607 Pages I'll Never Get Back.

I just finished reading the last Harry Potter book.

(That's not true. I finished reading it last night, and only got around to writing about it now.)

After I was done, I closed the book, turned off the light and went to sleep. I didn't stay awake, pondering the hidden meanings or outcome of the book. Why? Because I found it to be the most underwhelming book I've ever read. My main thought after finishing it was "Meh."

I've avoided spoilers and leaks - I stayed away from message boards and anything even remotely considered to be speculation in regards to this book.

But everything I thought would happen in this book did happen. Everything I suspected after reading the previous volume came true. It's not that I can see the future, it's just that J.K lost the ability to put a twist in her books. She was so married to the characters that to have anything else happen would have been inconceivable.

Don't say that Dumbledore dying in Book Six was a twist - him passing on was the same as Obi-Wan taking a lightsaber to the chops in A New Hope. He was better as a mentor from beyond than as anything else .

Read it yourself and you'll see.

Maybe I got caught in the hype. Maybe I was expecting too much from what is, essentially, a kids book. But I think I was more impressed that the Little Engine made it up the side of the mountain than I was in the conclusion of this book.

My first thought was my best thought, and I'll say it again:

"Meh."


Later.