Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Book Review: A stunning conclusion to a truly amazing series
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't even know where to begin. These books have touched my life and I am so grateful JK Rowling took the chance and persevered in getting Book 1 published. Book 7 is a stunning conclusion to a truly amazing series, and definitely my favorite of all 7 books. I got the book at midnight and finished it 12 hours later. Then I went to sleep, got up and started re-reading it more slowly. I don't think I will ever feel this way about a book ever again, and I was depressed the adventure had come to an end. If you have not read Harry Potter, please give it a try. You won't regret it! My favorite scene was probably the one near the end when Harry defends McGonnagal in the Ravenclaw common room. And of course the thrilling battle, which - as my friend put it - hit the stratosphere. And the Kings Crossing scene. And pretty much the entire book. Read it!Book Review: ...the end.
Summary: 4 Stars
Book 7. The end. And really, kudos to Rowling for sticking with making it a finite series. Kudos, too, for writing something that captured the imagination of so many people of all ages. It's incredible how widespread the appeal of Harry Potter is. I'm in awe of her imagination and ability to strike such a nearly-universal chord.
I very much enjoyed this book--all the wrapping up of various threads, the explanations, tying things together--it was a satisfying conclusion, fitting to the rest of the series.
That said, though, I'm not one of those who thinks these are the Best Books Ever(tm). Sorry, but I'm not. I acknowledge and applaud their popularity and entertainment value, but they're not perfect.
Everybody knows the story already, yes? Basically, it's Harry Potter, boy wizard, vs. Voldemort, the evilest dark wizard ever. And this is the last book, the showdown. Everything else is secondary to that. Right, then.
The biggest problem I had with Deathly Hallows is the Great Swampy Middle. Harry and only one or two of his friends (see how cleverly I avoided spoilers, there?) spend almost the whole middle half of the book wandering around pretty much aimlessly. Oh, things happen, but it's mostly just by luck or happenstance, and they spend an inordinate amount of time bored and discouraged, and that emotion really gets passed on to the reader. Case in point: I'm currently reading it aloud with my sons at breakfast. We're smack in the middle. At the beginning of the book, they were quiet, hanging on every word. Now, they interrupt, go off on tangents talking about other things--in short, they're not involved in this part of the book. They're bored.
My second biggest problem was the deaths. Oh, come on. That's not a spoiler. Everybody knows there are deaths--people have been speculating for years about who it'll be. I'm fine with there being deaths--it is a war, after all, and people die--but it's the way Rowling writes them. It's very casual, a behind-closed-doors sort of thing, the way some authors treat sex scenes. Which is also okay, in theory, except that generally, even if they close the door, you know the gist of what's going on behind it. Not so, here. I'm all for leaving out the gory physical details, but not the emotional ones. They were so down-played that I didn't even believe them, and that also goes for the previous two deaths in the series--I fully expected the characters to pop up again, because she didn't make the deaths real. I'm not sure I've explained it completely--every time I discuss it, somebody ends up thinking I'm either wanting nobody to die, or I'm wanting blood and guts. I guess the main thing is I wanted them to be more believable, and I wanted them to mean something. Yes, yes, in real life death is often pointless. But this isn't that kind of book.
Then there were the Deathly Hallows. Yes, they explain a couple of things, and answer a question I hadn't even thought to ask, but they seemed to come out of nowhere, and we're still burdened with the Horcruxes that came out of nowhere in the last book, and they really seemed to clutter up the plot.
The "romance" with Ginny was another pointless cluttering. She's hardly in the book at all, except for the occasional wistful thought from Harry, and I'd have been happier without it.
And Dudley. There's a Big Deal with him at the beginning of the book, but that's it. Over. Finished. No follow-through. Reeaaaally annoying.
Don't get me started on the epilogue. It was reminiscent of romance series epilogues, listing all the couples from the various books, and the number and gender of their offspring and pets. And it's just as pointless.
But yeah, apart from all that--I did enjoy the book, and I'm glad I read it, and I really meant all those earlier kudos.
Book Review: An Amazing Read!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was bar far one of the best in the series. I always love how in depth she goes with the characters. You can not help but grow to love every single one of them, and feel their pain when something happens. Their were some parts however that felt like that drug on forever, but she always managed to throw in some twists and turns into those. Highly recommended, great read.Book Review: great book
Summary: 3 Stars
i loved the book. j.k. has done a great job in finishing her series.
however, i have got the rest of the series on audio books read by steven fry. and i must admit, i did enjoy his reading style better.
also, last cd cannot be read in my computer (probably so book cannot be copied), therefore it is not possible to listen to it on my mp3 player. pity.
Book Review: Beautiful book with marvelous joy........worth to own.......
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the most beautiful book ever written in publishing history....its true to the facts and Dumbledore`s proper planning leads to the ultimate success in killing VOlDy......
The most beautiful and the rare edition of the book......The beautiful sierra cloth binding.....the cool and the clean binding............most awesome paintings by illustrator....
Deluxe edition rocks......proud owner of the book....The book has blind stamping with red ink on the spine......beautiful sunset pic of the malfoy manor on the opening page......tough slipcase.........and more to the fact the stiffest binding ever.....
I had purchased this book for 16.26$ on amazon.com last month.......
A beautiful book for me in India where we always own the UK edition............I always wanted an US EDITION and this was my first us edition book...its always best to own the best of the potter book for an hardcore harry potter fan who would preserve the books for the next generation.............
Altogether a beautiful book and the different personal touch of mary grandpre and author signature on the slipcase makes the book a dream come true for and hardcore harry potter fan............brand new book for 16 $ only a giant like amazon can afford that kind of promotions to their customers..........