RIP HP.

So, yeah, book 7.

Wasn't going to post about it. Because there are only so many words to describe "Meh." Also, because it's hardly worth the effort required to shout "HERE BE SPOILERS!!!!" to those threatening carnage.

And yet, here I go. What can I say? I need to amuse myself and -- if she can
stomach the (very few) details -- my poor dear lady_eonen, who shares my clearly unpopular feelings, but hasn't yet reached the stage of Mocking Zen.

One disclaimer: I do realize that there was no way J. K. Rowling could have not disappointed at least a part of her readership. The build-up took years. The allegiances, preferences, entrenchment and expectations were all firmly set. And generally speaking, in a group this enormous and this
diverse, it's not surprising to see a fan puking up disgust in a corner while another one jumps up and down alongside going "It's from happiness, right? You're sick on sheer joy, aren't you?!"

Whatever I think of her as a writer (I won’t go there), I do give her credit for the obvious: she created a world a lot of us at least liked to visit from time to time. Yes, she quilted most of it out of snippets of various sources. She knows her classics and her archetypes. And she can juggle with the best of them. It’s not uncommon in literature, and when done well, it's a tremendous work and a miracle to behold. Tolkien constructed his out of other -- Norse in particular -- mythologies. Though nowhere near Tolkien's caliber, JKR nonetheless did a very good job creating the HP Universe.

Too bad for those of us who, in the end, found ourselves looking for the next Hogwarts Express the hell out of there. More thoughts and pics under the cut below.

( I saw the wizard. And his magic was lost. )