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lyoreJust finished.
It is... surprisingly good. I'm sure you all know about the my opinions of the last two (especially OotP), so my expectations were exceedingly low, but overall I liked it.
First of all, the bitching. Killing Lupin and Tonks off screen? After being the subject of the HP universe's most badly written romances, they deserved better. I thought Lupin's characterisation was interesting - not inconsistent with what has been shown before, butnot really what I was expecting. I'll be honest and say that, up until he married Tonks, I had him marked to die - as a father-figure and mentor to Harry, and as the last of the marauders,I figured he was toast. So I feel more sorry for Tonks - it seems she was killed by association.
Still not liking the typecasting of the Slytherins, either. Not one of them chose to stay? Ambitious doesn't have to mean evil. *sigh*
That epilogue... Albus Serverus?! Scorpius?!. She was doing so well, and then she just lost the plot. And Snape being the bravest man Harry ever knew?
I'll 'fess up to still not being in the Snape-fan brigade, even thought he should, on paper, be one of the characters I'm all over. And JKR keeps telling me that he's a brave, good-underneath-it-all guy, but I'm still not really getting it, even after the flashbacks and the memories. I don't find the 'Snape at school' thing particularly affecting, although as one of the terminal outsiders at my school I'm presumably exactly the type of person who should sympathise. I guess it's because, while he's victimised by James, etc, for the way he looks/dresses, none of his school-day actions show a person worth empathising with. All of these flashback scenes (speaking generally about the series, not just this book), have had far more of an effect on my opinions of the Marauders than Snape.
He betrayed Voldemort because he loved Lily? OK, leaving aside that all of fandom had that figured after book one, I could get behind that if Voldemort's threat to her meant he woke up and started to see the effect on other people, but I still don't really get that from him. He's still protecting Harry because he loved his mother, not because he disagrees with Voldemort's beliefs or because he thinks that it's the right thing to do. (And even as headmaster he still doesn't show concern for the students.)
I guess the reason Snape doesn't appeal to me like he should is that all the moral ambiguity he should have ends up in Dumbledore instead. I've been a fan of manipulative!Dumbledore for a while, 'cause (to me) the only other choice was believing he was completely incompetent. It was nice to see that addressed in this book - an acknowledgment that Dumbledore not only was he not as saintly as he appeared, but that he had deliberately endangered Harry to get the outcome he wanted. So yeah, I liked Dumbledore in this one, mostly. (Some of his plan was still a bit shite, though.)
There were a few to many ridiculous plot holes (Ron can speak Parseltongue just by listening to Harry?!), and Harry's plans are as useless as ever (but at least that is consistent *g*), and it still doesn't justify some of the pointless dren in book five, for instance (explain to me why we just couldn't have Harry able to block his mind under extreme emotional distress?), but overall, it didn't distract too much from the story.
The good stuff:
- Hermione kicks ass! I lost track of the number of times she saved the day.
- And so does Neville! *waves Neville pompoms* (And I'm not even a Nevillle fan!)
- Luna decorating her rooms with pictures of the Trio and Neville and Ginny *sniff* sweet, and yet sad. *waves Neville/Luna flag*
- Molly taking on Bellatrix - I think I like this. About time Molly got to show her stuff.
- Also, I love Ron. Just needed to get that out there.
OK, there was a lot more, but I need to end this entry up.
OK guys, what are your thoughts?
It is... surprisingly good. I'm sure you all know about the my opinions of the last two (especially OotP), so my expectations were exceedingly low, but overall I liked it.
First of all, the bitching. Killing Lupin and Tonks off screen? After being the subject of the HP universe's most badly written romances, they deserved better. I thought Lupin's characterisation was interesting - not inconsistent with what has been shown before, butnot really what I was expecting. I'll be honest and say that, up until he married Tonks, I had him marked to die - as a father-figure and mentor to Harry, and as the last of the marauders,I figured he was toast. So I feel more sorry for Tonks - it seems she was killed by association.
Still not liking the typecasting of the Slytherins, either. Not one of them chose to stay? Ambitious doesn't have to mean evil. *sigh*
That epilogue... Albus Serverus?! Scorpius?!. She was doing so well, and then she just lost the plot. And Snape being the bravest man Harry ever knew?
I'll 'fess up to still not being in the Snape-fan brigade, even thought he should, on paper, be one of the characters I'm all over. And JKR keeps telling me that he's a brave, good-underneath-it-all guy, but I'm still not really getting it, even after the flashbacks and the memories. I don't find the 'Snape at school' thing particularly affecting, although as one of the terminal outsiders at my school I'm presumably exactly the type of person who should sympathise. I guess it's because, while he's victimised by James, etc, for the way he looks/dresses, none of his school-day actions show a person worth empathising with. All of these flashback scenes (speaking generally about the series, not just this book), have had far more of an effect on my opinions of the Marauders than Snape.
He betrayed Voldemort because he loved Lily? OK, leaving aside that all of fandom had that figured after book one, I could get behind that if Voldemort's threat to her meant he woke up and started to see the effect on other people, but I still don't really get that from him. He's still protecting Harry because he loved his mother, not because he disagrees with Voldemort's beliefs or because he thinks that it's the right thing to do. (And even as headmaster he still doesn't show concern for the students.)
I guess the reason Snape doesn't appeal to me like he should is that all the moral ambiguity he should have ends up in Dumbledore instead. I've been a fan of manipulative!Dumbledore for a while, 'cause (to me) the only other choice was believing he was completely incompetent. It was nice to see that addressed in this book - an acknowledgment that Dumbledore not only was he not as saintly as he appeared, but that he had deliberately endangered Harry to get the outcome he wanted. So yeah, I liked Dumbledore in this one, mostly. (Some of his plan was still a bit shite, though.)
There were a few to many ridiculous plot holes (Ron can speak Parseltongue just by listening to Harry?!), and Harry's plans are as useless as ever (but at least that is consistent *g*), and it still doesn't justify some of the pointless dren in book five, for instance (explain to me why we just couldn't have Harry able to block his mind under extreme emotional distress?), but overall, it didn't distract too much from the story.
The good stuff:
- Hermione kicks ass! I lost track of the number of times she saved the day.
- And so does Neville! *waves Neville pompoms* (And I'm not even a Nevillle fan!)
- Luna decorating her rooms with pictures of the Trio and Neville and Ginny *sniff* sweet, and yet sad. *waves Neville/Luna flag*
- Molly taking on Bellatrix - I think I like this. About time Molly got to show her stuff.
- Also, I love Ron. Just needed to get that out there.
OK, there was a lot more, but I need to end this entry up.
OK guys, what are your thoughts?
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-21 10:20 am (UTC)The death of Remus and Tonks didn't bother me as much as it perhaps should have - and I'm a Remus/Tonks shipper from OotP days.
I'm not surprised at Snape's death or his situation, but I agree that "because he loved Lily" is a really thin thread on which to hang his change of heart.
The wholesale dismissing of Slytherins was also annoying to me, but not as much as the complete lack of any form of 'redemption' for Malfoy. I mean, JKR allowed Dudley to rethink his position, but Malfoy was still desperately trying to cling to the Voldemort side of things even up to the end. I'm not even a Draco fan and that was just...annoying.
I'm so glad that Neville got to kill Nagini - he needed to be able to do something. And I love Luna all the way through the book - but particularly at the end: "I'd wants some peace and quiet, if it were me."
(Harry/Luna 'shipper ahoy!)
Some of the rescues and escapes were just a bit too much, coming all one on top of each other. Go into the Ministry, get discovered, get out. Get into Malfoy Manor, get discovered (and tortured), get out. Get in to Gringotts, get discovered, get out. Get into Hogwarts, get discovered, fight to the death...
I mean, it works as a final book to the series, but it feels like she squished so much stuff in there...
no subject
Date: 2007-07-21 12:08 pm (UTC)As mentioned above, I think I've fallen into the good ship Neville/Luna. Ironic, since prior to this book I wasn't a big fan of either of them (didn't dislike them, just not my favourites).
The repeated narrow escapes were a little much, true (the methods as much as the repetition - I mean, riding on a dragon?!). But I didn't get the feeling of so much stuff as some of the others - OotP, for instance.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-21 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-21 12:36 pm (UTC)