In case anybody's wondering, I finished the book.

At about 2:00 this morning. Now I won't have to cover my ears around family and friends any more. And for those yet to finish, I'll try to watch my big mouth. ;)



Actually, it was Brendan tipped me off -- inadvertantly, I'm sure. The other day when we all went to dinner, he and Mabry were discussing Dumbledore as an archetype, and Brendan said something like "Yeah, he's Gandalf... He's Obi-wan Kenobi..." Then he gives me this "uh-oh" look, and I think to myself "Ah ha."

But I was really expecting the shit to go down earlier, since we'd found Gollum's Cave and the inverse of the Mirror of Galadriel... speaking of archetypes. Also, I was expecting an invisible bridge, a la "Last Crusade," instead of the old boat. Of course, I was also expecting a final confrontation on said bridge, escaping from the island pursued by some Bad-Ass Beastie(TM), and D. could have gone "Run, Harry" and then confronted the B-A. B. with a "You shall not pass..." you get my drift.

And then at the end, Harry has to play Peter Parker to Ginny's Mary Jane. Of course, as Bronwyn said, Harry's right: First thing Voldemort would want to say to Harry is "Hi, let me immobilize you, and force you watch me torture your girl friend. To death." So yeah. Harry has to stay unattached (and presumably celibate) until the Quest is Achieved. But of course, his friends can't let him face the Dark Lord all alone, Mr. Harry... speaking of archetypes.

Bronwyn & Lonney think that Maybe Dumbledore was asking Snape to kill him, there on the tower: That's what he was pleading for, knowing that he was already done in by the potion. I have no frigging idea. I gave up trying to second-guess Rowling somewhere in Book #3. But I think Snape is going to turn out to be something neither Harry nor the Dark Lord expects, and I'd also be very surprised if Dumbledore doesn't provide Counsel from Beyond, if only from the portrait on the wall.

But I must say I'm tired of watching Harry screw things up through his own hubris. I feel like yelling "Don't fuck with that (fill in the blank), you'll get into big trouble!" He's as bad as Curious George, and he doesn't even have the Man in the Yellow Hat as an enabler.


So anyway, it's often derivative, and probably not quite at the level of Great Literature, but it's a rip-snorting good read, and Rowling knows her Latin. I'll forgive the typo on Page 10 (uses "site" instead of "sight") and look forward to Book #7. And movie #4.

BTW, I just googled "harry potter," and got 20,200,000 references in 0.20 seconds. The world has gone nucking futs.