Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Reviews

“I’m going to keep going until I succeed — or die. Don’t think I don’t know how this might end. I’ve known it for years.” — Harry Potter

Most seventeen-year olds don’t view the possibility of an early death as being, well, possible. But then again, most seventeen-year olds haven’t come face-to-face with death almost half a dozen times before their first kiss either.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment of the ridiculously popular Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling brilliantly ties up every loose end that she has planted over the last ten years since the very first outing of the series was published in 1997. Truly, Rowling has learned exactly what her fans want and subsequently delivers a book that answers every Potterhead’s questions — and then some.

Not only does Deathly Hallows revisit key places and characters from all of the previous six books, but Rowling even manages to make clever references to previous bits of dialogue from her earlier books. Case in point: near the end of the first Potter book, after Hermione fails to see the magical solution to saving the trio from a nasty patch of Devil’s Snare, Harry’s best mate Ron bellows “HAVE YOU GONE MAD? ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?” Now, six years later, Hermione finally gets her revenge on her red-headed friend when Ron believes that all is lost until Hermione yells to him “Are you a wizard, or what?” thus reminding Ron to use his wand to solve their problem. Subtle references such as this are a large part of what makes Rowling’s books so enjoyable to re-read as there are always deeper meanings and additional allusions that are often only discovered via multiple read-throughs.

Harry’s bold statement regarding his own potential death is also a prime example of how much Rowling truly wrote Harry’s last tale for her long-time fans. This line seems to read as a secret “shout-out” to the Potterites who have also known for years that the series might not end happily ever after. The prophecy in the fifth book revealed that “neither shall live while the other survives”, and therefore by the end of book seven either Harry or Voldemort had to die. Rowling cleverly fills her last installment with so many twists, turns and complications, however, that it becomes practically impossible to determine which way this book is going to end.

More than any of the other Potter books, Deathly Hallows is a true quest narrative, with the trio spending the majority of the story hunting for horcruxes and hallows whilst evading capture by Voldemort’s Death Eaters. The multiple close-calls that all three main characters find themselves in throughout the book add to the tension that continues to build until the predictably bloody battle at the end of the tale. The book does, after all, chronicle a brutal war, so be prepared for a lot of killing and, consequently, a lot of tears.

This is not to say that Deathly Hallows doesn’t offer up a great deal of laughs as well. The hilarious twins Fred and George Weasley make several appearances to ensure that the book isn’t all doom and gloom. By far, the funniest part of the story is the secret radio show Potterwatch, anonymously hosted by former Hogwarts Quidditch commentator Lee Jordan with special appearances from Fred, George, and ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin. Rowling perfectly mixes this blend of humour, tragedy and adventure so that her epic-length novel never lags or drags.

To write a 607 page book that millions of die-hard fans around the world are able to devour in less than 24 hours is no mean feat, but Rowling’s farewell to the Boy Who Lived is an incredibly gripping page-turner that will leave all Potter lovers immensely satisfied.

My favorite HP book. The end was more than i ever expected it to be. I can't imagine having all this in my head from the beginning.

After six books, I wish I could say that this book made the journey worth it. But I don't think it does. Granted, it's still better than Goblet, but only marginally.

When JK Rowling began this series, we all knew it had to end with a confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, but she promised us more, too. Even if she didn't realize it. Every writer makes a contract with their readers. In this case, the first book was supposed to be the setup for the entire series. And in particular, the Sorting Hat's songs, which we heard several times throughout the story, promised us a joining of the houses, and perhaps even a new way of seeing things, after about 1000 years of the school's existence.

Oh, sure, she harped on the negative traits of Slytherins throughout the series. But if being sneaky and sly make you evil, then why bother having the house at all? Why not just send everyone who gets sorted into the house straight to Azkaban, if that's all they're good for?

And yet, the hat continually talked about all four of the houses coming together and working together. Not three, but all.

So where was this great coming together? In a double-spy that had a thing for someone who never loved him, and a weak coward who never amounted to anything. My two favorite characters, who I could have written far better than this, were sold short because the author felt that all Slytherins are irredeemable.

And then, to top it all off, she gave us a saccharine-sweet epilogue twenty years later where everyone (read: the three main characters) was happily paired off and had kids named after their heroes. Never mind that it had obviously been written long before most of the series and only hastily rewritten to polish it, because it included almost no secondary or tertiary characters that had been introduced in the later books.

There are good points in this book, but the overall flow and the fact that Rowling falls so short of her goal makes it almost unbearable to read at points. Far more unbearable than the year or so wait between this book and the previous one. If you're not a fan? You can probably skip to the confrontation at the end, and just save yourself a ton of aggravation.

I think this book was done really well. For me it had a tightly woven plot, answered all the questions that arose throughout the series and the change of... lets say scenario (I don't want to give anything away for those who wish to read it, although it seems that everyone else wants to so maybe there isn't a point for me to) stopped it from being stale. The only problem was the ending. The real ending was perfect. A good fight scene followed by a clean cut ending that was very final, but then Rowling had to do the "several years in the future bit" which is alright in some cases when done properly but she didn't do it well. It was pretty much just confirming what was in my mind an obvious conclusion and not explaining about anything else. A waste of paper if you ask me. Can't people use their imaginations and be happy with just speculating what may have happened? Would be more tantalising in my opinion.

Other then that the book was great and I have to confess that I am very impressed and surprised with Rowling's talent.

There are too many inconsistencies. I don't just mean between all the prevoius books and this one. I also mean within the book itself. Hermione says she modified her parents memories in one chapter and then the next she's squeemish about doing to some death eaters because she's never done it before. Umm... yes, she has. She just explained she did last chapter. That and the polyjuice potion lasting longer than an hour as previously mentioned in the second book. Other than that, the book was good. Although the epilogue nearly blew it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a satisfying ending to the thrilling and magical series many of us have come to know and love.

In this book, Harry tries to complete the mission Dumbledore bestowed upon him—which is to find and destroy the horcruxes. While doing this, he has to overcome his doubts about himself and about his hero, Albus Dumbledore. Meanwhile, Voldemort is gaining power and control and takes charge of the wizarding world. As the books that came before it, Deathly Hallows is about courage, friendship, and love.

Many of us will mourn the deaths of favorite characters, but this book draws the Harry Potter series to a satisfactory end. Loose ends are tied, and questions many of us have asked are answered. It is a good read, and very suspenseful. I wasn’t able to put it down until I finished it. It is the end we have all been waiting for—and the last chapter Rowling added is a special treat that I never expected.