HP read at last

[intertext]

Okay, I'm a slow reader - just can't gulp down a book at one sitting the way I could when I was twelve :) She (JKR) has a way of making the last few chapters of a book redeem
everything that has gone before, but I found this whole book much
tighter and generally more sophisticated - perhaps that's the "post
9/11" effect that people are talking about, or just a reflection of the darker, more mature tone of the book, or the characters. Certainly an improvement on 5 and I can't wait
for 7. Still too many adverbs, and even two episodes of using capital letters
to indicate shouting is two too many. And I wish (don't flame me!) I
liked Harry better. Everyone in the book (except Snape and Harry's obvious enemies) telling me how wonderful Harry is isn't enough to sell me on him, I'm afraid. I love Snape. Snape is cool; can't wait to find out how it's all going to turn out...
I'm going to weigh in with my ideas on some of the
central controversies. I think Dumbledore set up his death and it was planned with Snape. He (Dd) was so adamant at the end about Harry
sending for Snape - twice at least, I think telling Harry that he MUST
get Snape, not anyone else. He (Dumbledore) knew what was going on
(Malfoy's plot etc) and did nothing to stop it... I'm on the side of
the "Snape is not evil" brigade. Not just because I am an Alan
Rickman fan :) I'm not quite sure why Dd had to die - something of
the Obi Wan Kenobi "If you strike me down I will be more powerful than
you ever imagined"? Or just, as some have suggested, clearing the way
for Harry, or sending him power in some way... ?? I don't think I buy
the phoenix being reborn idea - JKR has said that characters once
dead, stay dead. But there is the fact that Harry has that phoenix feather in his wand... but then, so does Voldemort...

One thing that puzzles me, though, is why, with all Dd's research, he
didn't know all along that the locket wasn't the real locket, which
makes that whole trip into the cave kind of a waste of time unless it
not was actually for the Horcrux(sp?) thingy and was actually for Dd
to drink that stuff which killed him... hence the deal with Snape...

Someone on another forum suggested that R.A.B.
was Sirius' brother and picked up a detail about a locket among
the possessions at Black's-now-Harry's house which noone could open - brilliant!

Comments

[lilyfriend.livejournal.com]

I had come to the conclusion that R.A.B. was Regulus Black also. Though who knows where that might go, and I'm quite adament about DD and Snape having known that whole series of events was going to transpire eventually. Very much enjoyed the character developments, especially still seeing that glimmer of hope in Malfoy. I think he's more like Snape than most characters realize. :)

[intertext.livejournal.com]

Interesting thoughts aobut Malfoy - yos, I agree that he's developing in interesting ways and may turn out to have a kind of "gollum-y" role to play or even to convert to the "good" side by the end of things... I'm totally convinced that Snape is going to turn out to have been in league with DD all along. How long do you think we'll have to wait for the next one??