This is ur warning..call it a spoiler alert, review alert etc or whatever u wanna call it. But frankly considering how long this post is from the release of e book and the many other reviews, straits times etc, that have popped up irritatingly, you prob would have read the book alr.
ok i'm gonna start...so read on only if u wanna know....
ok one more line for good measure..
Since my review is kinda late, i had the luxury of seeing through what some other pple thought of the book themselves. I must admit that i was surprised that some pple didnt like the last book. I wonder if i'm the only one who feels this way. I mean well yeah maybe perhaps one or two parts might have been a bit draggy i suppose, such as the part where harry, ron & hermione were trying very hard in vain to search for the horcruxes. But still over all, on the whole, i found that the book was actually quite good, tying up the whole story together, developing the characters & bringing everything to light. One part of my life that i grew up with has finally come to an end.
Unlike the past 6 editions, this book took a detour from the usual format, eg: going to hogwarts, playing the qudditch matches (which is actually a damn cool sport) etc. Some elements of The Lord of the Rings could be seen. The search for the horcruxes, taking turns to carry the locket horcrux, staying on together to carry on fighting etc were all hallmarks of what frodo and co did on the big screen.
You have to wait till the middle-last part of the book to get the juicy bits. The final battle at hogwarts, the uniting of the magical community, such as houselfs and centaurs, to fight the last battle, how dumbledore triumped over voldemort with his grand plan, and of course...severus snape! Snape is undoubtedly the star of not just this book, but in my opinion the entire series! The way that git was portrayed in the past 6 books, particulary the 6th, one would have casted him away as the 'character eveyone hates' and he certainly wouldnt have won any popularity contests. I for one casted him as evil so the final twist did take me by surprise, and the way he killed dumbledore just worsened his ratings in book 6. That was of course a very shrewd plan of dumbledore as the final book revealed and yes he did 'come back to life' in a manner of speaking, though not in blood and bones.
One key plank of rowling's series here is that of the power of love. The character of Snape is the best example to explain this. Dumbledore was right in saying that love is the greatest magic of all. Snape, though having a outlook geared more towards the dark side, was good deep deep down inside due to him loving lily (harry's mum), and that was what propelled him to be one of the bravest characters in the series. Even as he layed dying, he did the final task given to him by dumbledore, and in just one chapter after that, rowling transformed everyone's perception of snape with the ensuing illuminating memories of snape's life. I owe him an apology for thinking him badly. Other than Snape, even the dursleys were written off very nicely, and dudley's behaviour was a pleasant surprise.
Many characters grew in their development in this book, not just Snape. The change in Kreacher was a nice twist. Mrs Weasley was cool! She finished off bellatrix lestrange when even aurors failed to do so! But the deaths of some of the characters were regrettable. Perhaps the saddest one would have to be Dobby. Again love was at play here, in all of the above.
The best part of the book is how rowling links up the whole story of the entire series together. However, the last part which showed harry & co in 19 yrs time wasnt perhaps the best possible ending that was fitting for a series that has gripped an entire planet for many years, and that caused a fervour thats unlikely to be matched anytime soon in the children fiction literary world. It didnt for one explain the immediate post events after the victory and neither did it leave a satisfying feeling once the last page was flipped over. But still, I liked the book overall and i thought it was great.
Reading harry potter sometimes makes u wish that u can do some of the magic written abt...well the magic has finally ended with this last book.. I remb reading abt some nutters who read the book finished in like mins?? Crazy man... i will miss the series..no doubt abt that..in fact i tried to drag and prolong my reading of the last book so as to prolong the savouring of the last of a series that is destined to become a classic forever entrenched in literature history. But while the magic has ended, the greatest magic of all is very real indeed and is out there to be learnt and used, yes even by us Muggles..
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