said, I expected Harry to die, actually I needed him to die. That sounds horrible, but that would have been the closure I needed for the series. With him still being alive there is a glimmering hope of more from the house of Potter (but I will get to this later).

Another prediction was that someone who was thought to be dead would turn up alive. I wasn't really thinking of a particular character, but this didn't happen either. The obvious one would have been Dumbledore (though it would have been very hard to write away the evidence), or Mad-eye, but I would have liked to have seen Sirius again. He is probably my most favorite character. I don't know if that is because I felt he was an untapped character, or just the general turmoil surrounding him.

Hogwarts: I really thought that Ron Hermione and Harry would all be back at school. I know in the end of #6 it said they leaving school, but I thought there adventures would take them back there (I mean it did in the end, but it bothered me they missed the whole year there). It seems a little disconcerting that the series was to span his 7 years at school and he didn't spend his last year there, but that could be just because I like order to things.

**Timeline Discussion
So Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in 1997 this is the year that the last book should have taken place (quick math Harry was born in 1980 + 17 years = 1997). Next it took 10 years to get through 7 years of school (no qualms there, have you seen how long some of those books are). Then the epilogue of the last book jumped to 19 years in the future, meaning 2016 (9 years from now). Why do you think Rowling chose that year, that time? Rowling could have just as easily gone 20 years or 15 years, 19 is a curious number isn't it? It just leaves me wondering if and when her next book will appear.

**General Scope
Many people have compared to Rowling to Tolkien, which I can see to some degree. They both created amazing worlds that were complete. Both created amazing characters that people love and cherish. Both have recounted adventure and tragedy amazingly. Personally, I think Tolkien is the better writer though. I do believe that the Harry Potter series is a collection that will survive generations.

I expect we will hear more from Rowling in the future. Will it be a Harry Potter book, I would love that, but I doubt it. They will be wizarding books though. Maybe books about the Harry's kids, or maybe go back in the past and see his parents at Hogwarts. Maybe she will attempt an adult fiction. Who knows. Rowling could never put pen to paper again, and she and her family would be alright. If she writes anymore it will be because she wants to. And I think she does want to.

**Qualms with The End
Rowling left so many things wide open to interpretation. It feels like there were a lot of loose ends. I feel like the book needed one more chapter and about 20 more pages in the epilogue. I would have liked a chapter a few weeks past the after math. Seen where everyone ended up and what it was taking to get things back in order. Then I would have also liked a little more info from the future. A little bit more about the kids and what the adults had done with their lives. But that is me, always wanting just a little more.