Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was really looking forward to this book, but the literary journey that should have been an joy instead became a slog. The lack of decent character building and plot development just killed the book for me. Here are my major complaints about the book: * Major characters were killed off without a fitting send off. * It felt like about 400 pages were spent on showing the kids camping out all over the UK, accomplishing nothing and coming up with no new ideas. * The pacing and the writing, which I thought were good throughout the rest of the series, were choppy at best. * The Deathly Hallows concept was extraneous and the execution lacked logic; the Horcruxes would have been enough of a basis for a story. The bottom line is that I didn't think that this book matched the spirit and achievement of the other books. I didn't get the impression that the kids learned much this time, or that they earned the final victory. Only Neville ultimately seemed to shine and blossom. I closed this book wanting to read some Anne McCaffrey or Mercedes Lackey, two "light fantasy" authors who certainly know a thing or two about pacing and character development. Having read this final book, I can't remember why I liked the first ones as much as I did, and I'm thinking of getting rid of all my Harry Potter books. I just can't see myself reading them again. It is really a shame that Rowling couldn't keep up the good writing through the entire series.