Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) - Harry Potter 6 Books

Product Description

Read by Jim Dale

Running time: 20 hrs., 30 mins. 12 cassettes

Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his fourth year of magical adventures in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This year Harry turns 14 and becomes interested in girls -- one in particular. And with Dark Magic comes danger, as someone close to Harry dies. You'll have to listen to learn more! The audio is available on July 8th.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4240 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-08
• Released on: 2000-07-08
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 734 pages

Amazon.com
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling offers up equal parts danger and delight--and any number of dragons, house-elves, and death-defying challenges. Now 14, her orphan hero has only two more weeks with his Muggle relatives before returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yet one night a vision harrowing enough to make his lightning-bolt-shaped scar burn has Harry on edge and contacting his godfather-in-hiding, Sirius Black. Happily, the prospect of attending the season's premier sporting event, the Quidditch World Cup, is enough to make Harry momentarily forget that Lord Voldemort and his sinister familiars--the Death Eaters--are out for murder.

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

From Publishers Weekly
Even without the unprecedented media attention and popularity her magical series has attracted, it would seem too much to hope that Rowling could sustain the brilliance and wit of her first three novels. Astonishingly, Rowling seems to have the spell-casting powers she assigns her characters: this fourth volume might be her most thrilling yet. The novel opens as a confused Muggle overhears Lord Voldemort and his henchman, Wormtail (the escapee from book three, Azkaban) discussing a murder and plotting more deaths (and invoking Harry Potter's name); clues suggest that Voldemort and Wormtail's location will prove highly significant. From here it takes a while (perhaps slightly too long a while) for Harry and his friends to get back to the Hogwarts school, where Rowling is on surest footing. Headmaster Dumbledore appalls everyone by declaring that Quidditch competition has been canceled for the year; then he makes the exciting announcement that the Triwizard Tournament is to be held after a cessation of many hundred years (it was discontinued, he explains, because the death toll mounted so high). One representative from each of the three largest wizardry schools of Europe (sinister Durmstrang, luxurious Beauxbatons and Hogwarts) are to be chosen by the Goblet of Fire; because of the mortal dangers, Dumbledore casts a spell that allows only students who are at least 17 to drop their names into the Goblet. Thus no one foresees that the Goblet will announce a fourth candidate: Harry. Who has put his name into the Goblet, and how is his participation in the tournament linked, as it surely must be, to Voldemort's newest plot? The details are as ingenious and original as ever, and somehow (for catching readers off-guard must certainly get more difficult with each successive volume) Rowling plants the red herrings, the artful clues and tricky surprises that disarm the most attentive audience. A climax even more spectacular than that of Azkaban will leave readers breathless. The muscle-building heft of this volume notwithstanding, the clamor for book five will begin as soon as readers finish installment four. All ages. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up-Harry is now 14 years old and in his fourth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where big changes are afoot. This year, instead of the usual Inter-House Quidditch Cup, a Triwizard Tournament will be held, during which three champions, one from each of three schools of wizardry (Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beaux-batons), must complete three challenging magical tasks. The competitors must be at least 17 years old, but the Goblet of Fire that determines the champions mysteriously produces Harry's name, so he becomes an unwilling fourth contestant. Meanwhile, it is obvious to the boy's allies that the evil Voldemort will use the Tournament to get at Harry. This hefty volume is brimming with all of the imagination, humor, and suspense that characterized the first books. So many characters, both new and familiar, are so busily scheming, spying, studying, worrying, fulminating, and suffering from unrequited first love that it is a wonder that Rowling can keep track, much less control, of all the plot lines. She does, though, balancing humor, malevolence, school-day tedium, and shocking revelations with the aplomb of a circus performer. The Triwizard Tournament itself is a bit of a letdown, since Harry is able, with a little help from his friends and even enemies, to perform the tasks easily. This fourth installment, with its deaths, a sinister ending, and an older and more shaken protagonist, surely marks the beginning of a very exciting and serious battle between the forces of light and dark, and Harry's fans will be right there with him.
Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Best H.P. Book!
This,In My Opinion Is The Best Book.It definitly Is Where It Goes Into a
darker genre of books.I Would Just About Recommend This Exciting,Page-
turner,to just about anyone!

Torn on how to rate it -- good plot advancement, interesting characters but huge plot hole
Summary:
This is the 4th book in the Harry Potter series. It follows the same style, darkening tone, similar formulas as the prior three books -- new mode of transport / new magic device, new Dark Arts Teacher that is obviously a bad guy and nice convenient wrap-up of the various elements introduced. I would have given this 5 stars if there is not the huge plothole of why does Harry have to be the winner of the Triwizard tournament when undercover Death Eater could have just given Harry a Potkey at anyone point in the year.

Setting:
Rowling continues to develop a great fantasty milieu for YA (Young adults). The world is a great combination of mundane and magical. The World Cup of Quiddich is inspired and does a great job of showing the extent of the wizard world around the globe. The interface between Muggles and Wizards could use a bit of work as the method shown in the book is clearly problematic for keeping the wizard world secret.

Characters:
The main characters do advance a certain amount but still a bit on the thin side. The introduction of boy-girl relationships is an interesting element and needed given the age of the characters. Harry and Ron are clearly thick with regards to Hermiene. It is unfortunate but a needed part of a boy growing up. Hermiene is handled quite well and show an advanced maturity fitting her character (she even has some fun for a change).

Action:
The action is consistent in tone and description from the prior books. Harry is entered into the Tri-wizards tournament by someone else to get him lured into dangerous situations. Note: this is a lame plot device for getting him to Valdamort. The tests could have been a bit more difficult / interesting -- the dragon task description is a bit thin for my taste and the maze was clearly there just to get some Harry character development and move him to Valdamort. The confrontation in the graveyard was well done and helped save a poor plot device.

Prose:
The prose style is basically the same from prior three novels with a bit of expansion that is done nicely in the first part of the book. The World Cup of Quiddich is very well done.

Summary:
Overall: 3 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Characters: 2.5 stars
Action: 2.5 stars
Prose: 2.5 to 3 stars

the book is great but Jim Dale's narration is AWFUL!!
I love all of the Harry Potter books and think that JK Rowling is a master storyteller, but whoever decided that Jim Dale would be a good narrator for this series was seriously mistaken. Aside from the fact that he makes almost all of the characters sound like they are from the East End of London and have a mouth full of bread (aside from Hermione and Ginny who he makes WHINE all of the time), he also mispronounces many of the words, which is quite annoying. He says "Voldermort" without pronouncing the "t", and "accio" as assio, just to name a few! I mean, did they actually have JK Rowling listen to his reading before they hired him to do the WHOLE series??? If it is at all possible, DON'T waste your money on this audio of Harry Potter, go on Amazon.co.uk and get the version read by Stephen Fry. He reads this series the way they are supposed to be read!!! Stephen Fry is FANTASTIC!