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Allen & Unwin, July 2007
Reviewed by Sally Roddom
Magical murder and mayhem runs rampant in this final installment of the
Harry Potter series - the crescendo of the series - the final
battle! Was it worth the wait? Do all the ends get tied up? Did author J.K.
Rowling keep up the standard to the very end? Yes, yes and YES!!!
The story opens just after the last ended. Dumbledore has been murdered,
and Voldemort and the Death Eaters have taken over the wizarding world.
Evil rules, and killings are a daily occurrence. All is in disarray. The
Order of the Phoenix scatters as they each go undercover to escape death.
Harry, Hermione and Ron set off on the quest set by Dumbledore. They are
to find the Horcruxes and destroy them. Of course, this is not as easy as
it sounds -- first of all they need to figure out what, and where, the
Horcruxes are. Then they will need to work out how to destroy them.
Constantly on the run as they try to evade capture, the trio find there
are some magical people left who are willing to help, and there are some
spectacular escapes when they fall into the hands of Voldemort's
followers.
During the search they come across 'Deathly Hallows' which is not a place
but three artifacts that together will give the owner tremendous powers.
Harry has one of them already, then he obtains the second, but should he
stop pursuing the Horcruxes and go for the final artifact?
Rowling said that two main characters would die, but in this final war
many well-loved minor characters are also killed, bringing tears to my
eyes more than once. Initially it is Hermione's magical skills that get
them out of the vast majority of sticky situations, but it is Harry who
has to find the strength and courage to face Voldemort in the final
showdown that the whole series has been building up to.
Well written, edge of the seat stuff. I did put the book down once or
twice, not because I found it easy, not because it was a 'boring' bit, but
to lengthen the time before I arrived at the end; the end of years of
enjoyment and anticipation. Now I am going to wait a year or so -- then go
back and read the whole series again.
Aug 2007 review originally published on Murder & Mayhem
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