DH, more coherent version
Jul. 21st, 2007 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
czeriOk, so having thought about (and discussed) the book some more, here is my less immediate reaction:
Overall I guess it was a satisfactory enough end for the series. The stuff about Dumbledore and Grindewald was really cool, as were all the little details that answered those niggling canon questions that we all had. I loved Dudley's unexpected change of heart; the fact Neville got to play the part of the chosen one by drawing Gryffindor's sword and slaying Nagini; or the finally unquestionable love the Malfoys have for one another. The usual supply of seriously kinky lines was likewise a source of great merriment (with Harry fondling Draco's wand deserving an honourable mention ;-)).
However, there were also a lot of things that bugged me. All the various coincidences and close escapes really strained my suspension of disbelief, more so than in any previous book. I mean, Harry's wand attacking Voldemort on its own? I literally burst out laughing when I've read that.
There were also far too many big exposition dumps. While in the previous books we would learn about things gradually throughout the story, here only Dumbledore's shady past got the same subtle treatment, and everything else was just dumped on the reader in one unwieldy go.
Another thing that really pissed me off was how the themes from the previous books were either turned on their heads, or didn't appear at all. The most glaring example of that is the treatment of Slytherins before the battle of Hogwarts. While in the previous books we were led to believe that in order to defeat Voldie everyone would have to stand together and therefore the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were supposed to extend a conciliatory hand towards the Slytherins, here we had the three houses suddenly facing Slytherins with wands drawn and 'Well, choose your side, you either fight or you can all fuck off'. That, I felt, went completely against the importance of unity that seemed to have been stressed so much in earlier books. Instead of seeing more of the shades of grey that had been introduced previously, the 7th book ended with the assumptions that oh yeah, one fourth of the society is evil.
The epilogue, naturally, belongs on FF.net ;-)
But what I really can't get over is the unexpected personality transplant Draco have suffered: the boy that used to always be on the offensive, constantly doing things in books 1-6, here was suddenly entirely passive. An accomplished seeker who now seems to have never flown on a broom before. The selfish prick who used to make Crabbe and Goyle spend hours polyjuiced into little girls, completely unconcerned with the fact that he was thus sentencing them to repeating the year for the third time, because they simply had no time to study, unexpectedly ready to heroically drag them out fires. And after they turned against him, no less. (Which, BTW, was another completely idiotic point - the Malfoys were in deep shit with Voldie for at least two years by then, and now Crabbe and Goyle decide that's a reason not to follow Draco's lead any more?! I mean, HUH?!) Normally I would have rolled my eyes and disregarded such crap and utterly OOC, but this is the fucking canon. How on earth am I suppose to reconcile this lame do-gooder, no less annoying than all the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs I dislike so much, with the Draco from books 1-6 that I fell in love with? Seriously, getting over his death would have been easier. And since it was my love for Draco that kept me interested in the HP books, I have suddenly found myself with no reason at all to get excited about any of the new canon. It's a really odd feeling, considering that I usually get out of a fandom once my obsession with it dies down naturally. Here, though, I was completely head over heels a day ago, and now I can hardly stand it. It's just really hard to get used the new mindset, you know?
Sectus, at least, rocks :-) Although losing interest in a fandom in the middle of a convention is not something I recommend.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ldybastet!
Overall I guess it was a satisfactory enough end for the series. The stuff about Dumbledore and Grindewald was really cool, as were all the little details that answered those niggling canon questions that we all had. I loved Dudley's unexpected change of heart; the fact Neville got to play the part of the chosen one by drawing Gryffindor's sword and slaying Nagini; or the finally unquestionable love the Malfoys have for one another. The usual supply of seriously kinky lines was likewise a source of great merriment (with Harry fondling Draco's wand deserving an honourable mention ;-)).
However, there were also a lot of things that bugged me. All the various coincidences and close escapes really strained my suspension of disbelief, more so than in any previous book. I mean, Harry's wand attacking Voldemort on its own? I literally burst out laughing when I've read that.
There were also far too many big exposition dumps. While in the previous books we would learn about things gradually throughout the story, here only Dumbledore's shady past got the same subtle treatment, and everything else was just dumped on the reader in one unwieldy go.
Another thing that really pissed me off was how the themes from the previous books were either turned on their heads, or didn't appear at all. The most glaring example of that is the treatment of Slytherins before the battle of Hogwarts. While in the previous books we were led to believe that in order to defeat Voldie everyone would have to stand together and therefore the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were supposed to extend a conciliatory hand towards the Slytherins, here we had the three houses suddenly facing Slytherins with wands drawn and 'Well, choose your side, you either fight or you can all fuck off'. That, I felt, went completely against the importance of unity that seemed to have been stressed so much in earlier books. Instead of seeing more of the shades of grey that had been introduced previously, the 7th book ended with the assumptions that oh yeah, one fourth of the society is evil.
The epilogue, naturally, belongs on FF.net ;-)
But what I really can't get over is the unexpected personality transplant Draco have suffered: the boy that used to always be on the offensive, constantly doing things in books 1-6, here was suddenly entirely passive. An accomplished seeker who now seems to have never flown on a broom before. The selfish prick who used to make Crabbe and Goyle spend hours polyjuiced into little girls, completely unconcerned with the fact that he was thus sentencing them to repeating the year for the third time, because they simply had no time to study, unexpectedly ready to heroically drag them out fires. And after they turned against him, no less. (Which, BTW, was another completely idiotic point - the Malfoys were in deep shit with Voldie for at least two years by then, and now Crabbe and Goyle decide that's a reason not to follow Draco's lead any more?! I mean, HUH?!) Normally I would have rolled my eyes and disregarded such crap and utterly OOC, but this is the fucking canon. How on earth am I suppose to reconcile this lame do-gooder, no less annoying than all the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs I dislike so much, with the Draco from books 1-6 that I fell in love with? Seriously, getting over his death would have been easier. And since it was my love for Draco that kept me interested in the HP books, I have suddenly found myself with no reason at all to get excited about any of the new canon. It's a really odd feeling, considering that I usually get out of a fandom once my obsession with it dies down naturally. Here, though, I was completely head over heels a day ago, and now I can hardly stand it. It's just really hard to get used the new mindset, you know?
Sectus, at least, rocks :-) Although losing interest in a fandom in the middle of a convention is not something I recommend.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ldybastet!
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-22 08:41 pm (UTC)Meh, yeah, I'm not so impressed with the book, but at least this one didn't make my writer's block worse. ;-) I'll read the physical version after I get home from London, I think. Or if I can't sleep some night before Thursday.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-22 09:11 pm (UTC)As for the book, if only Draco hadn't been resorted into Hufflepuff, I would have rejoiced at the blatant Malfoycest possibilities :sigh: