First some filler text in case someone fetches this post in the search page: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Vestibulum porttitor faucibus augue. Nulla ultrices malesuada nisi. Donec sit amet justo. Pellentesque pede elit, convallis at, venenatis sit amet, pellentesque non, nisi. Fusce quis diam. Nulla nulla est, viverra vel, congue sed, nonummy eu, nunc. Suspendisse feugiat. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos. Sed sed mauris vitae nibh tempus viverra. Ut urna sem, pharetra a, tincidunt sit amet, cursus nec, mauris. Phasellus ac ligula. That’s good. Now on to the spoilers.
[spoiler]And let me disclaim once again that if I were you and hadn’t read the book (and was a spoiler freak—because I’m not one, and you might not be one as well, and in this case you have no problems with reading spoilers)—if I were you, I wouldn’t give in to my curiosity, because I’d know how much I’d regret that later. So be warned.
Like I said, the Harry Potter series ended, eventually, not like an original fiction series, but like a fan fiction of itself. Some of the latest happenings were tetrical. Since Harry’s failed attempt at relating with Cho, and the further misunderstanding with Hermione, it all felt like the author was one of those teenage fic writers of fanfiction.net, not Jo herself. To my surprise, a certain series of mock versions of the books four through seven, written by a friend of mine, were more enjoyable than the official ones.
So when book six finished with that dreadful hook for a following book—Harry the hero embarking on a cliché quest for the magic enchanted items that would allow him to kill evil evil Lord of Doom—it was already decided that the Harry Potter series would assume the structure of a fairy tale, inevitably. Jo’s originality and British wit were replaced with what feels like teenage cliché. People writing in Tolkien fandom forums can be more original than that.
Harry being a horcrux would be a nice turnpoint, if it weren’t so obvious that I even made a bet with Magnus he would be one. (Magnus, check our conversation history from when we finished reading Half Blood Prince: I was right on Ravenclaw’s something, Nagini and Harry being horcruxes).
And yet, there were some things I liked about this book. Harry, Hermione and sometimes Ron running away in hiding was very nice. Reading it was very realistic, and it had the good old sense of dark humour I liked so much about Jo’s former books: sharp criticism at modernity and its heroes. The form the Ministry of Magic was easily subverted by Tom had the paint of humour in the quill of misery. Those two things were outstandingly good in a book that, to me, would be a total lost cause.
Ron could have died. Nevertheless, his argument with the other two was very bold of his, and very enriching to his mostly backgroundish character. Very good, score for Jo. The introduction of deathly hallows, which could not be predicted by the readers no matter how many essays they wrote in the Leaky Cauldron (therefore, a Deus Ex Machina) was a good point for the book: shows she cared more about the plot than about the ending.
Dumbledore being evil in the past was a pleasant surprise. It was not at all forced, it fit his character perfectly, and it was unexpected. Very, very good indeed. Snape having promised to kill him if needed: poor. It would be far more interesting if Severus had had to make this choice on his own. Some of the plot devices were among the most cliché ever.
And, honestly, Lily, James and ALBUS SEVERUS?! Either Harry or Jo (or both) are seriously mental. How sad and traumatized! I didn’t like the epilogue, it would be better left out. The only thing good in the whole bloody chapter was Harry and Draco nodding. That’s all.
Well, after all Harry Potter wasn’t supposed to be a good book series. It won’t be remembered in, say, ten years. It didn’t change anyone’s life or add to literature, or do more than entertain us for a couple of days every other year. In short, it was just a bestseller. But it was good while it lasted, fun. If not for the plot, for the sake of criticizing it.[/spoiler]