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And yes, I'm keeping it spoiler free.
Harry's seventh, and if J.K. Rowling is to be believed, final installment is a rollercoaster ride straight from the first chapter. If you cast your minds back to the end of the sixth book you'll remember that Harry has been tasked by Dumbledore to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that contain the separate parts of Voldermort's soul so that Voldermort can be defeated, once and for all.
Since then Voldermort has practically gained his full power, all that's really left for him to do is kill Harry, infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts with some highly placed Death Eaters, then he can make his final move for total domination of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. The fact that all of the magical enchantments protecting Privet Drive automatically wear off as soon as Harry hits the age of 17 means that the enemy is closing in fast and Harry has to make good his escape.
He also has to locate the Horcruxes, but he has no idea where they are or how to destroy them, and about one third of the book is spent searching for them. However, he's not without help, cue Hermione and Ron who help decipher the few clues that they've been left by their old Headmaster. Some of these clues seem to be red herrings, but following them diligently, and with a little mysterious outside help along the way, they unearth the legend of the Deathly Hallows; three artifacts which, when owned by one person, allow that person to master death itself.
Is this the weapon that Dumbledore wanted Harry to have so he could face Voldermort on an even footing? Is Voldermort after the same items? Whose side is Snape really on? Should Harry forget about the Deathly Hallows and concentrate on the Horcruxes? Will Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering and start going out together? Is Dumbledore really dead?
You'll be glad to hear that all these questions are answered by the end of the book. You'll have probably heard that J.K. Rowling has stated that two major characters are killed off along the way, but if you haven't read it yet you won't quite be prepared for the amount of violence that's contained throughout. The killing curse makes its first appearance around page 6 and is uttered quite a few more times every few pages thereafter with devastating results.
The storyline is very satisfying, but even more fascinating is the way Rowling shows sides to existing characters that we've never seen before. Dudley Dursley doesn't seem quite the brute that we always thought he was and even the Malfoys get tweaked a little in the animosity department. Goblins haven't changed a bit but we get a much deeper perspective into what makes them tick. We also get a few loose ends tied up in the family tree department with Dumbledore's goat-fiddling brother making a major appearance.
Overall, if you gave Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone a 10 for a cracking good adventure, you'd have to give this a 10 too for bringing the heptology of books (or septology if you prefer Latin prefixes, neither word really exists as far as I can tell by browsing the O.E.D.) to a very satisfying ending, with almost complete closure. Just a few loose ends but you'll see what I mean by around page 590 when you're trying to work out who is left alive.
I'll give it 9.9 because just like any rollercoaster you don't really want it to stop. I'll add the 0.1 back on if she writes another one.
Harry's seventh, and if J.K. Rowling is to be believed, final installment is a rollercoaster ride straight from the first chapter. If you cast your minds back to the end of the sixth book you'll remember that Harry has been tasked by Dumbledore to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that contain the separate parts of Voldermort's soul so that Voldermort can be defeated, once and for all.
Since then Voldermort has practically gained his full power, all that's really left for him to do is kill Harry, infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts with some highly placed Death Eaters, then he can make his final move for total domination of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. The fact that all of the magical enchantments protecting Privet Drive automatically wear off as soon as Harry hits the age of 17 means that the enemy is closing in fast and Harry has to make good his escape.
He also has to locate the Horcruxes, but he has no idea where they are or how to destroy them, and about one third of the book is spent searching for them. However, he's not without help, cue Hermione and Ron who help decipher the few clues that they've been left by their old Headmaster. Some of these clues seem to be red herrings, but following them diligently, and with a little mysterious outside help along the way, they unearth the legend of the Deathly Hallows; three artifacts which, when owned by one person, allow that person to master death itself.
Is this the weapon that Dumbledore wanted Harry to have so he could face Voldermort on an even footing? Is Voldermort after the same items? Whose side is Snape really on? Should Harry forget about the Deathly Hallows and concentrate on the Horcruxes? Will Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering and start going out together? Is Dumbledore really dead?
You'll be glad to hear that all these questions are answered by the end of the book. You'll have probably heard that J.K. Rowling has stated that two major characters are killed off along the way, but if you haven't read it yet you won't quite be prepared for the amount of violence that's contained throughout. The killing curse makes its first appearance around page 6 and is uttered quite a few more times every few pages thereafter with devastating results.
The storyline is very satisfying, but even more fascinating is the way Rowling shows sides to existing characters that we've never seen before. Dudley Dursley doesn't seem quite the brute that we always thought he was and even the Malfoys get tweaked a little in the animosity department. Goblins haven't changed a bit but we get a much deeper perspective into what makes them tick. We also get a few loose ends tied up in the family tree department with Dumbledore's goat-fiddling brother making a major appearance.
Overall, if you gave Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone a 10 for a cracking good adventure, you'd have to give this a 10 too for bringing the heptology of books (or septology if you prefer Latin prefixes, neither word really exists as far as I can tell by browsing the O.E.D.) to a very satisfying ending, with almost complete closure. Just a few loose ends but you'll see what I mean by around page 590 when you're trying to work out who is left alive.
I'll give it 9.9 because just like any rollercoaster you don't really want it to stop. I'll add the 0.1 back on if she writes another one.
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And yes, I'm keeping it spoiler free.
Harry's seventh, and if J.K. Rowling is to be believed, final installment is a rollercoaster ride straight from the first chapter. If you cast your minds back to the end of the sixth book you'll remember that Harry has been tasked by Dumbledore to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that contain the separate parts of Voldermort's soul so that Voldermort can be defeated, once and for all.
Since then Voldermort has practically gained his full power, all that's really left for him to do is kill Harry, infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts with some highly placed Death Eaters, then he can make his final move for total domination of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. The fact that all of the magical enchantments protecting Privet Drive automatically wear off as soon as Harry hits the age of 17 means that the enemy is closing in fast and Harry has to make good his escape.
He also has to locate the Horcruxes, but he has no idea where they are or how to destroy them, and about one third of the book is spent searching for them. However, he's not without help, cue Hermione and Ron who help decipher the few clues that they've been left by their old Headmaster. Some of these clues seem to be red herrings, but following them diligently, and with a little mysterious outside help along the way, they unearth the legend of the Deathly Hallows; three artifacts which, when owned by one person, allow that person to master death itself.
Is this the weapon that Dumbledore wanted Harry to have so he could face Voldermort on an even footing? Is Voldermort after the same items? Whose side is Snape really on? Should Harry forget about the Deathly Hallows and concentrate on the Horcruxes? Will Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering and start going out together? Is Dumbledore really dead?
You'll be glad to hear that all these questions are answered by the end of the book. You'll have probably heard that J.K. Rowling has stated that two major characters are killed off along the way, but if you haven't read it yet you won't quite be prepared for the amount of violence that's contained throughout. The killing curse makes its first appearance around page 6 and is uttered quite a few more times every few pages thereafter with devastating results.
The storyline is very satisfying, but even more fascinating is the way Rowling shows sides to existing characters that we've never seen before. Dudley Dursley doesn't seem quite the brute that we always thought he was and even the Malfoys get tweaked a little in the animosity department. Goblins haven't changed a bit but we get a much deeper perspective into what makes them tick. We also get a few loose ends tied up in the family tree department with Dumbledore's goat-fiddling brother making a major appearance.
Overall, if you gave Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone a 10 for a cracking good adventure, you'd have to give this a 10 too for bringing the heptology of books (or septology if you prefer Latin prefixes, neither word really exists as far as I can tell by browsing the O.E.D.) to a very satisfying ending, with almost complete closure. Just a few loose ends but you'll see what I mean by around page 590 when you're trying to work out who is left alive.
I'll give it 9.9 because just like any rollercoaster you don't really want it to stop. I'll add the 0.1 back on if she writes another one.
Harry's seventh, and if J.K. Rowling is to be believed, final installment is a rollercoaster ride straight from the first chapter. If you cast your minds back to the end of the sixth book you'll remember that Harry has been tasked by Dumbledore to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that contain the separate parts of Voldermort's soul so that Voldermort can be defeated, once and for all.
Since then Voldermort has practically gained his full power, all that's really left for him to do is kill Harry, infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts with some highly placed Death Eaters, then he can make his final move for total domination of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. The fact that all of the magical enchantments protecting Privet Drive automatically wear off as soon as Harry hits the age of 17 means that the enemy is closing in fast and Harry has to make good his escape.
He also has to locate the Horcruxes, but he has no idea where they are or how to destroy them, and about one third of the book is spent searching for them. However, he's not without help, cue Hermione and Ron who help decipher the few clues that they've been left by their old Headmaster. Some of these clues seem to be red herrings, but following them diligently, and with a little mysterious outside help along the way, they unearth the legend of the Deathly Hallows; three artifacts which, when owned by one person, allow that person to master death itself.
Is this the weapon that Dumbledore wanted Harry to have so he could face Voldermort on an even footing? Is Voldermort after the same items? Whose side is Snape really on? Should Harry forget about the Deathly Hallows and concentrate on the Horcruxes? Will Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering and start going out together? Is Dumbledore really dead?
You'll be glad to hear that all these questions are answered by the end of the book. You'll have probably heard that J.K. Rowling has stated that two major characters are killed off along the way, but if you haven't read it yet you won't quite be prepared for the amount of violence that's contained throughout. The killing curse makes its first appearance around page 6 and is uttered quite a few more times every few pages thereafter with devastating results.
The storyline is very satisfying, but even more fascinating is the way Rowling shows sides to existing characters that we've never seen before. Dudley Dursley doesn't seem quite the brute that we always thought he was and even the Malfoys get tweaked a little in the animosity department. Goblins haven't changed a bit but we get a much deeper perspective into what makes them tick. We also get a few loose ends tied up in the family tree department with Dumbledore's goat-fiddling brother making a major appearance.
Overall, if you gave Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone a 10 for a cracking good adventure, you'd have to give this a 10 too for bringing the heptology of books (or septology if you prefer Latin prefixes, neither word really exists as far as I can tell by browsing the O.E.D.) to a very satisfying ending, with almost complete closure. Just a few loose ends but you'll see what I mean by around page 590 when you're trying to work out who is left alive.
I'll give it 9.9 because just like any rollercoaster you don't really want it to stop. I'll add the 0.1 back on if she writes another one.