HPandDH was really funny to me. I should probably mention that I really did like the book, more than I have actually liked an HP book since the fourth one. And I've been trying to get my head around exactly why I liked it so much, and why I wasn't disappointed by the way things turned out in it, when both OotP and HBP had me expecting an entirely different turnout, that I even wrote essays and participated in conversations about.
I remember commenting elsewhere recently about reading the books as a fan, or as another writer trying to appreciate themes and continuation. I really only started reading the HP books after GoF came out, and when I entered the fandom (shortly before OotP came out), the first place I frequented was the SugarQuill; where everyone's fannish reading of the books was actually quite similar to my own (minus, you know, the almost-complete lack of Ginny), and an ending like shown in DH was all but predicted. Of course, when OotP came out, my readings of the books kind of changed, became more serious, which continued into HBP when I expanded out of the SugarQuill area of fandom.
But I've come to the conclusion that I'm not particularly surprised, or disappointed by DH because, although OotP and HBP had me believing we were headed for an entirely different resolution, DH's resolution was actually something I had seen after GoF, and would have continued to see if not for the prior two books. It's why I'm not that upset about the ending, because my first reading wasn't such a bad one, it was just...really different.
Which doesn't say much for JKR on the subject of continuity, does it? I thought I read somewhere once that she actually had most of the last book written out by the time GoF came out, which would explain a lot, but I might have that wrong. Times when she said that Sirius's death and OotP were important, and that HBP did what she wanted it to do, it was all in terms of plot...but a lot of the themes set up in those books ended up being shafted when turned into plot points. It's taking those two books into consideration that really shows how the series got away from her. She probably wasn't aware that she was even creating new themes in her efforts to set up a plot.
She spoke of House Unity in OotP, but to her that was probably entirely Gryffindor-Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff related...in terms of Slytherin, I just got the feeling that she was replaying the drama with the four schoolheads (Slytherin had a disagreement with the others and left). Draco, oddly enough, became an actual character in her attempts to explain why he was a) such a crappy Death Eater, and b) worthy of saving from a burning room -- and I really did get a sense of "worthiness" being required, not in Harry's thought process, but more as in the general writing style (Draco had been trying to save the Trio, Goyle did nothing but stand around stupidly, hence they were saved; whereas Crabbe was casting Avada-Kedavra's and Fiendfyre's all over the place, and even trying to save him wasn't an option). She probably didn't count on Draco's actually becoming a character (if anything, it's like she might have gotten carried away giving fanservice to the Draco fans while she structured his part in the final plot).
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Date: 2007-07-26 02:25 pm (UTC)I remember commenting elsewhere recently about reading the books as a fan, or as another writer trying to appreciate themes and continuation. I really only started reading the HP books after GoF came out, and when I entered the fandom (shortly before OotP came out), the first place I frequented was the SugarQuill; where everyone's fannish reading of the books was actually quite similar to my own (minus, you know, the almost-complete lack of Ginny), and an ending like shown in DH was all but predicted. Of course, when OotP came out, my readings of the books kind of changed, became more serious, which continued into HBP when I expanded out of the SugarQuill area of fandom.
But I've come to the conclusion that I'm not particularly surprised, or disappointed by DH because, although OotP and HBP had me believing we were headed for an entirely different resolution, DH's resolution was actually something I had seen after GoF, and would have continued to see if not for the prior two books. It's why I'm not that upset about the ending, because my first reading wasn't such a bad one, it was just...really different.
Which doesn't say much for JKR on the subject of continuity, does it? I thought I read somewhere once that she actually had most of the last book written out by the time GoF came out, which would explain a lot, but I might have that wrong. Times when she said that Sirius's death and OotP were important, and that HBP did what she wanted it to do, it was all in terms of plot...but a lot of the themes set up in those books ended up being shafted when turned into plot points. It's taking those two books into consideration that really shows how the series got away from her. She probably wasn't aware that she was even creating new themes in her efforts to set up a plot.
She spoke of House Unity in OotP, but to her that was probably entirely Gryffindor-Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff related...in terms of Slytherin, I just got the feeling that she was replaying the drama with the four schoolheads (Slytherin had a disagreement with the others and left). Draco, oddly enough, became an actual character in her attempts to explain why he was a) such a crappy Death Eater, and
b) worthy of saving from a burning room -- and I really did get a sense of "worthiness" being required, not in Harry's thought process, but more as in the general writing style (Draco had been trying to save the Trio, Goyle did nothing but stand around stupidly, hence they were saved; whereas Crabbe was casting Avada-Kedavra's and Fiendfyre's all over the place, and even trying to save him wasn't an option). She probably didn't count on Draco's actually becoming a character (if anything, it's like she might have gotten carried away giving fanservice to the Draco fans while she structured his part in the final plot).
I've got to think more on this.