Just finished it, reread the first five books over the weekend and stated the sixth on monday.

Overall I feel I've been overly critical of the series and that it is indeed a very good series. Not many fantasy series maintain a decent level of quality throughout 7 books (wheel of time .... ugh). The latter books are somewhat darker than the first few and aimed more at adults I'd say, though having reread the second and third book, they aren't exactly 'nice' books either.

The one big gripe I have with the series (I have several smaller ones too) is how one dimensional the 'houses' are portrayed, Slytherin=bad, Griffindor=good, Ravenclaw:okay, Huffledepuff=means well. Otherwise I feel most characters really grew throughout the series and the general plot really deepened (I didn't realize how much of a turning point the fourth book has been).

I didn't think there were too many deaths, considering the circumstances.