...
Series: Left Behind
Title: Tribulation Force (Book 2)
Author(s): Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
ISBN: 0-8423-2921-8
Format: Oversized Paperback
Page Count: 449
Overall Concept 8
Execution 7
This is the second book of the Left Behind series that is a fictional telling of what might occur if the Rapture (as described in the Bible and Biblical prophesy) were to occur in the current era.
At the close of the last book, the primary characters had found the truth of the Word of God and have all become 'born again'. They had identified who was the anti-christ and had decided to become the Tribulation Force (the force for Christ who would battle the anti-christ during this time of Tribulation).
This book begins almost immediately where the last book leaves off, and continues the characters faith journeys. There are many points in this book where the journeys of faith the characters are experiencing, despite being fictional and 'contrived', resonate in the world of today. Essentially, "How do I try to do the will of God and be Christ like when the world is seemingly dismissive of this concept and even holds some contempt of those who attempt it?".
The story in this book depicts the first 18 month period of the Tribulation, whereby all is seemingly peaceful and the anti-christ is hard at work in developing a one government, one currency, one religion, one media world, and how this impacts the major characters of this story.
Unlike the first book, which was very much the setup of the concept, this book is more a setup of the changes to the modern world, and it ends with the death of a main character and mass destruction of some major cities of the world. The Tribulation is now in full force and the reader can't help but see where book 3, and the rest, ends up taking this.
I wouldn't say that this book is heady in how it lays things out, nor is it a difficult read. Honestly, I imagine it is written with the common person in mind, as it is obviously trying to not only tell the story of the End Days but also to evangelize the Christian faith. Neither of these are truly off putting, but rather it gives the book a very 'penny dreadful' feel.
My two issues with the events that occur in this book are that 1) they too easily dismiss the faith of the Judaic people of today and 2) they seemingly vilify the Catholic church and its clergy. I take this both with a grain of salt (albeit sometimes a large chunk, due to my recently being a convert to the Catholic faith), as I just see this as a further example of the fact that this is a fictional account of the Rapture, as told from a evangelical Protestant perspective.
I would suggest this book to Christians as a good example of books that can set appropriate examples of 'living the faith', and to non-Christians as an entertaining yarn with a religious overtone, not dissimilar to some horror stories, albeit this is more of a novel of intrigue not horror.
Monday, March 17, 2008
...
Title: X-Men: Messiah Complex
Author(s): Ed Brubaker, Mike Carey, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Peter David
Artist(s): Marc Silvestri, Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo, Humberto Ramos, Scot Eaton
ISBN: 0785128999
Format: Hard Cover
Page Count: 352
Overall Concept 9
Execution 9
Art 6
This was the story that brought me back to the X-men and I'm quite glad it did.
Essentially, the story of Messiah Complex is that very recently the mutants of the Marvel Universe had a serious setback, they went from being perhaps millions strong to being only several hundred. Also, it has been assumed that no more mutant births could or would happen. This story begins with this theory being proven wrong. The first mutant birth occurs, and unlike all previous mutants, that don't show their powers until the onset of puberty, this mutant is born fully 'active' and strong enough to fry Cerebro (the computer that is capable of detecting mutants anywhere in the world) and knock all telepaths on their butts for a few hours.
The story goes on to tell the tale of the various forces that are trying to locate this baby; The Purifiers, a racist quasi-religious zealot group, who lay the baby's birthplace to waste trying to destroy it, the Marauders, the evil version of the X-men, who want to corrupt the baby to evil, the X-men who wish to protect it from those that mean it harm, the genetic beast who wants to literally consume the child, Cable the time travelling lone mutant who is willing to do most anything to keep it out of all harms way and the traitor in the midst of the X-men who will do what they need to in order to see the baby dead.
The story has lots of great elements; treachery, betrayal, compassion, time travel, and intrigue. The part that makes this all so great is that despite being told by five different authors and across the five different X-titles, the story comes across with one voice and no major glitches seem to occur (something being told out of sequence).
The same cannot be said for the art, as the five artists are all very unique in their styles and this can be rather jarring for the storyline. The end of one book shows the characters as drawn one way and the beginning of the next is very, very different. And as I stated much earlier in this post, I'm very much not a fan of Chris Bachalo or Humberto Ramos, who each drew two issues in this 13 issue series.
All in all, this is an excellent series as it touches on all the major, and several minor, mutant characters and in ways that will have great impact on the future events of the mutants of the Marvel Universe. The story is very self contained, but has many elements that can be continued in the various X-titles in the years to come.
I would heartily recommend this 13 issue series to not only X-fans or comics fans, but also to anyone, as this is a great jumping on point for the X-titles of the Marvel Universe. And with it representing each of the 5 titles, it lets a reader choose which of those series they will decide to continue reading, should they decide to.
Title: X-Men: Messiah Complex
Author(s): Ed Brubaker, Mike Carey, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Peter David
Artist(s): Marc Silvestri, Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo, Humberto Ramos, Scot Eaton
ISBN: 0785128999
Format: Hard Cover
Page Count: 352
Overall Concept 9
Execution 9
Art 6
This was the story that brought me back to the X-men and I'm quite glad it did.
Essentially, the story of Messiah Complex is that very recently the mutants of the Marvel Universe had a serious setback, they went from being perhaps millions strong to being only several hundred. Also, it has been assumed that no more mutant births could or would happen. This story begins with this theory being proven wrong. The first mutant birth occurs, and unlike all previous mutants, that don't show their powers until the onset of puberty, this mutant is born fully 'active' and strong enough to fry Cerebro (the computer that is capable of detecting mutants anywhere in the world) and knock all telepaths on their butts for a few hours.
The story goes on to tell the tale of the various forces that are trying to locate this baby; The Purifiers, a racist quasi-religious zealot group, who lay the baby's birthplace to waste trying to destroy it, the Marauders, the evil version of the X-men, who want to corrupt the baby to evil, the X-men who wish to protect it from those that mean it harm, the genetic beast who wants to literally consume the child, Cable the time travelling lone mutant who is willing to do most anything to keep it out of all harms way and the traitor in the midst of the X-men who will do what they need to in order to see the baby dead.
The story has lots of great elements; treachery, betrayal, compassion, time travel, and intrigue. The part that makes this all so great is that despite being told by five different authors and across the five different X-titles, the story comes across with one voice and no major glitches seem to occur (something being told out of sequence).
The same cannot be said for the art, as the five artists are all very unique in their styles and this can be rather jarring for the storyline. The end of one book shows the characters as drawn one way and the beginning of the next is very, very different. And as I stated much earlier in this post, I'm very much not a fan of Chris Bachalo or Humberto Ramos, who each drew two issues in this 13 issue series.
All in all, this is an excellent series as it touches on all the major, and several minor, mutant characters and in ways that will have great impact on the future events of the mutants of the Marvel Universe. The story is very self contained, but has many elements that can be continued in the various X-titles in the years to come.
I would heartily recommend this 13 issue series to not only X-fans or comics fans, but also to anyone, as this is a great jumping on point for the X-titles of the Marvel Universe. And with it representing each of the 5 titles, it lets a reader choose which of those series they will decide to continue reading, should they decide to.
...
Title: Uncanny X-Men: The Extremists
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Salvador Larroca
ISBN: 0785119825
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 120
Overall Concept 6
Execution 6
Art 6
This is the 5 issues of the X-men that take the story from the events of the Shi'ar story line to the Messiah Complex story line.
The overall concept of this story is that a rogue element of the Morlocks (the mutant community that live below the sewers of New York City) are on a quasi-religious quest to put into motion the series of events as they are written in a book by one of their former members, who not only has precognitive powers but is also now dead, seemingly a martyr to these people.
This is very obviously some filler story that is intended to setup the people and places for the next big story arc, The Messiah Complex.
Mr. Brubaker tells a passable story of these events, but they aren't necessary to the reading of the previous or following story arcs.
A lot of people very much like Salvador Larocca as an artist, but I am not one of them. I just don't like his style. Not so much that it turns me away from the books he pencils, but enough that I don't go out of my way to buy them unless they are well written.
I would only recommend this trade paperback to the X-men completist, as this story is not very integral to the overall X-men events going on, except perhaps for the 'big reveal' at is conclusion. That reveal though doesn't justify the price of this book, especially since it is mentioned in other books as it is needed to be known.
Title: Uncanny X-Men: The Extremists
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Salvador Larroca
ISBN: 0785119825
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 120
Overall Concept 6
Execution 6
Art 6
This is the 5 issues of the X-men that take the story from the events of the Shi'ar story line to the Messiah Complex story line.
The overall concept of this story is that a rogue element of the Morlocks (the mutant community that live below the sewers of New York City) are on a quasi-religious quest to put into motion the series of events as they are written in a book by one of their former members, who not only has precognitive powers but is also now dead, seemingly a martyr to these people.
This is very obviously some filler story that is intended to setup the people and places for the next big story arc, The Messiah Complex.
Mr. Brubaker tells a passable story of these events, but they aren't necessary to the reading of the previous or following story arcs.
A lot of people very much like Salvador Larocca as an artist, but I am not one of them. I just don't like his style. Not so much that it turns me away from the books he pencils, but enough that I don't go out of my way to buy them unless they are well written.
I would only recommend this trade paperback to the X-men completist, as this story is not very integral to the overall X-men events going on, except perhaps for the 'big reveal' at is conclusion. That reveal though doesn't justify the price of this book, especially since it is mentioned in other books as it is needed to be known.
...
Title: X-Men: Emperor Vulcan
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Paco Diaz
ISBN: 0785125515
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 120
Overall Concept 7
Execution 8
Art 7
This 5 issue limited comic series picks up immediately after the events at the end of the Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire (see previous post). The story follows the exploits of the heroes (Havoc, who has become the leader of the Starjammers due to events in the aforementioned story line, the Starjammers, the disposed Shi'ar Emperess, her military advisor, and the X-men who stayed behind with Havoc) as they try to fight against and take down Vulcan and what he has become. And this is all while a previously unknown threat to the Shi'ar arrives to eradicate them.
Christopher Yost does an excellent job of picking up where Ed Brubaker left off, and does such without the reader knowing the distinction. The story flows very naturally from the Shi'ar events. Mr. Yost has done a very good job of maintaining the feel of the story and keeping the 'voice' of the characters both the same to what Mr. Brubaker setup and to what us X-fans expect of these characters.
The art of Paco Diaz is not disparate enough from Billy Tan disjoint the story from the previous arc, and is enjoyable of itself.
The story does a great job of wrapping up elements left from the Shi'ar arc, yet also make new ones that can, at some future date, be appropriately addressed.
If as the old adage goes, "Always leave them wanting more", then Mr Yost and Mr Diaz have succeeded. I'm nearly chomping at the bit to find out what happens next with our heroes and the state they are left in at the end of the story.
I would recommend this story only to those X-fans who have already read the Deadly Genesis and Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire stories, and only if they, as I do, like the characters in question in this series. I say this as this story is isolated from the rest of the Marvel universe and as such is not required reading.
Title: X-Men: Emperor Vulcan
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Paco Diaz
ISBN: 0785125515
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 120
Overall Concept 7
Execution 8
Art 7
This 5 issue limited comic series picks up immediately after the events at the end of the Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire (see previous post). The story follows the exploits of the heroes (Havoc, who has become the leader of the Starjammers due to events in the aforementioned story line, the Starjammers, the disposed Shi'ar Emperess, her military advisor, and the X-men who stayed behind with Havoc) as they try to fight against and take down Vulcan and what he has become. And this is all while a previously unknown threat to the Shi'ar arrives to eradicate them.
Christopher Yost does an excellent job of picking up where Ed Brubaker left off, and does such without the reader knowing the distinction. The story flows very naturally from the Shi'ar events. Mr. Yost has done a very good job of maintaining the feel of the story and keeping the 'voice' of the characters both the same to what Mr. Brubaker setup and to what us X-fans expect of these characters.
The art of Paco Diaz is not disparate enough from Billy Tan disjoint the story from the previous arc, and is enjoyable of itself.
The story does a great job of wrapping up elements left from the Shi'ar arc, yet also make new ones that can, at some future date, be appropriately addressed.
If as the old adage goes, "Always leave them wanting more", then Mr Yost and Mr Diaz have succeeded. I'm nearly chomping at the bit to find out what happens next with our heroes and the state they are left in at the end of the story.
I would recommend this story only to those X-fans who have already read the Deadly Genesis and Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire stories, and only if they, as I do, like the characters in question in this series. I say this as this story is isolated from the rest of the Marvel universe and as such is not required reading.
...
Title: Uncanny X-Men - Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Billy Tan
ISBN: 0785118004
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 312
Overall Concept 7
Execution 8
Art 8
This is the trade paperback collection of the 12 issues of Uncanny X-Men that occur immediately after the events of Deadly Genesis, which was a stand alone mini-series event.
As soon as I had finished Deadly Genesis, I felt not only comfortable reading this X-men series but was very interested in doing so.
And I was not disappointed with the results. This story is very much a space opera with the X-men in the very midst of it all. It has to do with large galactic empires that are crumbling, a single individual bent on the destruction of a king, a man who wishes to help the one he loves despite her having exiled him from her land, and a few rag tag fighters that help everyone along their way.
Mr. Brubaker has done an excellent job in making the events of this story very, very entertaining while being both fresh for the long time fan and the 'newbie'.
Billy Tan, who did most of the art on the series, has a very nice look to his drawings and pays all these characters great homage with his skills.
This series not only kept me interested and entertained, but demanded that I find out what happens next, as at the stories end the initial groups have split into two, one that returns to Earth and the other that stays behind to deal with the galactic menace Vulcan becomes.
Again, to any fan of comics, and especially to those X-men fans who may have been away for a while, I would easily recommend this book. And to those non-comic fans, there might just be a tad too much expectation on behalf of the reader knowing the finer details of who's who for this to be truly enjoyable. Though the writing can easily show a non-comic fan why there are comic fans.
Title: Uncanny X-Men - Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Billy Tan
ISBN: 0785118004
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 312
Overall Concept 7
Execution 8
Art 8
This is the trade paperback collection of the 12 issues of Uncanny X-Men that occur immediately after the events of Deadly Genesis, which was a stand alone mini-series event.
As soon as I had finished Deadly Genesis, I felt not only comfortable reading this X-men series but was very interested in doing so.
And I was not disappointed with the results. This story is very much a space opera with the X-men in the very midst of it all. It has to do with large galactic empires that are crumbling, a single individual bent on the destruction of a king, a man who wishes to help the one he loves despite her having exiled him from her land, and a few rag tag fighters that help everyone along their way.
Mr. Brubaker has done an excellent job in making the events of this story very, very entertaining while being both fresh for the long time fan and the 'newbie'.
Billy Tan, who did most of the art on the series, has a very nice look to his drawings and pays all these characters great homage with his skills.
This series not only kept me interested and entertained, but demanded that I find out what happens next, as at the stories end the initial groups have split into two, one that returns to Earth and the other that stays behind to deal with the galactic menace Vulcan becomes.
Again, to any fan of comics, and especially to those X-men fans who may have been away for a while, I would easily recommend this book. And to those non-comic fans, there might just be a tad too much expectation on behalf of the reader knowing the finer details of who's who for this to be truly enjoyable. Though the writing can easily show a non-comic fan why there are comic fans.
...
Title: X-Men Deadly Genesis
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Trevor Harsine
ISBN: 0785118306
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 200
Overall Concept 6
Execution 8
Art 7
I must admit I was a HUGE X-Men fan from issue #199 of the Uncanny X-Men all the way to the Age of Apocalypse debacle from 1995 (that series was the point when I stopped buying comics all together). I bought Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, X-Men and all the crossovers throughout those years.
Recently, I got back into comics, in 2002 with the 9 cent issue #489 of the Fantastic Four, and I shied away from the X-Men series for 2 reasons; 1) X-titles were notorious for being very continuity driven, so I was dearthly afraid of being completely lost after a 7+ year absence and 2) I wasn't very fond of the art being produced by Ramos, Young and Pachelo.
What brought me back was the very recent 13 issue Messiah Complex, which I will review later on when I receive the Trade Paperback. I was reading this series and wanted to understand the back story more (specifically who the heck was Vulcan, how come they refer to Prof X having lost /regained his powers, and why was there so much vitriol between Charles and Scott) and started researching the previous issues.
Well, it seems that Ed Brubaker's run on the X-Men begins with this limited series, which happens to also tell the story of Vulcan, the missing Summers brother.
I read this series over the coarse of 2 days and found it to be a very entertaining read. I was initially concerned that this series would be a huge 'retcon' (retroactive continuity - a popular writing device in comics whereby something that is told in the present is either a retelling of the past events or a previously unknown past event which causes a total restructure or very different viewpoint on the present story lines) as this was the story that brought this new powerful 'villain' to the X-titles, and he happens to be the long lost Summer brother.
My fears, fortunately, were very unfounded as the tale is not only well told but well worth reading. The concept is very much a comic book concept ("I was ripped from the womb of my murdered mother, raised in a tank and made a slave of the murderer of my mother"), yet isn't terribly unrealistic or simple, despite my oversimplification.
The art was pleasant and did a very fine job of representing the characters, I know so well, appropriately and accurately.
The interesting 'gimmick' to this series was the use of back-up stories that initially seem to have nothing to do with the main tale. They are not only good stories of themselves but also mesh seamlessly with the overall story before it is all over. And, without them the overall story would be diminished significantly.
I must thank and damn Mr. Brubaker all in the same breath, as he's writing the X-men in a way that makes me both interested and care for them again yet this now means that I'm spending even more money on comics..........
As I said on a blog posting, this series, and the rest of the Brubaker story line, are like finding an old comfortable pair of slippers you had lost in the back of the closet, they are old and comfortable and yet new at the same time.
To any fan of comics, and especially to those X-men fans who may have been away for a while, I would easily recommend this book. And to those non-comic fans, there might just be a tad too much expectation on behalf of the reader knowing the finer details of who's who for this to be truly enjoyable. Though the writing can easily show a non-comic fan why there are comic fans.
Title: X-Men Deadly Genesis
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Trevor Harsine
ISBN: 0785118306
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 200
Overall Concept 6
Execution 8
Art 7
I must admit I was a HUGE X-Men fan from issue #199 of the Uncanny X-Men all the way to the Age of Apocalypse debacle from 1995 (that series was the point when I stopped buying comics all together). I bought Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, X-Men and all the crossovers throughout those years.
Recently, I got back into comics, in 2002 with the 9 cent issue #489 of the Fantastic Four, and I shied away from the X-Men series for 2 reasons; 1) X-titles were notorious for being very continuity driven, so I was dearthly afraid of being completely lost after a 7+ year absence and 2) I wasn't very fond of the art being produced by Ramos, Young and Pachelo.
What brought me back was the very recent 13 issue Messiah Complex, which I will review later on when I receive the Trade Paperback. I was reading this series and wanted to understand the back story more (specifically who the heck was Vulcan, how come they refer to Prof X having lost /regained his powers, and why was there so much vitriol between Charles and Scott) and started researching the previous issues.
Well, it seems that Ed Brubaker's run on the X-Men begins with this limited series, which happens to also tell the story of Vulcan, the missing Summers brother.
I read this series over the coarse of 2 days and found it to be a very entertaining read. I was initially concerned that this series would be a huge 'retcon' (retroactive continuity - a popular writing device in comics whereby something that is told in the present is either a retelling of the past events or a previously unknown past event which causes a total restructure or very different viewpoint on the present story lines) as this was the story that brought this new powerful 'villain' to the X-titles, and he happens to be the long lost Summer brother.
My fears, fortunately, were very unfounded as the tale is not only well told but well worth reading. The concept is very much a comic book concept ("I was ripped from the womb of my murdered mother, raised in a tank and made a slave of the murderer of my mother"), yet isn't terribly unrealistic or simple, despite my oversimplification.
The art was pleasant and did a very fine job of representing the characters, I know so well, appropriately and accurately.
The interesting 'gimmick' to this series was the use of back-up stories that initially seem to have nothing to do with the main tale. They are not only good stories of themselves but also mesh seamlessly with the overall story before it is all over. And, without them the overall story would be diminished significantly.
I must thank and damn Mr. Brubaker all in the same breath, as he's writing the X-men in a way that makes me both interested and care for them again yet this now means that I'm spending even more money on comics..........
As I said on a blog posting, this series, and the rest of the Brubaker story line, are like finding an old comfortable pair of slippers you had lost in the back of the closet, they are old and comfortable and yet new at the same time.
To any fan of comics, and especially to those X-men fans who may have been away for a while, I would easily recommend this book. And to those non-comic fans, there might just be a tad too much expectation on behalf of the reader knowing the finer details of who's who for this to be truly enjoyable. Though the writing can easily show a non-comic fan why there are comic fans.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
...
Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K. Rowling
ISBN: 978-1551929767
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 608
Overall Concept 7
Execution 9
And so it comes to a close, the Harry Potter novels that started with a small adolescent novel over a decade ago.
After the previous two novels in this series (Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince) were quite differing in my enjoyment of them. Order being not a very good book and Half Blood Prince making me pine for the last novel. And with the fact that several major plot points are left off at the end of the penultimate book, it was with much trepedation that I read this book. Mostly because I was terribly afraid that J.K. might take the easier path with regards to wrapping up those plot points.
Most fortunately my fears were ungrounded and this book was both well written and an excellent finish to the series. I will easily say that this book was the best of the Harry Potter novels and J.K. Rowling deserves her place as a world renowned author.
Unlike the Order of the Phoenix, where Harry was a self indulgent and whiny teen, in Deathly Hallows, Harry proves his worth as wizard and becomes the man of prophecy he was meant to be.
Again, as I have said for all the novels previously, this novel is best appreciated by someone either of the age of the protaganist or someone who can remember that pinnacle time when we transition from teen to adult. I wouldn't say this book was any grittier than the preceeding one, but rather grander of scope with regards to the implications of cause and effect. Which is a lesson we, and Harry, learn about the world being much larger than what we have seen, what we can immediately effect and that it is full of lots of people who we should have compassion and understanding for. Also, I think one of the key points of this book is that eventually we all come to realize that our parents/mentors are not without faults of their own, and this shouldn't make us love or respect them less. In some cases it should aid us to respect them more. And the final lesson this series has made apparent is, to quote It's a Wonderful Life, "no man is poor who has friends". Harry could have gotten to the places he needed to be to do the things he needed to do if it wasn't for his friends. As much as Sam Gamgee is a hero for aiding Frodo in his quest in the Lord of the Rings, Hermione, the Weasley family, Luna, and Neville (as well as some others I'm probably forgetting right now) are important heroes to the Harry Potter series.
All in all, this was an excellent finish to a series that took a young boy out of his place in the world and into a world that was quite foreign to him. Not only that, but he is a boy of prophecy that has the weight of the world on his shoulders for the entirety of this seven year period. J.K. did a fine job of showing the boy in all stages of pre-teen, teen, young adult and finally adult.
My only 'complaint' about this book, is that in the epilogue that makes mention of what the various characters are doing sometime in the future, the author seems to have failed mentioning Luna. Considering that she is just as major a character as Neville (who is mentioned) and more major than some others who are mentioned, it seems an oversight on behalf of the author.
In closing, I must thank whomever it was who passed me a 'copy' of the first Harry Potter movie, as I might have missed exposure to a wonderful series, that is made all the sweeter as I can enjoy it with my children as they grow to watch the movies and read the books.
Hats off to Ms. Rowling!
Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K. Rowling
ISBN: 978-1551929767
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 608
Overall Concept 7
Execution 9
And so it comes to a close, the Harry Potter novels that started with a small adolescent novel over a decade ago.
After the previous two novels in this series (Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince) were quite differing in my enjoyment of them. Order being not a very good book and Half Blood Prince making me pine for the last novel. And with the fact that several major plot points are left off at the end of the penultimate book, it was with much trepedation that I read this book. Mostly because I was terribly afraid that J.K. might take the easier path with regards to wrapping up those plot points.
Most fortunately my fears were ungrounded and this book was both well written and an excellent finish to the series. I will easily say that this book was the best of the Harry Potter novels and J.K. Rowling deserves her place as a world renowned author.
Unlike the Order of the Phoenix, where Harry was a self indulgent and whiny teen, in Deathly Hallows, Harry proves his worth as wizard and becomes the man of prophecy he was meant to be.
Again, as I have said for all the novels previously, this novel is best appreciated by someone either of the age of the protaganist or someone who can remember that pinnacle time when we transition from teen to adult. I wouldn't say this book was any grittier than the preceeding one, but rather grander of scope with regards to the implications of cause and effect. Which is a lesson we, and Harry, learn about the world being much larger than what we have seen, what we can immediately effect and that it is full of lots of people who we should have compassion and understanding for. Also, I think one of the key points of this book is that eventually we all come to realize that our parents/mentors are not without faults of their own, and this shouldn't make us love or respect them less. In some cases it should aid us to respect them more. And the final lesson this series has made apparent is, to quote It's a Wonderful Life, "no man is poor who has friends". Harry could have gotten to the places he needed to be to do the things he needed to do if it wasn't for his friends. As much as Sam Gamgee is a hero for aiding Frodo in his quest in the Lord of the Rings, Hermione, the Weasley family, Luna, and Neville (as well as some others I'm probably forgetting right now) are important heroes to the Harry Potter series.
All in all, this was an excellent finish to a series that took a young boy out of his place in the world and into a world that was quite foreign to him. Not only that, but he is a boy of prophecy that has the weight of the world on his shoulders for the entirety of this seven year period. J.K. did a fine job of showing the boy in all stages of pre-teen, teen, young adult and finally adult.
My only 'complaint' about this book, is that in the epilogue that makes mention of what the various characters are doing sometime in the future, the author seems to have failed mentioning Luna. Considering that she is just as major a character as Neville (who is mentioned) and more major than some others who are mentioned, it seems an oversight on behalf of the author.
In closing, I must thank whomever it was who passed me a 'copy' of the first Harry Potter movie, as I might have missed exposure to a wonderful series, that is made all the sweeter as I can enjoy it with my children as they grow to watch the movies and read the books.
Hats off to Ms. Rowling!
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