Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

SPOILER WARNING! DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!

So good. Very good. Book 6 kind of sucked. I didn't object to Dumbledore's death; I objected to how boring the book was. Therefore I worried that the conclusion to the saga would be a disappointment. I'm glad I was wrong.

Fred's death is the saddest to me, followed by Lupin's. I was not shocked by Lupin's death, but I honestly was not expecting Fred's. I was actually kind of glad that Dobby died just because he's so annoying, and yet I cried as I read of his burial and small memorial. I'm glad to see depth to Dumbledore, and am glad to see that Snape really isn't evil, and I'm glad Ron and Hermione lived (though surprised the both made it). I'm surprised Harry lived. I love that Neville is a hero.

I generally don't like epilogues that jump years into the future, and this was no exception. We are given every indication that Ron and Hermione will end up together and Harry and Ginny will end up together and, hey, what do you know, that's what happens. Why bother jumping into the future to show that? It should have ended with Harry wanting to go to the Gryffindor tower to lay down. If she wanted the epilogue, she should have actually shown info we didn't already basically know.

All in all, this was a very good conclusion to the saga. It's been a lot of fun. I would be very happy if JK Rowling writes another series in that same world - not about Harry and Ron and Hermione, but other new characters unrelated to them. I really, really love the world she created.

Psion by Joan D. Vinge

I read this in high school and loved it, so I wanted to reread it to see if it was as good as I remembered (though I remembered nothing about it other than I loved it). The conclusion? It is indeed an excellent book.