This is a review of the latest (and last, so we're told) Harry Potter book, the culmination of the saga that has swept the publishing world ahead of it in a global tide of admiration and book sales.

Every attempt will be made to avoid spoilers from Deathly Hallows, but I promise nothing about any of the rest in the series.

At the end of book six, Harry was left directionless following the death of his mentor and head of Hogwarts School, Albus Dumbledore. The evil wizard Voldemort is in the ascendant, his allies flocking back to the fold and the rest of the community running scared. But there is still a plan. Voldemort's soul was broken into pieces and hidden in objects known as Horcruxes. It is up to Harry and his closest friends Hermione and Ron to find those Horcruxes and destroy them. Not knowing what they are or where they or how to destroy them are only makes the chances of success all the more slim. The discovery along the way of the Deathly Hallows only goes to complicate matters.

Whatever anyone wants to say about JK Rowling's literary abilities, she certainly knows how to fashion a story that makes you want to read it. It starts off with a rip-roaring action escape sequence (admittedly the central idea of which I have come across before more than once in one form or another), throws in some shocks, some deaths (no that's not spoiler as JK's been saying there would be several for a long time), some cracking action sequences, takes her heroes to some dark and low places before finally building to a rousing climax that you can just see the special effects technicians of the film series licking their lips over and the producers counting the budget for.

That central narrative drives the reader on. The desire to know how it's all going to turn out is palpable and the book is a real page turner, but there is more to it than just that. In this book, the author turns her thoughts to the nature of sacrifice, self-worth and the need to fight, even if fighting is futile. Almost every character puts themselves in harm's way at some point for the benefit of their friends or the greater good. They don't do it out of blind heroism, however. The author is far too good a writer for that. The characters consider their actions, agonise over them in some cases and make decisions based on real-seeming emotions. This is the strength of the writer and what has allowed the series to cross over from children's book (the first two in the series were nothing more

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