Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (2007, Hardcover)

So, here it is at last: The final confrontation between Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the “symbol of hope” for both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, and Lord Voldemort, He Who Must Not Be Named, the nefarious leader of the Death Eaters and would-be ruler of all. Good versus Evil. Love versus Hate. The Seeker versus the Dark Lord.
J. K. Rowling’s monumental, spellbinding epic, 10 years in the making, is deeply rooted in traditional literature and Hollywood sagas — from the Greek myths to Dickens and Tolkien to “Star Wars.” And true to its roots, it ends not with modernist, “Soprano”-esque equivocation, but with good old-fashioned closure: a big-screen, heart-racing, bone-chilling confrontation and an epilogue that clearly lays out people’s fates. Getting to the finish line is not seamless — the last part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book in the series, has some lumpy passages of exposition and a couple of clunky detours — but the overall conclusion and its determination of the main characters’ story lines possess a convincing inevitability that make some of the prepublication speculation seem curiously blinkered in retrospect.
Harry’s journey will propel him forward to a final showdown with his arch enemy, and also send him backward into the past, to the house in Godric’s Hollow where his parents died, to learn about his family history and the equally mysterious history of Dumbledore’s family. At the same time, he will be forced to ponder the equation between fraternity and independence, free will and fate, and to come to terms with his own frailties and those of others. Indeed, ambiguities proliferate throughout “The Deathly Hallows”: we are made to see that kindly Dumbledore, sinister Severus Snape and perhaps even the awful Muggle cousin Dudley Dursley may be more complicated than they initially seem, that all of them, like Harry, have hidden aspects to their personalities, and that choice — more than talent or predisposition — matters most of all.

It is Ms. Rowling’s achievement in this series that she manages to make Harry both a familiar adolescent — coping with the banal frustrations of school and dating — and an epic hero, kin to everyone from the young King Arthur to Spider-Man and Luke Skywalker. This same magpie talent has enabled her to create a narrative that effortlessly mixes up allusions to Homer, Milton, Shakespeare and Kafka, with silly kid jokes about vomit-flavored candies, a narrative that fuses a plethora of genres (from the boarding-school novel to the detective story to the epic quest) into a story that could be Exhibit A in a Joseph Campbell survey of mythic archetypes.

In doing so, J. K. Rowling has created a world as fully detailed as L. Frank Baum’s Oz or J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, a world so minutely imagined in terms of its history and rituals and rules that it qualifies as an alternate universe, which may be one reason the “Potter” books have spawned such a passionate following and such fervent exegesis. With this volume, the reader realizes that small incidents and asides in earlier installments (hidden among a huge number of red herrings) create a breadcrumb trail of clues to the plot, that Ms. Rowling has fitted together the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of this long undertaking with Dickensian ingenuity and ardor.

I don't think I ever waited on Christmas like I did for this book and Rowling did not disappoint me.

Deathly Hollows picks up right where The Half Blood Prince left off and Rowling doesn't miss a beat.

Our three favorite heroes know what they have to do but only have a few obscure clues to work from. They must find their own solutions on how to accomplish their misson. While this is a theme common in the other 6 books, this time there is no safety net provided by the adults. The fate of the world rests on their shoulders alone.

As they go from one adventure to the next, gaining (at first) seemingly useless information and narrowly avoiding death, they slowly piece together how everything must fit together. Even then Rowling is not yet done: the solution itself is a test, and the hardest challenge Harry ever had to take.

The book is dark and bloody, more so than The Order of the Pheonix. In case the reader had any doubt about that, Voldermort sets it straight in the very first chapter. The body count continues to go up and Rowling gives no indication of playing favorites. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is safe until the last spell is cast, somewhere in the last 10 pages or so.

While it was sad seeing so many characters I had grown attached to die, I did not have the same sense of dispair that I did with Pheonix. I never doubted for one page that good would win in the end and I could take comfort in that their sacrafices would not be in vain.

While I sincerly hope that Ms. Rowling will continue to write, I believe it is time for a new series. Harry Potter was as close to perfection as I'm likely to see in this world. I don't want that delicate balance upset.

John Holland-Author of The Necklace of Terrersylvanous

From the first page to the last there is never a dull moment. The story moves quickly and keeps the action coming in every chapter as Harry and his cohorts gone on the quest to destroy Voldemort. It's great how Rowling, keeps the reader engaged. It was hard to put the book down!

This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down. It ended perfectly. I want to reread the last 3 chapters over and over again! I'm so pleased!

Wahoo. First one of ebay to rate one of the most anticipated books of ... well, forever! This book is by far going to be one of the most bought and best books I and probably everyone else will every read. I can't wait. I actually got started with the 3rd book after the first two movies. Never bothered reading them.. I just continued after the 3rd. and so far, I love every single one of them. My favorites are: The Goblet of Fire and The Half Blood Prince. I am so curious to see who the price is.. and to see where the last horcrux is. But like you, I have my theories. :) Hope this is what we've been waiting for. I know it will be. Peace <3.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Harry Potter series. As far as writing goes, this is probably the best written of any of the books. However, in the past, J.K. Rowling has written some very tedious and drawn out scenes in her books, and this one is no different. The final missal, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, moves very slowly and is probably 200 pages too long. The reader is nearly half-way through the book before they find out what the Deathly Hallows represents.

I am personally irked that she thought it necessary to kill off almost all the good beings in Harry's life. His heroic childhood quest leaves him bereaved, over and over again. How much misery can he (and the reader) take? After reading the novel, it feels like the authors foretelling of upcoming deaths in this book was a marketing ploy designed to pull in even more readers. Would Hagrid die? Hermione? Ron? No, these characters don't die, but lots of other do! Would a true hero put so many in so much danger?

Borrowing liberally from heroic archetypes, Rowling places Harry and Co. in mortal danger again, and again. In literature the hero has a quest in place, and must have witnesses to his quest. The hero travels in the wilderness. The hero loses the things he values. Then the hero must face his greatest fear/foe in order to move on with his life... blah, blah, blah. T.H. White did it better, and so did J.R.R. Tolkien.

When the final showdown with Voldemort commences, it is a huge anticlimax. Thank goodness the series is over. Let's pray Rowling is done writing for a long, long time.

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and it is amazing! I'm not going to spoil the book, but I am going to say that if you are a fan of Happy Potter then this book is a MUST READ! The twists and turns in the exciting plot kept me guessing until the very last page! I can say that I am have been reading the series ever since it first came out and now I am very disappointed that it has ended. Go buy the book and experience the joy that I had, and am sure you will to.

It was sad. Snape is good, and Harry is good too. I always thought that Harry would have to die at the end, but its a trick ending.

I can't wait for this book to come out. And as for the person who wrote before me..hehe "the half-blood prince" tells who it is in it. lol. Its near the end of the book.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the 7th and final of the Harry Potter novels written by JK Rowling. The book was released on July 21, 2007 in Canada, ending the series that began in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

This book is by far the most interesting book of the entire series. Unfortunately, many cherished characters die in this book. The death's occur fast and furious. Within the first 100 pages you already have a character being killed off. :(

The book deal's with a couple of main themes. The first is the escape from the Dursley's. Once Harry overcomes this issue the ministry of magic fall's and the end of the Weasley's protection occurs.

Afterwards Harry, Hermionie, and Ron are on the run from Voldemort as they look for Voldemort's Horcrux's to destroy. You learn about the Deathly Hallows and start the search for them.

Finally, you get to see the battle of Hogwart's. To me this is my favorite part of the book. Professor McGonagall is a true card in this fight. You can picture everything she does in your mind and you laugh as she get's the *entire* school to fight the Death Eater's. Even the desk's!

A true classic. It is sad to see this series come to an end.

5/5

Latsyrhc
Tamarack Collectibles

I could not wait until this last installment of the Harry Potter series finally hit the shelves. I reserved my copy months in advance at my local Walden Books store. I even started counting down the days until its release. Yet, once I had the book in my hands I felt a mixture of excitement, anticipation and regret. After all these years of waiting for the next installment, ever since I finished the first book, I was finally going to read my last Harry Potter book. I could not wait to find out how Harry, Hermione, and Ron's journey would end, but I couldnt help feeling upset that, once read, it would be over. No more staying excited for the next installment to arrive.

That being said, once I cracked open my crisp copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the pang of regret I had felt about this being over, gave way to an overwhelming happiness to be back in this wonderful world of magic J.K. Rowling created. Once I had started, it was all over. I could not stop reading. I had to force myself away from the pages to eat. Each page revealed just enough to make it a necessity to read the next. As any Harry Potter fan knows, this series is so gripping, each line begs you to read the next.

Speaking of The Hallows specifically, I would have to say that it is an edge of your seat story and the most spine-tingling of the 7 book series, and Rowling wastes no timing jumping into the thick of it in the first chapters. Many chapters, I had the feeling of walking through a haunted house, every muscle tense, in anticipation of the next arm-twisting details. Hallows throws twists and turns at you every few pages, throughout the entire book. As it is the 7th book and the main characters are reaching maturity, the books content is much more adult in nature. There is not much more I am comfortable saying, without giving away precious pieces of the final books plots. It was a wonderfully written emotional rollercoaster, that can be ridden over and over again.

After having read Book 7 twice, I am still amazed by J.K. Rowling. It is mystifying how much detail and planning went into these books. The character development, the subplots, the reference towards other epic stories written in history. Coming into the 7th installment, you would not think it possible to tie up so many tresses, as Rowling did. There have also been, looking back, so many clues and hints in the previous 6 books towards the ending of this adventure.

This series is a very complex story, which Rowling wrote for children; however, I would have to disagree with these being children's books. In writing the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling has inadvertently entertwined the literary worlds of child and adult. The Harry Potter series, I believe, will be on the bookshelves of child and adult alike for generations to come.

I have been an ardent ADULT fan of Harry Potter since before the craze ever started. However, I felt like the last 2 books or so were lacking something. This last one made up for them BY FAR! It was one of the best because it explained/wrapped up all the little mysteries and did not leave you hanging the way some series enders do. I sat down for about 6 hours and read the book straight through. It was that exciting and entertaining! I finished it feeling very satisfied with the storyline, yet somewhat sad because there will be no more.

I doubt we will ever get a series that will capture of so many hearts in the near future. Harry Potter Series was a series of a life time... I am glad I was here to read it and grow up with the books reading the first book when I was 9 and the last book almost 10 years late. I can't describe the feeling when the book series came to an end. All good things must come to an end... but hopefully authors, if not Rowling will be able to come up with something as good in the future.

This wizard world seemed so real and close but now its gone...now all we can do is just wait to see the films... which in my opinion are decent.

J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter books has completed her days at Hogwarts. Or so she says. Believe it or not, the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, wraps it all up into a nice tight package. Harry Potter has become an instant classic and will be forever on the shelves along side, Dorothy and Oz, Alice In Wonderland, that famous Hobbit, Luke and Darth (not true books(STAR WARS) but mythical still) and others.
What Rowling didn't accomplish, was her greatest story. This book is almost the weakest in the entire series. There are plenty of deaths as Potters fans speculated. There are alot of twists and turns. She was able to shock and surprise and I was truly shocked by the ending.
As the Harry Potter series comes to an abrupt halt- we cannot but help wonder what Rowling and the world will do next. The Harry Potter saga has ended. The world loved this character and embraced the adversity he and his friends faced and the adventures Voldemort, Dumbledore and others helped them live and breathe through.
The story is universal- GOOD VS.EVIL. A theme in most great novels. A theme that will be used a 100 years from now when a new earth shattering series will join Harry as an instant classic. A 100 years from now Harry Potter and his friends will still be embraced by the cultures of the world.
But for now, when you finish the last book and the series has ended- you will realize how much you and the world will miss Harry Potter, his friends and his magical adventures. Goodbye Harry Potter- FOR NOW!

I love these Harry Potter stories.
This is the THIRD time I'm reading "Deathly Hallows".
No I'm not a youg person.
I'm a grandmother 68.

Gotta say, Harry Potter is "fun for all ages", or something else less chiche. A good read, worth every page!

The context of the book seemed to go slower then I would have liked, this may be because of my annticipation to get to the end and see what happened. I loved the ending, and the epilogue.

Seventh installment of a history-making series. This book was by far the best of the seventh. Riveting, enthralling, invigorating!! Absolutely loved the book, couldn't put it down.

The final battle was the most amazing thing in this book. I found that the time they spend alone on the woods was a little too long and sometimes boring but when they got to hogwarts they made up for the long reading.

I liked this book alot it's an excellent book I just like the way he struggled for inner strength to get through

ALOT OF DEATH.....ALOT OF DARKNESS....AND EVEN SOME DOUBT, THIS BOOK WAS A GREAT ENDING TO THIS SERIES. IT EVEN HAS AN EPILOGUE TO UPDATE YOU ON THE CHARACTER'S THAT SURVIVE 19 YEARS LATER. IT'S KIND OF SAD THAT THE SERIES HAS TO END, BUT WE AWAIT THE REST OF THE MOVIES TO COME OUT....AT LEAST THAT IS SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.

By far the best one of the series. All the answers are rolled up and delivered as promised by J.K. Its funny,scary,sweet,heartbreaking,exciting....dont miss this book!!!

I was planning to finish re-reading the whole series before I dug into book 7. Though I was, of course, excited, I didn't pre-order, I didn't go to the release party and really had no plans to even purchase the book before I completed my third trip through books 1-6. However, even our best laid plans change. I picked up the book on the way to the airport. I arrived a little early and had nothing to do, so I brought the book in with me. Surely, reading the first chapter would not hurt. I would still be able to put it down and continue with my quest for knowledge before beginning book 7. Well, one chapter became two and at that point I was hooked.

This whole book is a climax. I was going crazy after the first four or five chapters. All I wanted to do was read and it seemed as though life kept getting in the way of me reading the book. J.K. Rowling is a genius. This book had action, adventure, most thankfully answers and a little bit of teenage romance to tie it all together. It was wonderfully crafted from the opening scenes to the epilogue. I had to attend a meeting about 50 pages from the end and thought I was being tortured when I had to put the book down.

I won't spoil it for any one. But truthfully, you need to drop everything and read the book.