"on the fence" is a good way to put it. My way is "half marks". On the whole it was an entertaining book, worth a read, with some good parts. But after putting it down I was left with the impression that it was needlessly complicated, unnecessarily complex, with plot holes and continuity errors. You're 'bewildered' because it was too unwieldy, the story fragments under its own ponderous weight.
I didn't like the Deathly Hallows gimmick. The horcruxes were Voldemort's way of being immortal, and thus the Trio had to find them, fine. But then we have the Hallows pop up as another parallel plot thread. What was to stop Hermione looking up a library book and discovering the existence of Merlin's staff / an Atlantean Orb / et cetera? I can't help but wish JKR had tightened the whole thing up, made a good tight neat *elegant* plot, rather than throwing everything but the kitchen sink into it - Hallows, horcruxes, brand-new wand lore, et cetera.
I also got tired real fast of the pacing/feel of the book, with the Trio bumbling around basically following Harry on his hunches, his instinct. Having Remus/'Romulus' actually comment on such might be viewed by some as cute, but it just grated with me. I'd prefer a hero who *thinks* (can anyone think of a certain distaff member of the Trio?) rather than someone who just bumbles around trusting to luck.
OMG I JUST REALISED - NO FELIX FELICIS THANK GOD!!!
Actually, I think DH is further proof to my assertion that HBP was a BAD BOOK, nothing but largely unnecessary filler. I thought your idea in a comment about bundling part of the DH plot into the HBP movie was *excellent* (and a corollary maybe of my BAD BOOK belief).
There was a lot of exposition at the end
Heh. I would have bet anything that at least THIS book would be the one without any final Dumbledore exposition chapter, given, like, that he was *DEAD*. But *still* he comes back to deliver his monologue!! Some blokes just won't take a hint! :-)
his deathmarch to find Voldemort, using the stone to bring his loved ones near him, was heartfelt.
Wasn't that great? The best part of the book, for me. I found it very moving, choked up a little, when Harry took off, seeking solace from his departed loved ones, walking to his death. He's a hero all right.
DD’s expanded characterisation made him humanly fallible
I was converted into the 'evil/bumbling Dumbledore' fan club after HBP, calling him 'patronising' and 'evasive'. I was cheering loudly the several times in the book when Harry thought exactly the same thing. Chilling, that Dumbledore originally planned for Harry to die (permanently) in the defeat of Voldemort.
Dumbledore's exposition explained a lot, but I'm not sure that his 'plan' was way over-complicated and could have easily failed. Why not tell Harry most things front up? I think Harry himself asked him that, I'll have to double-check that one.
The Deathly Hallows: I was thinking they'd prove to be a deus ex machina (look, it's the miracle wand, hidden in the fortress of fortitude, which is the only hope of defeating evil!), but that turned out all right.
(LOL at the Fortress) No, I'm of your first opinion. The whole 'mastering death' thing never was okay; the story of the three brothers and the three magical items made sense, but then the assertion that 'he who possesses all three will master death' just didn't follow, and was never clearly defined. Not that it mattered in the final outcome, but it muddied things up.
The elevation of Harry's cloak to DH status puzzled/frustrated me. Wasn't it supposed to be an uber!cloak, completely impenetrable? Yet we know Dumbledore and Moody could see through it fine.
I suspect I'm missing things, but all the Elder Wand did in the end was reflect back Voldmort's final AK. Did it do anything else? It *didn't* resurrect Harry, that was due to Voldmort's sharing some of his/Lily's 'blood'.
I think the story would have been much better without the Hallows. And I hated how Dumbledore gave the Trio the oh-so-presciently-convenient gifts so they could work it all out. An artificially contrived plot, is my gut feeling.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-07-23 08:13 am (UTC)I didn't like the Deathly Hallows gimmick. The horcruxes were Voldemort's way of being immortal, and thus the Trio had to find them, fine. But then we have the Hallows pop up as another parallel plot thread. What was to stop Hermione looking up a library book and discovering the existence of Merlin's staff / an Atlantean Orb / et cetera? I can't help but wish JKR had tightened the whole thing up, made a good tight neat *elegant* plot, rather than throwing everything but the kitchen sink into it - Hallows, horcruxes, brand-new wand lore, et cetera.
I also got tired real fast of the pacing/feel of the book, with the Trio bumbling around basically following Harry on his hunches, his instinct. Having Remus/'Romulus' actually comment on such might be viewed by some as cute, but it just grated with me. I'd prefer a hero who *thinks* (can anyone think of a certain distaff member of the Trio?) rather than someone who just bumbles around trusting to luck.
OMG I JUST REALISED - NO FELIX FELICIS THANK GOD!!!
Actually, I think DH is further proof to my assertion that HBP was a BAD BOOK, nothing but largely unnecessary filler. I thought your idea in a comment about bundling part of the DH plot into the HBP movie was *excellent* (and a corollary maybe of my BAD BOOK belief).
There was a lot of exposition at the end
Heh. I would have bet anything that at least THIS book would be the one without any final Dumbledore exposition chapter, given, like, that he was *DEAD*. But *still* he comes back to deliver his monologue!! Some blokes just won't take a hint! :-)
his deathmarch to find Voldemort, using the stone to bring his loved ones near him, was heartfelt.
Wasn't that great? The best part of the book, for me. I found it very moving, choked up a little, when Harry took off, seeking solace from his departed loved ones, walking to his death. He's a hero all right.
DD’s expanded characterisation made him humanly fallible
I was converted into the 'evil/bumbling Dumbledore' fan club after HBP, calling him 'patronising' and 'evasive'. I was cheering loudly the several times in the book when Harry thought exactly the same thing. Chilling, that Dumbledore originally planned for Harry to die (permanently) in the defeat of Voldemort.
Dumbledore's exposition explained a lot, but I'm not sure that his 'plan' was way over-complicated and could have easily failed. Why not tell Harry most things front up? I think Harry himself asked him that, I'll have to double-check that one.
The Deathly Hallows: I was thinking they'd prove to be a deus ex machina (look, it's the miracle wand, hidden in the fortress of fortitude, which is the only hope of defeating evil!), but that turned out all right.
(LOL at the Fortress) No, I'm of your first opinion. The whole 'mastering death' thing never was okay; the story of the three brothers and the three magical items made sense, but then the assertion that 'he who possesses all three will master death' just didn't follow, and was never clearly defined. Not that it mattered in the final outcome, but it muddied things up.
The elevation of Harry's cloak to DH status puzzled/frustrated me. Wasn't it supposed to be an uber!cloak, completely impenetrable? Yet we know Dumbledore and Moody could see through it fine.
I suspect I'm missing things, but all the Elder Wand did in the end was reflect back Voldmort's final AK. Did it do anything else? It *didn't* resurrect Harry, that was due to Voldmort's sharing some of his/Lily's 'blood'.
I think the story would have been much better without the Hallows. And I hated how Dumbledore gave the Trio the oh-so-presciently-convenient gifts so they could work it all out. An artificially contrived plot, is my gut feeling.
Continued ...