The book arrived at 2:30 this afternoon. 650 pages of pure goodness. Finished by 10:15. That’s over 80 words an hour. Not bad.

Overstock sent me a second edition. Bad Overstock! Bad!

Short review: Mmmm, good.

I won’t give a formal review, but just share a few immediate reflections. This will be as spoiler-free as possible.

First, this is the first book in which I didn’t immediately feel that Rowling had made great strides with her writing. This is not to say that it’s poor or that everything’s gone downhill; no, indeed, the book was quite enjoyable and well-written. But I must confess that I thought Order of Phoenix was better crafted.

The book is dark. It’s mature. It’s serious. I noted around book 4 that Rowling had moved from the realm of children’s literature into high fantasy. I stand by this observation. And Rowling, unlike most fantasy authors, does not shy away from reality - people get hurt and people die. Even the good guys. Though the death of the major character in book 5 should have been plenty warning, this book reams up the seriousness that Rowling awards her work with. There will probably be plenty of misty-eyed people out there.

Harry has lost his innocence. And unfortunately, with that loss, he has also lost some of his charm. He’s no longer the bumbling 11 year old who’s trying to survive. He’s fought Voldemort. He’s fought Death Eaters. He’s rough, tough, and ready for revenge. Ok, so maybe he isn’t the wizarding Rambo - but Rowling has certainly brought him through a terrible journey that has hardened him - though I think that she might argue that the journey has only taught him to love more deeply.

I do have a great respect for Rowling - she actually makes me look up words. It’s not often that a novel does that anymore, but I found myself looking up all sorts of random words. Secateurs are a type of pruning instrument. Cotton can actually be used as a verb.

Rowling continues to use bastardized Latin for much of her incantation work. Though not as useful as a business degree, my classics degree does certainly make HP more enjoyable (and occasionally more frustrating if I can’t remember the translation). Best new phrase/name? Sanguini. He’s a vampire. Yeah, I laughed. Sadly such beautiful wordplays may be missed by most readers.

So what’s annoying about the book?

Romance. Don’t get me wrong - I don’t have a problem with romance in general (”riiiight” say my good friends), and I understand that 16 = prime snogging time for most. But there’s far too much. All of the hints and foreshadowings erupt in a violent display of public affection. It’s kind of annoying when I’m much more interested in advancing the plot than seeing whom will hook up with whom.

It’s not “tight”. Admittedly, I probably need to go back and re-read, but it didn’t seem as spot on as her last few books. I kept looking for foreshadowing and past references, and just didn’t see as much. I could have missed them, or they could be tied into book 7, but it seemed a bit of a disappointment.

It’s too short. 650 pages. The last one was 800+. Believe me, I wanted another 150 pages. Hope #7 is the longest of all.

The end of the book is disappointing. Not because of the plot, but the way it’s handled. I realize that HP is the main character, but this is one time that breaking the mold of just using HP’s viewpoint would have been illuminating.

In the end, minor complaints. Rowling has added a beautiful work to an already astonishing assortment of stories. I firmly believe that HP will stand as one of the greater works of our time.

A last quote, from Dumbledore: “Yes, Harry, blessed as I am with extraordinary brainpower, I understood everything you told me.”

Here’s to book 7.

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