The DrsC got HP7 on Saturday at about 3:30 p.m. and finished reading it aloud to each other Sunday evening at roughly 11 p.m. In the intervening hours we got some sleep and ate some meals, otherwise it was wall-to-wall Potter. As predicted on June 30, coming to the end of the announced Potter series is both satisfying and sad. I say "announced" because the book ends in a way that would allow additional books to be written, set in Rowling's world of wizards.
Rowling could do for the "world of Potter" what Frank Herbert did for the "world of Dune" or Clive Cussler did for the "world of NUMA," namely, write additional books set before or after the basic work, and/or bring in coauthors to fill out the franchise. If I were a betting person, I'd bet against it. She really doesn't need the money and she could hardly be more famous.
If you are looking for "spoilers" you won't find them here. As Rowling announced long ago, some major characters die in book seven. If you want to find out which characters are killed, go read the book. Book seven has some great plot and character twists, some great battle scenes, and even some times when you wish the three main characters would get busy.
It will be interesting to see what holes people will poke in Deathly Hallows. I think I found one on our first reading: Rowling has bored thestrals grazing in book seven, and "grazing" is herbivores eating grasses. In book five it is established that thestrals are carnivores. Hagrid uses a side of beef to lure thestrals out of the forest so Care of Magical Creatures students can learn about them. Also in book five it is Grawp's blood on Harry and Hermione that lures in the thestrals they ride to London. In movie five you see Luna offer fruit to a small thestral which it rejects, after which she offers raw meat which it eats with gusto. So...maybe a small "hole."
The bottom line: Did the DrsC enjoy the Deathly Hallows? Yes. Do we think Rowling did a good job wrapping up the series? Yes. Now what we have to look forward to is the Jim Dale CDs of book seven, the movies for books six and seven, and the DVDs for movies five, six and seven.
