Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

To all things there must come an end. And that is, of course, even for the phenomenon that J.K. Rowling’s delightfully imaginative and enormously entertaining Harry Potter series has become.

For whatever reason I’ve never been that big a fan of book series; even with the best of them I might make it through the third book in the series but that’s usually about it for me (I enjoyed the first 3 books in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, for example, but I’ve never read them beyond that.) But, that said, here I am having finished the 7^th (and final) volume in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and being mighty glad that I stayed with it all the way through.

There will be no spoilers here but I will say that Rowling finished her epic series with a rousing grace note filled with triumph and tragedy, death and sacrifice, hope and wonder; and at its heart (as with the series as a whole) it is a fanciful (sometimes dark) adventure permeated with the celebration of love, life, friendship, family and…yes, of course…magic. Lots and lots of magic (literally and figuratively.)

Many beloved (and/or reviled) characters from the series take final, fateful turns in the 700+ pages of Deathly Hallows but, of course, at the heart of the narrative are the titular young wizard and his faithful friends and comrades-in-arms, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. It is their enduring bond…their time and battle tested friendship…their love for one another…that sweeps the briskly-paced story along and keeps you hoping for their survival as well as their triumph over the evil Lord Voldemort and his minions.

To be perfectly honest, the book does threaten to bog down a couple of times with long-winded, plot-resolving exposition but that’s easily (and by me, quickly) forgiven because, in the end, it’s ripping good page turner.

I have no reason to doubt Ms. Rowling when she says that this book is the end of it and I think that the millions of Potter fans can and should be pleased with final book…and the series as a whole. It was, in its own modest and charming way (and as Harry himself would say), "brilliant" :-)

(Of course, with two more movies yet to come, “Pottermania” still has more than a little life in it yet. And, hopefully a good percentage of the children...and adults...who have avidly read this series will find themselves continuing to love to read other books out there...that would would be grand thing indeed.)