The End....

....of Harry Potter, that is.

I just finished HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. All I can say is: wow.

I'll give you no spoilers. I hate people who give away book or movie endings, so I'm not going to be that guy.

I picked up this series several years ago, and I was simply amazed. Ms. Rowling created one of the greatest characters in literary history. Believe the hype; she wouldn't have gotten filthy rich unless she created something worthwhile.

The interesting thing about this series was how it got progressively better. Each book was better than the last. This character was one that the reader felt every inch of pain he felt. We felt his triumphs, and his many sorrows. We saw his petty fits of jealousy, and recognized our own in there. We saw him be a dumb kid, and realized that he was just like we were. This guy was as human as a fantasy wizard could possibly be.

The series was a hero's quest. All quests have to end eventually. All the mysteries had to be solved, all the loose ends had to tie up.

The problem again is how to resolve such a grand story arc. How does one bring something like that to a close without disappointing a legion of fans?

Well, she did it. Have no fear. The talent Ms. Rowling has is almost beyond belief. I almost get angry reading her stuff sometimes, because it's almost too good. NOBODY deserves to be able to write that well, to be able to drag somebody into a fictional work the way she did.

The series ended with a bang. And it ended exactly as it needed to. Simply amazing. Loyalty, love, sadness, life, death, pain, hope, and eternity; it's all there.

You can certainly do yourself a favor if you haven't read these books. They're all out there now. You don't have to wait years between the sequels like the rest of us shmucks. Ignore the movies and just read the books. See the movies much later, after you've had your own vision of what Harry Potter's world is like.

I really hate to see it all end. I'll never be graced with another Harry Potter adventure, and the world is a poorer place because of it. It's a bittersweet feeling I have at the moment.