Review

The magic of this series has surely lessened--not because it became darker, but because it became darker in a mechanical and predictable way. No surprises, no real twists, and worst, no real character development. I'm sure many readers never want the book to end, but sheer overblown heft (especially while Harry, Ron and Hermione are wandering aimlessly over much of Britain) stalls the story without real reason. Ms. Rowling promised death, and death comes to many, but not convincingly. (To me, only the death of one very small but valiant creature seemed to carry emotional impact.) The epilogue is trite, though perhaps it offers the hope of further stories, if Ms. Rowling should ever be so inclined.

I still feel affection and admiration for the series as a whole. Even where Ms. Rowling might have been judged derivative, her refashioning of old ideas with her own brightly original ones in the earlier novels is a kind of genius. To have invented such a complete world and to have shared it so generously is no small achievement, but I wish the last of these wonderful books had been more satisfying, and more worthy of its predecessors.