Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
by J.K. Rowling

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Book Reviews of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)

Book Review: Masterful work!!
Summary: 5 Stars

"Goblet of Fire" IS different, though the same cast of characters still find themselves at Hogwarts for Harry's 4th year of magical education. Ron, Herminone, Harry, Fred, George and the lot are all back for yet more adventures in the wizarding world. The book begins with the Quiddich World Cup taking place on a "nice, abandon moor" in England between the opposing teams of Bulgaria and Ireland. Harry, who plays Seeker for the Griffindor team, is awestruck by seeing the best of the best professional Quiddich teams play, and it's clear that he intends to try to make himself the best player possible. However, the best laid plans oft go awry, and Quiddich is unexpectedly cancelled for the school year due to another upcoming tournament.

To say any more about the plot would be to tell too much about this fantastic, fast-paced story where the plot twists fly as quick and twisted as the path of the zooming golden snitch. True to form, Rowling keeps her readers guessing as to what could possibly happen next, and when you think you've got it all

figured out, the story-- rather like life itself--changes dramatically on you.

Rowling also introduces a bevy of new and delightful characters, including a house elf who is scared of heights, a Bulgarian Quiddich Seeker who is perhaps most famous for his glowering, grim expression, and an evil wizard catcher with a wooden leg and enchanted, wandering eye. Hagrid is back teaching classes again, this time with a whole new lot of strange and semi-dangerous creatures, including some called Blast-Ended Skroots.

I listened to the book on audio, read by Mr. Jim Dale, who is a masterful reader. Using a potpourri of different voices for each character, major or minor, he brings the book to vivid life in the ear and mind of the reader. From the greasy, sly voice of Snape the potions master threatening Harry, to the amusing voice of Professor Sprout the herbology professor waxing eloquent about bubo tuber pus, Mr. Dale never once confused his voices or lost my interest for a second.

I have done some semi-professional reading myself for the blind and print handicapped, and I know how grueling it can be to be constantly reading aloud, hour after hour, into a microphone in a cramped, often stuffy recording booth. Mr. Dale, however, sounds as if he's sitting next to you in the Griffindor common room by the fire on a long, quiet evening. His telling of the story is masterful and engaging, never missing a beat. My hat is off to such a fine performance, and I hope and trust that he will lend his talents to the NEXT Potter book, and the next and the next...

Finally, let me echo the opinions of some other reviewers that "Goblet of Fire" is much darker and scarier than the previous three in the series. The ending of the book is somewhat bloody and terrifying, which could prove to be too much for very young readers, say under 10 years of age. The book is much heavier on dialogue and description, and contains far more subplots than any other Potter book, though these subplots have a way of combining and intermixing with each other in the must surprising of ways. If you have a young Potter fan in your family, I would encourage you to read/listen to "Goblet" YOURSELF first before giving it as a present: you want to evaluate how appropriate it would be as a gift. It's a masterful story and jolly brilliant, but it might prove to be too frightening for young audiences. If so, it's best to shelf the book until the recipient is perhaps a bit older.

I read a lot of young adult books, far more than I have reviewed, and this series rivals that of the Earthsea saga by LeGuin. It is masterful storytelling and certainly deserving of its praise and reputation. I personally would recommend hearing it read by Mr. Dale, but whether you read or listen to this book, you should definitely experience it. There is really nothing like it being published today. Thank you, Ms. Rowling, thank you Mr. Dale, for such a wonderful work!!

Summary of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)

Readers, we will cast a giant invisibility cloak over any more plot and reveal only that You-Know-Who is very much after Harry and that this year there will be no Quidditch matches between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Instead, Hogwarts will vie with two other magicians' schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders?

But Quidditch buffs need not go into mourning: we get our share of this great game at the World Cup. Attempting to go incognito as Muggles, 100,000 witches and wizards converge on a "nice deserted moor." As ever, Rowling magicks up the details that make her world so vivid, and so comic. Several spectators' tents, for instance, are entirely unquotidian. One is a minipalace, complete with live peacocks; another has three floors and multiple turrets. And the sports paraphernalia on offer includes rosettes "squealing the names of the players" as well as "tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves." Needless to say, the two teams are decidedly different, down to their mascots. Bulgaria is supported by the beautiful veela, who instantly enchant everyone--including Ireland's supporters--over to their side. Until, that is, thousands of tiny cheerleaders engage in some pyrotechnics of their own: "The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field."

Long before her fourth installment appeared, Rowling warned that it would be darker, and it's true that every exhilaration is equaled by a moment that has us fearing for Harry's life, the book's emotions running as deep as its dangers. Along the way, though, she conjures up such new characters as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, a Dark Wizard catcher who may or may not be getting paranoid in his old age, and Rita Skeeter, who beetles around Hogwarts in search of stories. (This Daily Prophet scoop artist has a Quick-Quotes Quill that turns even the most innocent assertion into tabloid innuendo.) And at her bedazzling close, Rowling leaves several plot strands open, awaiting book 5. This fan is ready to wager that the author herself is part veela--her pen her wand, her commitment to her world complete. (Ages 9 and older) --Kerry Fried

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