The Deathly Hallows

When we returned from Grand Forks, I grabbed the mail. There sat our two copies of the final Harry Potter book. It took me all of about a minute to tear into them, take the dust jacket off, and get to reading. That was around 5. By 11:30 I was falling asleep. But I was 300 pages deep and could call it a night. Kristie read for about another hour before falling asleep.

However, I woke up to her reading this morning. Once I got up and had some breakfast, around 10 or so, I was ready to get back to reading. The next 8 hours or so were spent in our chase lounge lost in the world of Harry Potter. Finally around seven I finished.

What a ride! I found myself choking back tears at one point and laughing out loud at several other parts. I envy the young readers who are devouring this final book. I think back to all the books and series of books that I loved, and nothing comes close to this. Not even remotely close.

The elation and fulfillment I had at the end of the series is rare. Maybe only in Star Wars trilogy was I happy with the conclusion. And the Lucas had to go mess it up with his God awful prequels. The Lord of the Rings trilogy never seemed to end and really was a chore to finish. Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" finished with a great bang in "The High King," but the book before that, "Tyran Wanderer," was a bore. The Matrix trilogy ended horribly. I was caught up in Thomas Harris's "Hannibal," but nothing matches the raw power and horror of "The Silence of the Lambs."

So to bring such an epic story to such a great close was masterful. I can't wait to re-read all seven.