HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS:

Plot- Harry and the gang hunt down hocruxes while Voldemort slowly takes over the wizard world.

Review-

The final of the HP books is both good and bad.

The problem is there is two much going on.....maybe it should have been split in two. Most characters get hardly any screen time and are thrown in simply for some resolution or to die. Its like someone would show up, then die, suddenly. or he would have a revelation and thats that. Hence, a lot of the development felt uneven. Harry, Ron and Hermoine had the most development, perhaps too much, because they were around each other so much they all began to annoy me. The deaths themselves are sort of half-assed and mostly rushed.

There is a large section in the middle(generally the tent bits) which simply got boring and annoying. I wanted to reach into the book and strangle Harry, Hermoine and Ron at multiple points.

The book has its strong points as well though. For one, like.....everyone is in it. Even Cho Chang and Oliver Wood show up at one point, who I figured were done with the story. I dug the back-story on Snape as well as the more humane Dumbledore(Dumbledore wasn't really a saint as we thought). The book is well-written, and has a spectacular battle scene near the end.

It’s amazing how much author J.K Rowling has improved since the first book. The first book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone”, had a good plot and story but Rowling came across as inexperienced in actual writing. Her writing improved each book until “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, where her writing was nearly flawless.

Rowling captures all the necessary emotions perfectly. Anger, irritation, angst, sorrow and joy are all made apparent and it gives the characters a sense of realism. She also manages to add tension, suspense, and an impending sense of doom in the novel. You have to wonder if there is any chance for our heroes. She also makes certain sequences surprisingly shocking and frightening(the conclusion of the wedding sequence was one of my favorites).

Hell, the final battle was more epic than all the battles in lord of the rings combined. It also has some great drama, and is very dark.

Overall, the final book leaves much to be desired. The actual hollows felt like a distracting and unnecessary subplot and its just too much for one book for all these characters. Regardless, it has its strengths and is a good way to end the series.

3/4 stars