SPOILERS!! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows SPOILERS!!

[Herr Bad Moon]

Well, it's been almost a week since it came out so I figure it'd be safe to start prelimanary discussions at the very least.
Spoilers ahoy so you have been warned.

I liked it quite a bit. It was a much more serious offering than HBP was, or even any of the other books in that actaully stuff happens instead of just random scenes. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and some of the plot devices FEEL like plot devices, but on the whole I thought it was one of her better books. Here's some quick thoughts on some of the characters without going too into the details.
Harry: Angsty, and toes the big black line of Good/Evil but ends up with the quiet heroism that stands out from the dramatic kind.
Ron: Gets some of the best lines and comes across as much more than just the Sidekick.
Hermione: Still a genius. But kinda scary in a second coming of Dumbledore way at times. If you've finished the book you'll know what that means.
Ginny: Who? Seriously underused in that she isn't used AT ALL. WTF? So much for any developement from books 5 & 6.
Dumbledore: Still some of that kindly old man there, but he's a Wizard in the High Fantasy sense. He'll use you and toss you aside when you've spent your usefulness and while he might cry as he does it he won't hesitate.
Voldemort: Woo! Way to not become a cackling Avada Kevadra Crucio machine. Was worried there for awhile.
Snape: Uh.... yeah, still conflicted about him.
Fred and George: Still some of the best bits of humor in the whole series, even when everythings going to shit. Would approve of the sea animal pun thread in the DW5 section.
Neville: Pimp supreme.
Lupin: So close to being even more developed, but gets tossed aside. Poor luck there chap.
Molly: Sigourney Weaver Maternal Award.
Dobby: HAW HAW.
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-Jon
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
The population density of Wyoming is very low, but that doesn't mean the people there aren't also out to kill you.
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Jon
"And that must have caused my dad's brain to break in half, replaced by a purely mechanical engine of revenge!"

[Shepherd]

Overall I liked it but I still had a few complaints.
1). The gimmicky motorcycle at the beginning. It would have been less silly with fewer gizmo buttons.
2). The Final battle in which centaurs, teenagers, teachers, townsfolk, and house elves all come together in some sort of dumb Disney moment.
3). The Deathly Hallows - They come out of nowhere and prove that the Potter line truly is touched by some mythic destiny (not to mention linking Harry and Voldemort through pre-founding of Hogwarts family ties).
The only good thing about the Hallows is the end fight. It reminds me of an old Marvel Comic where Deadpool fought the Juggernaut. As the mouthy merc faced off against an unstoppable foe he out talked his opponent and finished off with the comment "Logic stops the Juggernaut." I can just picture Harry and Voldemort circling each other while Harry does his whole Scooby Doo whodunit reveal and finishes with the closing comment "Logic stops the Voldemort."
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"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Epsilon]

I liked it quite a bit.
It was much better than the last two. It was a very satisfying conclusion to the series as a whole.
I especially liked the way that, when looked back on the series as a whole, it really is a coming of age story. In the first novel enemies are black and white and the world is a place controlled by powerful benevolent or malevolent adults. By the end of the series we see that people are very much grey, complex beings with contradictory and often inexplicable motives. That and the way that it was emphasized that Harry was a hero not because he was the best at anything, or because he was the bravest or strongest but because he inspired others. Harry was a person who changed other peoples lives just by believing in them; which is born out especially with Neville who over the course of the series goes from being a complete loser to a complete badass.
My complaints are that Harry does whine, a lot. Also, there was one too many deus ex machina. The stuff about the Deadly Hallows felt kind of tacked on as well, especially the invisibility cloak and wand bits. The Resurrection Stone was well utilized, however.
Other than that, a well done final installment.
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Epsilon

[Duane Peters]

Overall, I liked it. I do think it felt a bit rushed, like Rowling was bound and determined to finish it up in this one book, and realized too late that she just had *way* too many plot lines and characters to juggle. Also, the "Deathly Hallows" felt "tacked on" to me, not like a part of the storyline at all.
Kudos to her for letting Ron & Hermionie remeber the basilisk fangs' effect on the Horcruxes, but she really did muddy the waters with allowing Ron to "learn" to speak Parseltounge to enter the Chamber of Secrets. Was it an innate ability pased along with the piece of Voldemort's soul, a natural talent of some sorcerors, or knowledge that can be learned by anyone? And if it can be learned, why the prejudice against people who know it?

[Shepherd]

Ron doesn't know how to speak parseltongue. He has merely heard Harry speak the word "open" in parseltongue twice (once in book 2 and once in book 7). He simply imitated the sound over and over until he made a sound close enough to the actual pronunciation that the spell reacted.
Note that when Ron hissed at Harry that Harry didn't understand the hiss. That is because Ron wasn't speaking the language. He was just parroting a sound.
I recall a Potter fanfic in which the password to Snape's Hogwarts quarters is in parseltongue and cannot be changed because nobody speaks the language and thus cannot change the password. All they can do is memorize the specific hissing sound that opens the door.
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"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Shepherd]

The Resurrection Stone was well used? I thought it was horribly used. It simply called the spirits of Harry's loved ones so that they could smile at him while he walked to his certain death. It would have been better if he'd used it to recall Dumbledore's spirit so that they could have skipped the entire train terminal to the afterlife scene.
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"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Bob Schroeck]

Okay, I have one big question -- whose daughter is Victoire? The text is so vague she could be Harry/Ginny's or Ron/Hermione's.

-- Bob
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The Internet Is For Norns.

[Morganite]

A friend of mine on IRC sent me this link, which expands on a number of things about the epilogue.
"Victoire, who was snogging Teddy Lupin and Tonks son is Bill and Fleurs eldest."
So, no. ^_-
-Morgan, will have some comments when not so damn tired. >.>"Mikuru-chan molested me! I'm... so happy!"
-Haruhi, "The Ecchi of Haruhi Suzumiya"
---(Not really)

[HoagieOfDoom]

I'm very happy with Deathly Hallows myself. Yes, certain things were glossed over, yes, the final battle was far too neat, yes, the epilogue was vague as hell, but damn if it wasn't a fun read.
And I must say, Neville ROCKS. He has become the pure essence of Bad Ass.
Thanks for the link Morgan. I was also wondering who the hell Victoire was.*********
Touched By His Noodly Appendage
www.venganza.org

[Bob Schroeck]

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"Victoire, who was snogging Teddy Lupin and Tonks son is Bill and Fleurs eldest."

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Oh, of course. French name. Duh.

-- Bob
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The Internet Is For Norns.