paperback, 636 pages
English language
Published by Bloomsbury.
It is the summer holidays and soon Harry Potter will be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is counting the days: there are new spells to be learnt, more Quidditch to be played, and Hogwarts castle to continue exploring. But Harry needs to be careful -- there are unexpected dangers lurking...
J.K. Rowling continues to surprise and delight with the power of her rich, demanding and action-packed storytelling. --back cover
Of the seven books in the Harry Potter series, this is the one I have the strongest sense of encountering it on its release night. As a construct of words in an order that tells a story, it is enjoyable. I, however, do not endorse purchasing the book new given that the author will use the money to advance an anti-trans platform
I have one consistent comment about these books, especially as an educator: Who the fuck is running these schools and allowing contests that you can't back out of to exist? It'd be nice to have a more in-world explanation for why these things are allowed, especially seeing as Rowling relies almost entirely on the currently existing status quo. ("Oh, imagine if we had real schools but also dragon contests!") It mostly feels quite dull, especially for a magical school.
This is also one of the more frustrating books for me in terms of the amount of time that is spent on things that often feel irrelevant. I'm supposed to feel something for Cedric, and I never do. There's nothing there for me other than some weird lesson about how being a nice person who wants to share in winning an event leads to the death of another. His existence feels …
I have one consistent comment about these books, especially as an educator: Who the fuck is running these schools and allowing contests that you can't back out of to exist? It'd be nice to have a more in-world explanation for why these things are allowed, especially seeing as Rowling relies almost entirely on the currently existing status quo. ("Oh, imagine if we had real schools but also dragon contests!") It mostly feels quite dull, especially for a magical school.
This is also one of the more frustrating books for me in terms of the amount of time that is spent on things that often feel irrelevant. I'm supposed to feel something for Cedric, and I never do. There's nothing there for me other than some weird lesson about how being a nice person who wants to share in winning an event leads to the death of another. His existence feels inconsequential for the reader, which is really weird. He doesn't have to be prominent as a person, but there are better ways to write that Harry could feel guilty over his death. You can have a death that feels empty and pointless without making the character feel empty and pointless, and you can have a death that shows that a person like Voldemort doesn't care about anything or anyone... But this just doesn't have that feeling or emotion.
There are so many instances where I wonder how no one seemed to notice something was happening, especially with regards to Barty Crouch Jr being masked as Moody. The hints that are dropped aren't really hints because we don't actually know Moody. There is no contradiction in personality, there is nothing there that makes it clear that this Moody is someone other than who we're told he is... It's just lazy writing. It feels more like she started the book with one idea and then flipped it in the middle. Another thing is that the kids, despite coming up with their own conspiracies, can't understand or refuse to believe that a person could be setup? They can believe in magic, but they can't believe that someone's being setup.
Έχει το ενδιαφέρον του το "Κύπελλο της φωτιάς". Εισάγει νέους χαρακτήρες, θίγει (εξαιρετικά αφελώς) τις συνθήκες εργασίας του προσωπικού του Χόγκουαρτς (των ξωτικών που παρασκευάζουν τα φαγητά) με την Ερμιόνη να το υπερασπίζεται (η μόνη! Οι άλλοι στην κοσμάρα τους), αναπτύσσει στην πλοκή και τσακωσμούς, μούτρα και ζήλιες μεταξύ των πρωταγωνιστών και επίσης υπάρχει νεκρός. Η Ρόουλινγκ, η συγγραφέας, πάντως σε όλα τα βιβλία της έχει ωραίους διαλόγους, ωραίους μονολόγους και εναλλαγές αυτών.
Lots of extraneous material, but the core plot is very compelling.
UK Version WIN.
most of the plot was in the beginning and end, so overall it was pretty boring
The maturation of the Wizarding World follows its readers, as the Potter series takes a very dark turn, forgoing much of its fancy for fearsome straits and a strong message against corrupt authorities.
Well I had high hopes for this book seeing as it was far longer than the previous books, alas those extra pages were filled with guff. The Quidditch world cup! Then it was back to school and the usual stuff. It's not all bad though, once the charismatic Voldemort makes an appearance things take a dark turn, the writing suddenly gets better and the story becomes interesting. Limbs getting dismembered, kidnapping, slavery and child murder, that Rowling has some balls to put that into a kids book.
I can start to feel the Harry Potter books digging their claws into me now as I've now read plenty about the characters and have got to know them well. I think I only called Harry an idiot 3 times in this book, far less than the previous books.
I suppose I better keep on going to the end.
PS: this is the …
Well I had high hopes for this book seeing as it was far longer than the previous books, alas those extra pages were filled with guff. The Quidditch world cup! Then it was back to school and the usual stuff. It's not all bad though, once the charismatic Voldemort makes an appearance things take a dark turn, the writing suddenly gets better and the story becomes interesting. Limbs getting dismembered, kidnapping, slavery and child murder, that Rowling has some balls to put that into a kids book.
I can start to feel the Harry Potter books digging their claws into me now as I've now read plenty about the characters and have got to know them well. I think I only called Harry an idiot 3 times in this book, far less than the previous books.
I suppose I better keep on going to the end.
PS: this is the book where Ron was a total dick for 90% of it.
I will never grow tired of listening to Stephen Fry's voice! Listening to him convey the emotions of every character in his unique voice was an altogether different experience than what you get when you're reading the book on your own.
There is so. much. exposition. at the end of this book. I had forgotten about that.
We return to Hogwarts with lots of changes for Harry this year. First, the Tri-Wizard tournament. Very exciting. We get a glimpse of other wizarding schools. Tragedy strikes, and we end with a very satisfying set up for book 5.
We kick this installment off with the fun of the Quidditch World Cup. Harry attends with the Weasleys and has lots of fun until dark things happen, setting us up for what is to come. Harry is selected as a champion for the Tri-Wizard tournament. But, gasp! He didn't enter his name because he's not 17. As Fleur says, he's just a little boy! Danger abounds. And in the end, we are in a very dark place to take us into the next book.
3rd time listening... still so great!
Have decided to re-read the entire series. Will not change the original star ratings, but will include my updated star ratings in the wall o' text.
4 (???) stars. Maybe 3? 3.5?
So much Harry, not enough Ron and Hermione. And I feel like the challenges should be harder, or more numerous, or something. And SOOOO much telling, not showing -- the scenes in the graveyard and Moody's office are filled with amazing and interesting info, presented in the dullest way possible. But I love how grownup all the kids begin to feel here, such that they begin to discover some of the complexities in the adults around them, and how dark it turns toward the end. Definitely not the best of the series but I loved it anyway... Thus the rating dilemma.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling (2000)
Perfect book to be read during school days.
But I must admit that of the Harry Potter series the first four are the best.
