Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows / J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

(category: fantasy)
book 7 of Harry Potter by

J. K. Rowling

published by Bloomsbury, original copyright 2007
Nick read a new book, in April 2010
(and before, in 2007)

Nick's rating: 9 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Interesting. I read this book when it first came out: at last, I thought, the final instalment of a great series! And I was disappointed... Loose ends, irrelevant new ideas, boring stretches of nothing much happening. That's what I thought when I first finished this book.

Shows how wrong I can be!

That first time, I must have read at high speed. When I finished, quite a lot had just been, effectively, skimmed. It's a problem I have -- and a reason why I like to read books (good books) more than once.

This time, I read more slowly. Took a few days. Deliberately stopped reading every so often, just to allow the story to settle in and sort itself out in my mind.

I also tried to keep track of the various items which formed the two major quests. And it all made a lot of sense...

This is a great book! It is a very satisfying conclusion to a great series. The characters have grown, minor characters are allowed to add depth and strength to the plot, major motivations are -- finally -- revealed. The adventures begin right at the start, there are some pauses to take breath, then the last few chapters are hectic battles on a grand scale... though with occasional pauses for explanation.

On this second reading, I found that the pace was exciting yet controlled. It's possible that some scenes were written with a movie in mind -- and some, well, I bet that some scenes will never be filmed. Which is one good reason to read a book in preference to watching a movie.

It was my own too-fast reading which lead to my initial disappointment. This time -- with a little more effort to follow the plot -- I enjoyed the book far more... It all makes sense, new plots and existing plot threads are wrapped up nicely, an exciting and readable book.

Well worth the second read!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.