I just finished the 7th Year of the Harry Potter Series. And to be honest, it has been mostly drudgery. Okay, not the 7th Year, but the whole series. The first two years were good enough to get me into the next two. But after year 4, I just about gave up on the whole series.
I didn’t like Year 3 and 4 because they weren’t getting into the battle between Voldemort and Harry. I wanted to learn more about their relationship. I wanted to know what Harry was doing and needed to be doing to finish him off.
However, the popularity of the series, a certain kinship that I had for Harry Potter, and my desire to know more about the relation of Harry with Voldemort kept me reading. Year 5 got back on track, and Year 6 was the best of the two (I even read it twice, but that is another story).
Year 7 was back to the original story like I wanted it, and I might even say that it was the best of the 7. Not that I am saying it was the best, just that it might be. However, if I could use just 2 words to describe year 7, then they are: too much.
Too much story. I felt that there were times when it moved too slowly and had details that could have been either eliminated or in earlier books, without ruining the flow (perhaps bettering the flow).
Too much death. I have heard that British authors are more likely to kill off their supporting characters when compared to American authors. And if that is true then I forgive Rowling to a certain extent. But I want most of the good guys to win. And thinking back, I can’t think of a single bad wizard who died (beside Voldemort, of course). While reading the last year, It got to the the point that I was almost ready to give up. And if Rowling had killed one of a few select individuals, I really think I would have put it down and never read the end.
Too much violence. Honestly, I am afraid that the only way that they can make the 7th Year into a movie is to make it Rated R. I don’t watch rated R movies, and I am picky about PG-13. It took me over a year before I finally watch Year 4 (but that was my least favorite of all the books). And I don’t know if I will watch Years 5, 6, or 7.
Before I read the book, and even before they were sold, I made a few prediction about the 7th Year. I am sorry to say that only one of them was a correct prediction. And without trying to ruin the book for others, I will simple say, that it was about who Snape was. I didn’t have a prediction about why he was who he was, and I like the reason that Rowling offered. However, I don’t want to be a spoiler for others, so, I will leave it there. I just wanted to point out that one of my prediction was correct.
Now to end on a positive note, I have to tell you that my favorite scene from Year 7 had to be the battle between Molly Weasley and Bellatrix LaStrange. I won’t go into details, but it was the best scene in the whole book, bar none.
Gazelem 