Monthly ArchiveAugust 2007
Non-fiction 15 Aug 2007 12:43
The Cluetrain Manifesto
Fiction 05 Aug 2007 21:25
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J. K. Rowling
Word of advice: this post has spoilers after the fold (after the link to “read more”). I will discuss fine points of the plot and the ending. You have been warned.
I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I was honestly worried that it would not live up to the hype, but it does. Every last plot point is very well finished, all the mysteries are solved and everything fits together perfectly. Not only that, but details from all previous books (even the first two) are relevant to the story and to the conclusion; it seems that J. K. Rowling did know what she was going for from the beginning, and she got to the end in the best possible way. A co-worker of mine even joked that she should get a job with the producers of Lost, now.
There one minor annoyance, which I will discuss in the spoilers session below; nothing too serious, though. An advice to anyone who hasn’t started it yet: go re-read book 6 beforehand. I had read book 6 soon after it came out, and didn’t touch it since; that was a mistake, as I started reading book 7 with just a vague recollection of the previous events, and there was no “previously on Harry Potter” at the beginning… it took me a while to remember what, exactly, was a horcrux, or what relevance that locket had.
I did a long “stretch” to finish the book; I read the final 150 pages or so in a single sitting, and I was exhausted at the end. There is so much going on, so many details to keep track of and so many mysteries being solved that you end up physically tired at the end. Worth it, though, and I almost started reading it back from the start right away. I decided on starting from the beginning, though, and I’m going through the audio version of “Philosopher’s Stone” now (from the library; these audiobooks are unbelievably expensive); Stephen Fry’s narration is wonderful. And, by the time I finish the first 6, the audio version of book 7 should be available.
In short: great book. Spoilers to follow.
Non-fiction 05 Aug 2007 12:44
