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brinshannaraIt's 3:30am, I haven't had a decent night's sleep since last Thursday, and I'm exhausted. My eyes are bleary, they hurt, and I just finished the latest Harry Potter book.
Good read. I enjoyed it tremendously. I can't tell you how many times I wound up laughing aloud over the last four hours, as I was reading it. I loved the bit with the antidote potions class, for instance. Fucking hysterical, cracked me up, 'cause I could just see Hermione and her 52 ingredients and the chunk of her own hair or whatever, looking really pissed. (Aside: I'm not sure if I'm okay with the fact that I see the actors in their various roles when reading the books. Hm. Food for later thought.)
Okay, okay, the big thing: so Dumbledore is dead.
Frankly, I didn't expect him to survive the series. What kind of climax to the series are you going to have in book seven if Dumbledore can help Harry out? That's sort of like having someone with a revolver against someone with an Uzi and then giving the dude with the revolver a bazooka. Sort of an unfair, not-exactly-uphill battle. And most people will tend to root for the underdogs. Hell, that's what Harry *is* -- he's this poor orphaned kid who's been mistreated his entire life and is a marked man by the most evil wizard who's ever lived. If he doesn't have the odds against him, no one does. Not even Neville, because at least Voldemort chose Harry, so he's got THAT goin' for him.
Speaking of Neville... there was not enough Neville! He's not my favourite character, but I missed him.
Back to Dumbledore. Okay. He's dead. But he served his purpose. He guided Harry (and us) to the end of book six. He gave us all the background on Voldemort. He basically told Harry how to destroy Voldemort, with the Horcruxes etc, etc. His job was done, basically.
I am not at all happy at the prospect of a Hogwart's-less book seven, mind you. Despite this whole "we are at war!" thing, and some war-fic I've read, I loved that Rowling always had Hogwart's as the main setting. I probably have a couple years to calm down and let that grow on me, but at the moment, I am not happy.
Malfoy --![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
moireach said it right when she said that Malfoy is Rolf and Dumbledore is Captain Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore. This makes him just a teeny bit better in my mind. I liked the character development in terms of Draco, too. Finally, he does something remotely important instead of just being a pain in the ass.
Snape. Oh, the thoughts and theories my mind is constructing...
Briefly: 1) Snape killed Dumbledore and has always been evil. 2) Snape killed Dumbledore and is still somehow good. 3) Snape killed Dumbledore, and yet, somehow, Dumbledore was not wrong in his trusting Snape. 4) Snape didn't actually kill Dumbledore, and decided to make it look like he was loyal to Voldemort (and looking out for Draco) by faking Dumbledore's death with him, which would also allow Dumbledore to continue hunting Horcruxes somewhat more easily.
(I may be in denial about Dumbledore being dead.)
I love that Snape is the Half-Blood Prince. Love it ALL DAY LONG and when it was revealed, I almost took the book and smacked myself on the head. (But I didn't, because I'd have given myself a concussion.) Of course Snape would be the Half-Blood Prince -- HE WAS THE POTIONS MASTER. Like, duh. (I usually tend to believe I am very smart and quick, and then something like this will hit. Go me.)
While I do not much care for Harry/Ginny, I think Harry's an idiot. Granted, this happens to heroes. They always believe the ones they love are in too much danger if they're together. Clark always fretted about Lois, Peter Parker always fretted about Mary-Jane... Hey! Harry should get a secret identity! ;)
Ron/Hermione - okay. I'm glad they're past the jealous stuff, because GOOD FREAKING LORD, that was almost intolerable. I very much disliked Lavender, I hated Ron and Hermione's behaviour towards each other, and it is NOT ALWAYS THAT AWKWARD or complicated. Dang. That said, ugh, I don't want any coupling up, thanks much. Harry, Hermione and Ron, three friends, that's it. (No, I don't go for H/H/R, either!)
On the whole, I enjoyed it. Still in some denial about Dumbledore, still in denial about no Hogwart's. Yay, two or so years to wait to find out what happens next! (Don't you love works in progress? ;))
Oh. Last thing -- I still believe Dumbledore, implicitly, when he says he had reason to trust Snape. I do not think he was wrong to trust Snape, not at all. I think that while this book does answer a lot of questions (LOVED the Tom Riddle history), it never adequately answers some of the Snape and Dumbledore questions, and I suspect we will be intrigued to see how Rowling deals with it in the last book.
Tired. Bed.
Good read. I enjoyed it tremendously. I can't tell you how many times I wound up laughing aloud over the last four hours, as I was reading it. I loved the bit with the antidote potions class, for instance. Fucking hysterical, cracked me up, 'cause I could just see Hermione and her 52 ingredients and the chunk of her own hair or whatever, looking really pissed. (Aside: I'm not sure if I'm okay with the fact that I see the actors in their various roles when reading the books. Hm. Food for later thought.)
Okay, okay, the big thing: so Dumbledore is dead.
Frankly, I didn't expect him to survive the series. What kind of climax to the series are you going to have in book seven if Dumbledore can help Harry out? That's sort of like having someone with a revolver against someone with an Uzi and then giving the dude with the revolver a bazooka. Sort of an unfair, not-exactly-uphill battle. And most people will tend to root for the underdogs. Hell, that's what Harry *is* -- he's this poor orphaned kid who's been mistreated his entire life and is a marked man by the most evil wizard who's ever lived. If he doesn't have the odds against him, no one does. Not even Neville, because at least Voldemort chose Harry, so he's got THAT goin' for him.
Speaking of Neville... there was not enough Neville! He's not my favourite character, but I missed him.
Back to Dumbledore. Okay. He's dead. But he served his purpose. He guided Harry (and us) to the end of book six. He gave us all the background on Voldemort. He basically told Harry how to destroy Voldemort, with the Horcruxes etc, etc. His job was done, basically.
I am not at all happy at the prospect of a Hogwart's-less book seven, mind you. Despite this whole "we are at war!" thing, and some war-fic I've read, I loved that Rowling always had Hogwart's as the main setting. I probably have a couple years to calm down and let that grow on me, but at the moment, I am not happy.
Malfoy --
moireach said it right when she said that Malfoy is Rolf and Dumbledore is Captain Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore. This makes him just a teeny bit better in my mind. I liked the character development in terms of Draco, too. Finally, he does something remotely important instead of just being a pain in the ass.Snape. Oh, the thoughts and theories my mind is constructing...
Briefly: 1) Snape killed Dumbledore and has always been evil. 2) Snape killed Dumbledore and is still somehow good. 3) Snape killed Dumbledore, and yet, somehow, Dumbledore was not wrong in his trusting Snape. 4) Snape didn't actually kill Dumbledore, and decided to make it look like he was loyal to Voldemort (and looking out for Draco) by faking Dumbledore's death with him, which would also allow Dumbledore to continue hunting Horcruxes somewhat more easily.
(I may be in denial about Dumbledore being dead.)
I love that Snape is the Half-Blood Prince. Love it ALL DAY LONG and when it was revealed, I almost took the book and smacked myself on the head. (But I didn't, because I'd have given myself a concussion.) Of course Snape would be the Half-Blood Prince -- HE WAS THE POTIONS MASTER. Like, duh. (I usually tend to believe I am very smart and quick, and then something like this will hit. Go me.)
While I do not much care for Harry/Ginny, I think Harry's an idiot. Granted, this happens to heroes. They always believe the ones they love are in too much danger if they're together. Clark always fretted about Lois, Peter Parker always fretted about Mary-Jane... Hey! Harry should get a secret identity! ;)
Ron/Hermione - okay. I'm glad they're past the jealous stuff, because GOOD FREAKING LORD, that was almost intolerable. I very much disliked Lavender, I hated Ron and Hermione's behaviour towards each other, and it is NOT ALWAYS THAT AWKWARD or complicated. Dang. That said, ugh, I don't want any coupling up, thanks much. Harry, Hermione and Ron, three friends, that's it. (No, I don't go for H/H/R, either!)
On the whole, I enjoyed it. Still in some denial about Dumbledore, still in denial about no Hogwart's. Yay, two or so years to wait to find out what happens next! (Don't you love works in progress? ;))
Oh. Last thing -- I still believe Dumbledore, implicitly, when he says he had reason to trust Snape. I do not think he was wrong to trust Snape, not at all. I think that while this book does answer a lot of questions (LOVED the Tom Riddle history), it never adequately answers some of the Snape and Dumbledore questions, and I suspect we will be intrigued to see how Rowling deals with it in the last book.
Tired. Bed.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-18 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-21 02:38 am (UTC)I do think Dumbledore goaded Draco on to prevent him ffrom becoming a killer.
(* = no pun intended.)