I liked the book, and some chapters were really awesome (and the best was Prince’s Tale, of course), but there were many flaws. The mystery was really well-made, and the world of the wizards was expertly crafted, I liked Dumbledore’s past as well… BUT! There were so much deus ex machina it felt so cheap and anticlimatic. The battles were not really interesting. And some objects like the Invisibility Cloak made the plot progression so easy it was ridiculous. The very ending was pretty cheap as well. But as a whole, I found the book great and probably the best of the series (along with Goblet of Fire, maybe). My expectations weren’t very large, and it was a really nice surprise.

I thought Rowling’s writing was fantastic, by the way. My cousin practises his english by reading the first book in english (we’re greek), and boy, that’s a change! To be frank, I found some difficulty reading the latest book. Rowling must be a very smart person and a quick learner, to master her english so efficiently; well, “bad mouths” speak of some well-known authors taking her writing job in the last 3 books, but I don’t really think that’s true.

Also, people will hate on anything, no matter what.

One Voldemecha dream that I had aside (think Earth Girl Arjuna/Scryed’s Alters + Code Geass + Harry Potter, and yours truly leading the rebellion), Ariana was definitely raped — Hermione and Ron’s reactions of shock and nausea respectively kind of hint at that, although it’s very implicit. Doubt any father would murder a bunch of kids for beating his daughter up.

The flayed child was definitely Voldemort. Assuming that “Kings Cross” was a limbo of sorts for souls, and that he was unconscious for the same duration as Harry was, it kind of explains itself. His soul being divided and all that. Ditto what kauldron26 said.

I loved the book. It had better pacing, action, and emotion packed into it than the three Spiderman movies, and that’s saying something. Everything — from the GITS:SAC-sque infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, to the Kanon-sque “sad wizard in snow” at the cemetery, to an exhilarating ending on par with Code Geass’s first season finale — perfect.

I’m always amused when literary eggheads get on their high horse and claim Rowling’s writing isn’t “lit enough” — but then again to these people style is probably everything (the ignoramuses), and Rowling’s writing might have not been circumlocutious enough for them. Her writing is a great mix of the pathos of old classics and the tight, interweaving narrative of new fiction, which is enough to guarantee her a spot on my bookshelf for my children in the future. ’nuff said.

guys seriosly will a girl go insane just from being beat up??