Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is preparing to leave the Dursleys and Privet Drive for the last time. But the future that awaits him is full of danger, not only for him, but for anyone close to him - and Harry has already lost so much. Only by destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes can Harry free himself and overcome the Dark Lord's forces of evil. In this dramatic conclusion to "The Harry Potter Series", Harry must leave his most loyal friends behind, and in a final perilous journey find the strength and the will to face his terrifying destiny: a deadly confrontation that is his alone to fight. In this thrilling climax to the phenomenally bestselling series, J.K. Rowling reveals all to her eagerly waiting readers.

• ISBN10: 0747595836
• ISBN13: 9780747595830
• Publish Date: 10 July 2008 (first published January 2007)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 October 2010
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 608
• Language: English
• URL: http://bloomsbury.com/Trade/

Reviews

[adastra]

7 Mar 2015: It's been five years since I last read this?! WOW. I have forgotten a lot of the details. After I have now re-read the entire book series, I am still amazed by how different the last book is from the first. The final two books are in my opinion definitely the most powerful, fleshed-out books. Though, of course, the deus ex machinae are riduculously over-present. Everything just *happens* to happen at the most opportune moment?! Must be magic.


27 Nov 2010: Read for the third time to freshen up my memory - there seem to be a lot of deus ex machinae, but Rowling has a way of making them seem like the most logical thing in the world. Good conclusion to the series, which explains pretty much everything.

[alisoninbookland]

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Once again, there’s so much to cover….

I’m so glad that the story didn’t take place at Hogwarts. Hogwarts is fantastic but for what was needed for this story, it wouldn’t work. We needed the freedom of being in the real world to tackle the Horcruxes. Not to mention the trio needed to see if how their eduction stands up. I think they did pretty well for 17 year olds who dropped out of school. Not many school kids can take on full grown dark wizards and walk away from it.

You could really see how the kids have matured over the course of the series. Luna is as odd as ever but she can keep it under control when it’s needed. She was willing to do whatever it takes in battle. Neville was awesome! He’s no longer the timid, bumbling boy we met in The Sorcerer’s Stone. He’s now a pretty skilled wizard who did nothing but fight for the whole year. He truly is his parent’s son. Hermione was as clever as she’s ever been and she set aside her romantic ambitions to save the world. How often to we see that? Can we get more female characters like this?! Ron took a step back with his maturity but in the end he redeems himself. He was always the least mature of the trio but I always knew he would end up doing the right thing.

And then there was Harry… It’s no secret that I get annoyed with him. His heart is in the right place but his temper sometimes gets in the way. In the end, things all worked about because he was willing to do anything to finally end this. The fact that he was willing to die was unbelievably mature of him (and it was pretty awesome that he managed to save people because of it). I know we all would like to think we would do that for our loved ones but could we actually do it? I was terrified just reading about Harry doing it.

I’m very glad there was more light shed on Dumbledore. His death in the last book was so sad because we only started to get to know him. There was so much more we needed to know! Like Harry, we start to find out in this book how little we really knew about Dumbledore. It’s a bit scary to find out you really don’t know the person you’ve put your faith in. We didn’t know his father was locked up for crimes against Muggles. We didn’t know he had a ‘sick’ sister. We didn’t even know he had a sister. We didn’t know he was friends with the dark wizard he defeated. How much more did we not know? Thankfully, Dumbledore got to personally clear up a lot of the questions we had.

The book was the mother-of-all info-dumps. The end of all the books always have large info-dump sessions. It’s understandable because there is a lot to tie up. This book had to tie up this story as well as the series as a whole. There is so much information going on. It’s really quite brilliant. I’ve re-read the books in a pretty close time frame so I got to see and remember how everything falls into place. It’s still amazes me at the thought she put into the books. Every tiny details she mentions, there’s a purpose for it.

This book brings to light all the issues the other books simply just hinted at: the injustice and inequality of this world. Chamber of Secrets introduced the idea of blood purity but Deathly Hallows brings it back in full force. The trio is outside of the world for most of the book but you’re still able to pick up on what’s going on. We’ve jumped from a mild intolerance from bad guys to anyone of “unclean” blood being rounded up like animals and having to defend themselves.

The intolerance of the other races isn’t explicitly stated in the book but a reader can pick up on the problems. Goblins, werewolves, giants, and all the other creatures that wizards refused to treat as equals for years didn’t help the good guys out. In the battle of good vs evil, you would think more people would be on the good side. Can you blame the “creatures” though? Why would you help people out when they’ve done nothing to help you out? What happens after the Battle of Hogwarts has never really been discussed but I can only hope that the characters start working on their inequality problems in this world. It almost was their downfall. To very roughly quote Dumbledore, hopefully they realized that they should judge people on their choices rather than their abilities or past actions of others.

The bottom line? It was a very solid ending to a fantastic series.

[KitsuneBae]

Reread

For a complete review, please visit Thoughts and Pens

My first word for this book? It was NOTHING! As in Nothing. I am ultimately astounded, speechless with how this book was delivered. It was larger-than-life, an epic finale to an amazing series that have captured the hearts of the millions. Where should I start my review? I am at a loss. Should I start with the plot or with characters or with the pacing or with the ending or with the interactions?
I know that you might have stopped reading this review at this very moment for talking about the biggest overstatement of the year. Fortunately, yes. Book 7 contains all the things that would make me happy for the rest of my life. Yeah, I know, another exaggeration but it is. I couldn’t count how many times I’ve reread the book (not counting the 3rd book) this year because I have a relapse on my HP addiction. And right-o, it literally takes the pressure of the everyday life.
The TDH mesmerizing plot feels like a salve after my frustrating escapades in other Y/A books that everything seems to light up after reading a page or two of TDH. The thrilling hunt for the Horcruxes, the menacing campaigns for Pureblood Supremacy, the trio’s flight, the absorbing quest for the Hallows, the skirmish, the fight between Ron and Harry, Dobby’s dramatic demise, Kreacher’s heart tugging story, the mysterious doe, Dumbledore’s controversial life, and Snape’s true allegiance were positively overwhelming. Elements that blended perfectly—harmonious, balanced—to give life to this obra maestra.
TDH’s characterization was beyond perfect. There were a lot of characters but no one was left out, everyone has an important role to play no matter how short it is. Even the villains were menacing as ever. Significant character developments were greatly noticed with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Kreacher, and Dobby. The emotional depth exhibited by these characters was raw and moving.
The dialogues and interactions were a perfect mix of wit, sarcasm, and drama that it was irresistible and worth reliving. Even more so were the nerve-wracking revelations at the end of the book that you just have to make a pause and take all the truth in, otherwise, it will overwhelm and make you weep. Yeah, it’s one hell of an emotional rollercoaster, pals.
And the ending was a poignant piece of work. It was unexpectedly ambitious but I couldn’t imagine for Ms Rowling to settle for anything less. Everything was nicely wrapped up at the end even giving us that very charming glimpse of Harry’s future.

Once again, J.K. Rowling successfully brought us into Harry’s world where heroic actions, compassion, the need to resist evil, to stay true and kind are more important than feats of magical mastery. The Deathly Hallows is a flawless conclusion of Harry’s magical adventure, unrivalled and definitely a classic in the making.

[mbtc]

Probably my least favorite of the series. So much action and I just couldn't get into the Snape story. Still a good wrap up of the series.

[clementine]

The entire time I read Deathly Hallows, I was painfully aware that this was my first time reading the series and being older than the trio during their final year of adventure. So odd, since the first time I read each book they were older than me by quite a bit, and the last time I read through the series I was the same age as Harry is in DH.

Anyway, now that that little sentimental sidenote is out of the way, here is what I think of DH in a nutshell: good, but not perfect. Of course, JKR had so much to live up to with this one. I do not envy her the position of having to write the highly-anticipated, highly speculated about final book of a wildly popular seven-book series. Seriously, imagine the pressure! I don't think she ever could have written a book that would satisfy everybody.

So, I will get the things I especially disliked out of the way first.

First and foremost, all the camping. It does get more bearable the more I read the book (and this is my third time now), but it's still a lot of goddamn camping. Seriously. I had the same issue with the movie, although at least with the movie you can zone out a bit and appreciate all the breathtaking scenery before you have to get back to death and betrayal and whatnot. But, really. Too much camping. 1/6 of the book is dedicated to camping, and it's not like the camping is PAINFULLY BORING, but it's also not EXCEPTIONALLY EXCITING, and I feel that the final book in what is essentially an adventure fantasy series should probably be PRETTY FUCKING EXCITING.

And, of course, the epilogue. I found myself warming to a bit this time around, mostly because these past few weeks of reading the series have made me incredibly emotionally attached to everyone and I was like "YES I JUST WANT RON AND HERMIONE TO BE HAPPY FOREVER ;_;", but I still stand by the idea that it should have been left out. I get that Jo wanted to leave us on a note of finality, and that she wanted to reinforce that love won over evil and that Voldemort was truly defeated. But, Christ, it's just so sappy.

Okay, so, those two (not entirely minor) grievances aside, DH is pretty damn brilliant. Once they stop with all the camping, the pacing is spot-on, with a lot of action and scary/sad events punctuated by lighter or more expository sections (Harry's questioning of Ollivander, Aberforth's story, Snape's memories, King's Cross). Everything is wrapped up so well, with Jo throwing curveball after curveball at us and tying things together thematically (the fact that Harry is saved by his mother's life at the beginning of his life and by another mother's love for her own son at what he thinks is the end of his life, and how this ties into Voldemort's perceptions and misperceptions of the world).

I also thought it hit all the right notes emotionally. There were some great triumphs, many bittersweet moments, and some that were devastating. (Fred! Lupin! Tonks! I will never forgive Jo for these. I can even accept Dumbledore. But Fred? Two young, new parents? AHHH.) I loved how Ron and Hermione's relationship was shown, with Ron being much more tender towards her right from the offset, and the culmination tying back to SPEW, a conflict which spanned the course of four books. Ugh, whatever, I ship them so much.

One thing I absolutely loved was the look at Dumbledore's darker side, which helped make him seem more human and less like the impossibly perfect trope he had been made out to be earlier. Of course, he does redeem himself with his explanation in King's Cross, so it's not like our perceptions of him are radically changed, but having that bit of contextualization really enriched the story, I think. That's one of the things that I think was truly lacking from the movie.

I am sure most of my ratings are tainted by my strong emotional attachment to and nostalgia towards this series, but, whatever, I love it and am a hardcore fan 4 lyfe.

[mhnewell]

A great finale to a great series! =D

[Jyc]

★★★★★ // i got into the Harry Potter series late in the game and this was the first book in the series that i read, believe it or not. i’m so grateful to my friend for lending her copy of this to me back in 6th grade. it didn’t just make me an HP fan, but also opened doors for me to really get into reading.

This is the last book in the series and what a wild ride it was. It finished very nicely and we even get a little glimpse into the future and what ended up with the beloved characters. This was a very action packed book and a real page turner. Some parts made me very sad and made, especially when you learn which characters have died. When a book/series can make you feel those kind of emotions, it is a sign of great writing that the author was able to suck you into the world they created.

I was very pleased with this book and the whole series and I would recommend these books to anybody and I still love them many years later.

[kimbacaffeinate]

This was one of my favorite Potter books, a little darker then the rest, but it answered a lot of questions we have had throughout the series. I am sad to see this end.

[celinenyx]

Thank god it's over, I would say. The major part of the book is just about them lurking around trying to destroy Voldemort. It isn't new and exciting anymore, it's just plain boring.
The random dying of main characters was totally weird and felt overdone. They just died because Rowling thought, oh well, everyone thinks this will end well, but *evil laugh* I'll show them I'm still innovative (not).