I just finished the book. I thought it was amazing. I am very happy with it.
Spoiler: 07-22-2007 02:37 PMsarajeanposting this here, instead of in the regular ol' hp thread, since this thread is specifically for spoilers.
i liked a good portion of the book. i didn't necessarily care for the whole king's cross bit, and i HATED the epilogue. i've said it before in chat and elswhere that it had the feel of poorly written tacked on fanfic.
chapter four was my favourite part.
fred's death got me choked up. dobby's too, but it was more the burial and little service that they had for him.
i REALLY hated that all that was important about his mother's eyes was that he had them, and people could see her in them. wtf? really, that's the important thing that we've been waiting years for? and snape's dying words really creeped me out. 07-23-2007 03:56 AMDarkthoughtsDitto to that Chris.
Hey SJ - I wore a Weird Sisters tee too :D 07-23-2007 04:08 AMDarkthoughtsI may be a sentimental fool but, Snape's last words "Look...at...me..." so that Snape could be looking into Lily's eyes one last time before he died, were really touching...not creepy SJ you heartless woman :lol:
I never considered the whole "you have your mother's eyes" thing to be foreshadowing some major plotline - so it didn't bother me that nothing more was made of it.
Have to say I was constantly waiting for Hagrid to die being a fan of your theory :D When the spiders carted him off I thought "Yep! This is it!!" But you were still correct with the whole red thing and poor Fred.
I loved the epilogue! I know people are very divided on this, at my HP site theres and equal amount of I loved/I hated it going on.
For me it gave the story a proper sense of finality - I didn't find it overly sentimental, I would've been annoyed NOT to have had it even though I wasn't expecting it.
When the final battle happened at Hogwarts I was reminded of something Roland said in WotC about all the months of planning boiling down to a few minutes of actual fighting, and how that can seem an anti-climax. There was a potential for the reader to feel a sense of anti-climax in DH with characters dying left, right and centre and some without much pomp and ceremony too - but I think she pulled it off with style.
The only disappointment i felt (albeit momentarily) was when I discovered that Harry was indeed a horcrux. I'd been vehemently opposed to that theory and I actually stopped reading and shouted "NO WAY!!" (much to the surprise of my kids :D ) but as I read on it seemed to fit in such a way that it became clear it was the only way for it to happen. 07-23-2007 09:13 AMMattMy other daughter bought DH on Cd so now I get to listen to it in my car :rock: 07-23-2007 09:20 AMsarajean 07-23-2007 01:04 PMHannahDitto to everything Chris said in his spoiler marked box up there. Except for Neville is not my fave character, that position would have to go to (after reading the last book) ...
Spoiler: 07-23-2007 02:57 PMMordred Deschainheh...I'm only on page 80 now and I'm reading everyone's spoilers!!! 07-23-2007 03:44 PMsarajean:o
that's why i'm only posting them in the spoiler thread. :P
if you go in there, it's your own fault. 07-23-2007 03:47 PMNerakdone done done 07-23-2007 03:50 PMMordred Deschain 07-23-2007 04:01 PMsarajeani read the ending before the book was released, and i still read it. 07-23-2007 11:31 PMErinWow. I just finished the final book. I cried like a baby, but really enjoyed it. 07-23-2007 11:34 PMErinDid I ever cheer when Molly called Bellatrix a bitch. Ahh what a great moment. 07-24-2007 12:02 PMFrunobulaxThat epilogue was a little tooooo sappy for my liking, but the rest of the book was pretty great. 07-24-2007 02:26 PMMordred Deschain 07-24-2007 02:34 PMMattIts more about the "how" and "why" for me than the actual spoiler. But I must admit, in this case and dt7, I have stayed away. 07-24-2007 04:09 PMsarajean 07-25-2007 03:02 AMDarkthoughtsCool beans!! 07-25-2007 07:07 AMMattI just got to the "climax" of HBP. I cried.
Even though I knew it was going to happen, it still caught me very much off guard. 07-25-2007 08:04 AMsarah 07-25-2007 06:19 PMErin 07-26-2007 04:30 AMMattbaby as charged. Dora finished last night and she spent the last 5 hours with tears in here eyes if not crying out right. 07-26-2007 04:39 AMJeanoh my I am reading it now!!!!!!!
a former student of mine, who lives in Finnland, scanned it and emailed to me... I hate reading off the monitor, it's killing my eyes, but it is so great! 07-26-2007 06:07 AMMattWOOHOO!! Dora just finished 7 and I was done with 6 this morning so I get to join the masses. :nana: