Color me underwhelmed

[redbird]

I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and am thinking "this is what all the fuss was about? I suspect it would have helped if I were more deeply immersed in the series and characters, because it feels as though we're supposed to get most of the characterization, and hence caring about most of the characters, from memories of the previous volumes. I had read the previous books as they came out, though.

Also, much of the second half of the book had a "collecting plot coupons" feel about it. And I'm tired of, and unimpressed by, large numbers of characters whose motivation for evil deeds appears to be that they have chosen to be Evil (rather than, say, greed, anger, fear, lust, or revenge).

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yep, this is what I meant by it relying upon people already caring when I didn't.

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Pretty much right there, yeah. Wahoo.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

... it feels as though we're supposed to get most of the characterization, and hence caring about most of the characters, from memories of the previous volumes.

Yes, that's my impression too. I read the book easily enough, but I just didn't care all that much about any of it. The book had flaws, but I didn't really care about them either. "Underwhelmed" sums it up well enough.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

hear hear...

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Yep, as soon as they started talking about horcruxes I knew it would devolve into the Quest for the Magical Plot Tokens. (But she hid one in plain sight, isn't she clever, ahahaha!)

I also never understood why the Death Eaters chose to be Death Eaters. Especially the Malfoy family. They had plenty of power, wealth and influence already. I honestly don't see what they had to gain by hitching their wagon to that particular star.

And I'm saying this as someone who _liked_ the series for what it was -- a 1950s style English public school story, with magic as the backdrop. I'm currently having fun re-reading it and picking holes in the world-building.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

Most of the exploration of The Big Evil Guy's motivation was in the previous volume (to the degree there was any): Tom Riddle wanted to be important, because he thought the world owed it to him; and he wanted to live forever, whatever it took. The big irony of his story--which was explored intermittently--is that Riddle approached to his goal of living forever only by stripping himself of everything that would make life worth living.

[redbird]

That does for the Big Evil Guy's motivation, but "I will do whatever it takes for him to live forever" is less convincing, especially when the "him" in question isn't the person's child, parent, or lover.