Overall I enjoyed the book, although the epilogue was unnecessary. I would have preferred for a few other loose ends to be tied up - like what happened to the Dursleys? Dudley finally grows up, then they get put into hiding for their own protection, we learn some backstory about Petunia, then nothing whatsoever.
The proper last few chapters were highly immersive. The unexpected location of Aberforth, the hiding but resilient students, Neville truly showing why he was picked to be in Gryffindor, the teachers finally mucking in to rid the school of evil and the Malfoys showing their true colours - fiercely loyal, to themselves.
In terms of the bits I didn't like, this was the main one:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hsing
- everybody was throwing around Forbidden Curses? A cruciatus for spitting at McGonnagall, when Harry couldn’t muster the scrouple-less-ness to put it on Bellatrix Lestarnge for killing (!) Sirius?
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For me, it wasn't that he managed to get it working, it was the fact that Harry was prepared to attempt them so often. After all we've been taught about those three spells being the height of all evil, the way Harry uses them without a protest from even Hermione was very jarring. The real crux was when McGonagall used Imperio, I was in a state of shock - I simply can't believe that she would use them under any circumstance. I did think that there may be a more noble ending than "they kill all the bad guys", more along the lines of Dumbledore imprisoning Grindelwald, but I was wrong.
Another weird thing to add to Hsing's list was Hagrid. One moment he was completely covered in giant spiders, the next time we see him he's in the middle of the woods hung up by Death Eaters? I simply can't see why Voldemort would ask them to a) save Hagrid from the spiders (I can't believe he would survive the whole clan on his own), b) keep him alive, simply to carry Harry's body. Sure it made a nice symbol in the end, but considering Hagrid has been very resistant to them in the past it made no sense for them to keep him alive.
But anyway, the book as a whole was a good read and a fairly satisfying end. The Deathly Hallows were a nice addition to the HP mythology (though I'm sure no-one else was reminded of Thief of Time with the plantation of a not obviously relevant fairy-tale book...) and learning the Dumbledore history was a treat.
So when's the next one due out?