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Harry Potter is back in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and this time, the magic gets out of hand!
First, imagine if you will, the sleepy but mysterious village of Little Hangleton, and what happened at the Riddle House. No, the Riddle House is not a place for riddles, but a home where the family died of fright. The man accused of murdering them was eventually released, but when he returns to the Riddle House, he overhears a curious conversation between someone named Wormtail and a terrible, dark presence by the name of Lord Voldemort -- oh, so sorry…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Volde... (oops, almost said it again) He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is one of the most powerful Dark wizards -- and he wants Harry Potter.
When Harry wakes from a particularly vivid dream, the scar on his forehead throbs, and he knows something is up. Harry's been living in a dreadful house on Privet Drive with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and greedy cousin, Dudley. They won't even let him do any wizardry -- you know Muggles, how they can't really handle that kind of stuff.
Harry's uncle and aunt like to let the neighbors think that Harry goes to St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys rather than to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He has to hide his magic -- and even broomsticks aren't a suitable topic of conversation in the Dursley household. But everything is about to change for Harry, beginning with this particular summer vacation.
It starts with a letter from Mrs. Weasley, Harry's friend Ron's mother. She invites him to come spend the rest of the summer with the Weasleys and to go see the Quidditch World Cup. Quidditch is Harry's favorite sport in the world, and it isn't often that the Quidditch World Cup is in Britain. Faster than you can say "Hogwarts," Harry travels by fire to the Burrow, and the dark and threatening adventure begins.
On the way, Harry discovers that his interest in girls is becoming more nerve-wracking -- how is a young wizard to ask a girl to the Yule Ball? And what of the Goblet of Fire itself? And the Triwizard Tournament? And then, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might be seeking Harry out even now!
Who can resist a Harry Potter tale? J. K. Rowling has proven again that her international success seemed inevitable. It is beautifully written, with a strong narrative and fascinating, unforgettable characters, and there is not a child or adult in the world who won't love this story. Not one word is wasted.
Now, my only problem is I need to find Harry so I can start classes at Hogwarts, soon. I sent him a message by owl, just this morning.
Rebekah Denn
...keeps up the awesome inventiveness, deadpan humor and gripping pace of previous installments....As usual, Rowling flawlessly knits her plotlines together, with seemingly casual early details taking on meaningful force by the end.
— Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Daily Record
Potter enthusiasts will not be disappointed. Here are all the old friends, the funny creatures, the magic, the thrills and the laughs that are the ingredients of Rowling's fabulous success.
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.
Janet Maslin
As the midpoint in a projected seven-book series, Goblet of Fire is exactly the big, clever, vibrant, tremendously assured installment that gives shape and direction to the whole undertaking and still somehow preserves the material's enchanting innocence. This time Ms. Rowling offers her clearest proof yet of what should have been wonderfully obvious: what makes the Potter books so popular is the radically simple fact that they're so good.
— New York Times
Sarah Johnson
Once again, Rowling packs the pages with witty and imaginative ideas....Fourth year report? Another fine year, Ms Rowling. Three more to go and it looks as though your OWLS (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) results will be terrific.
— Times (London)
Jabari Asim
J.K. Rowling has not lost her touch. The fourth in her series starring the courageous young wizard is just as absorbing as its celebrated predecessors.
— Washington Post
Chicago Tribune
Rowling has a way of making the wildest, most whimsically unlikely conventions and scenarios seem utterly plausible, of creating a world so convincing that you don't even stop to question the existence of flying broomsticks and invisibility cloaks.
Associated Press
As usual, Rowling has written a fast-paced story full of surprises. Just when the traitor at Hogwarts seems obvious, it turns out to be someone else. When death strikes, it's a shock. Readers might think they know who's on what side and what they're after, but don't be too sure. Rowling is really good at turning smoking guns into red herrings....So, how long until book five?
Robert McCrum
[T]his is storytelling of a high order indeed. It draws the reader in with a riddle and a letter. It proceeds through a series of trials to a great confrontation. And it concludes with a death and a climactic resolution. E.M. Forster famously observed that, 'Yes - oh dear, yes - the novel tells a story'. HP IV is the apotheosis of 'story.'
— Guardian
Charles Taylor
Children (and many of us who aren't) have been so anxious for the fourth installment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series because they are caught up in a breathless adventure, because they have learned to ask the most vital and essential question any reader can: What happens next? "But," the still-puzzled persist, "aren't there other children's books that are just as good?" Perhaps. But for kids, "Harry Potter" is of their time, something that will always be theirs instead of a legacy left to them by a previous generation....Like all great fantasy sagas, the Harry Potter books have grown narratively, morally and psychologically more complex as the series progresses. There is a special pressure on a writer who midway through a series finds herself entrusted with the imagination of a huge number of readers. That Rowling has done nothing to break that faith seems a deed as brave and noble as any her hero has accomplished.
— Salon
Stephen King
The
Harry Potter series is a supernatural version of ''Tom Brown's
Schooldays,'' updated and given a hip this-is-how-kids-really-are shine.
And Harry is the kid most children feel themselves to be, adrift in a world
of unimaginative and often unpleasant adults -- Muggles, Rowling calls
them -- who neither understand them nor care to. Harry is, in fact, a male
Cinderella, waiting for someone to invite him to the ball. In Potter 1, his
invitation comes first by owl (in the magic world of J. K. Rowling, owls
deliver the mail) and then by Sorting Hat; in the current volume it comes
from the Goblet of Fire, smoldering and shedding glamorous sparks. How
nice to be invited to the ball! Even for a relatively old codger like me, it's
still nice to be invited to the ball.
— New York Times Book Review
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Ages 9-12 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. Copyright 2000, Cahners Business Information.|
School Library Journal
Gr 4 Up-Harry Potter is back in J.K. Rowling's fourth installment of his adventures (Scholastic, 2000). He is 14 years old and in his fourth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the traditional Inter-House Quidditch Cup has been temporarily suspended so that the Triwizard Tournament can be held. Only three students, one from each of the biggest schools of wizardry, may compete, but the Goblet of Fire that chooses the champions from each school mysteriously produces a fourth name--Harry Potter. As the school readies for the tournament, it becomes obvious to Harry's allies that Voldemort is plotting something dastardly--but only at the very end does he show his hand, springing a trap that Harry only narrowly escapes. Jim Dale, who has narrated the previous Harry Potter audiobooks, succeeds marvelously at the Herculean effort of voicing about 125 characters. By now, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid are so well known to him that his renditions of their voices are practiced and flawless. He also invests new characters such as Mad-Eye Moody and Winky with voices that enhance their already vivid personalities. Dale intones magical commands with such great authority that one would almost think he was a wizard himself. Twenty hours is a long time to listen to a book, but the combination of Rowling's enthralling adventure and Dale's limber narration will easily see kids through to the very last sentence.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library, CA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Kristen Baldwin
...anything but boring.
—Entertainment Weekly
Robert Allen Papinchak
The legend continues. Rowling's audacious series about the world's most beloved boy wizard moves into classic mode when fourteen-year-old Harry encounters his most daring challenges so far, confronting You-Know-Who and overcoming a daunting series of tasks in the process. Rowling's wisely inventive twist on the previous books is to eschew the ponderous exposition that halted the openings of books Two and Three, The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban. Instead, she provides a powerhouse opening chapter that lays the groundwork for the spellbinding twists and turns that follow. Harry knows disaster surrounds him even as he sets off with his favorite family, the Weasleys, for the four hundred twenty-second Quidditch World Cup Final Match against Ireland and Bulgaria, a speedy but heart-stopping event. Later, at Hogwarts, the students discover that the annual interschool quidditch matches are displaced by an even greater competition, the Triwizard Tournament. When Harry's name is drawn from the goblet of fire--despite the fact that he is underage--he endures Herculean tasks that test magical prowess, daring, powers of deduction and the ability to cope with danger. All of this moves inexorably toward a definitive, horrifying face-off with Lord Voldemort. Rowling balances the darkness of the novel with some delightfully raucous highlights. Every reader will have his favorite book in the series. Some might find Rowling overloading the goodies in this one, but, in this case, more is better. What a shame to have to wait another year to find out what happens next.
Kirkus Reviews
As the bells and whistles of the greatest prepublication hoopla in children's book history fade, what's left in the clearing smoke is—unsurprisingly, considering Rowling's track record—another grand tale of magic and mystery, of wheels within wheels oiled in equal measure by terror and comedy, featuring an engaging young hero-in-training who's not above the occasional snit, and clicking along so smoothly that it seems shorter than it is. Good thing, too, with this page count. That's not to say that the pace doesn't lag occasionally—particularly near the end when not one but two bad guys halt the action for extended accounts of their misdeeds and motives—or that the story lacks troubling aspects. As Harry wends his way through a fourth year of pranks, schemes, intrigue, danger and triumph at Hogwarts, the racial and class prejudice of many wizards moves to the forefront, with hooded wizards gathering to terrorize an isolated Muggle family in one scene while authorities do little more than wring their hands. There's also the later introduction of Hogwarts' house elves as a clan of happy slaves speaking nonstandard English. These issues may be resolved in sequels, but in the meantime, they are likely to leave many readers, particularly American ones, uncomfortable. Still, opening with a thrilling quidditch match, and closing with another wizardly competition that is also exciting, for very different reasons, this sits at the center of Rowling's projected seven volume saga and makes a sturdy, heartstopping (doorstopping) fulcrum for it. (Fiction. All ages)
From the Publisher
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"Readers are in for a delightful romp with this award-winning debut from a British author who dances in the footsteps of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl. There is enchantment, suspense, and danger galore (as well as enough creepy creatures to satisfy the most bogey-men-loving readers, and even a magical game of soccerlike Quidditch to entertain the sports fans). —-Publishers Weekly, starred reviewHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"the magical foundation so necessary in good fantasy, are as expertly crafted here as in the first book." —Booklist, starred review Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban "Isn't it reassuring that some things just get better and better?"—School Library Journal Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"Rowling seems to have the spell-casting powers she assigns her characters: this fourth volume might be her most thrilling yet. Rowling plants the red herrings, the artful clues and tricky surprises that disarm the most attentive audience. The muscle-building heft of this volume notwithstanding, the clamor for book five will begin as soon as readers finish installment four."—Publishers Weekly starred review— July, 2000"Harry is now l4 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, Durinstrang, 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 revelantions with the aplomb of a circus performer. The Triwizard Tournament itself is 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 baffle between the forces of light and dark, and Harry's fans will be right there with him".-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library—School Library Journal, August 2000" Was it worth the long, agonizing wait and all the hype and hoopla? You bet! Harry's fourth challenging experience willmore than live up to his myriad fans' expectations—though the 734 pages divided into 37 chapters may be a bit daunting to your readers. The very length, however, allows an even richer tapestry of magical events and humorous escapades, even as the tale takes the long-predicted darker turn. . . . Any inclination towards disbelief on the part of readers is swept away by the very brilliance of the writing. The carefully created world of magic becomes more embellished and layered, while the amazing plotting ties up loose ennds, even as it sets in motion more entanglements. The long climax races relentlessly to a stunning denouement that leaves the way open for the next episode. Le the anticipation begin." Sally Estes—Booklist, August 2000, starred review"As the bells and whistles of the greates prepublication hoopla in children's book history fade, what's left in the clearing smoke is—unsurprisingly, considering Rowling's track record—another grand tale of magic and mystery, of wheels within wheels oiled in equal measure by terror and comedy, feature an engaging young hero-in training who's not above the occasional snit, and clicking along so smoothly that it seems shorter than it is. Good thing too, with this page count. That's not to say that the pace doesn't lag occasionally-particualrly near the end when not one but two bad guys halt the action for extended accounts of their misdeads and motives—or that the story lacks troubling aspects. As Harry wends his way through a fourh year of pranks, schemes, intrigue, danger and triumph at Hogwarts, the racial and class prejudice of many wizards moves to the forefront, with godded wizards gathering to terrorize and isolated Muggle family in one scene while authorites do litle more than wring their hands. There's also the later introduction of Hogwart's house elves as a clan of happy slaves spaking nonstandard English. These issues may be resolved in sequels, but in the meantime, they are likely to leave many readers, particularly American ones, uncomfortable. Still, opening with a thrilling quidditch match, and closing with another wizardly competiton that is also exciting, for very different reasons, this sits at the center of Rowling's profected seven-volum saga and makes a sturdy, heartsopping (and doorstopping) fulcrum for it." —Kirkus Reviews, August 21, 2000 The fourth book in the Harry Potter phenomenon, at 734 pages, is what you call a wallow-one that some will find wide-ranging, compellingly written, and absorbing; others, rambling, tortuously fraught with adverbs, and unnecessarily long. Year Four at Hogwarts finds Harry enjoined as the surprising fourth contestant in the Triwizard Tournament—"a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry"-during which he bests a dragon, rescues Ron from merpeople, and finds his way through a maze that, unbeknownst to Dumbledore and the powers of Good, leads to the Dark wizard Voldernort and to the death of one of the other contestants. Before and in between the book's major action (the tournament is not announced until page 186, and Harry's involvement not until page 271), Rowling explores her major theme of Good vs. Evil and her minor themes of the value of loyalty and moral courage and the evils of yellow journalism, oppression, and bigotry. We find out, for instance, that Hagrid is not just oversized but part-giant, which is considered a shameful heritage; we see Hermione being taunted as a "mudblood' for her mixed Muggle-wizard parentage. Rowling's, emphasis here is much less on school life (not a single inter-house Quidditch match!) and much more on the wider wizard world and, simultaneously, on Harry's more narrow, personal world, as he has his first fight with Ron and asks a girl to his first dance. But on the whole, the emotional impact is disappointingly slight. The death of the Hogwarts student causes nary a lift of the reader's, eyebrow; the complicated explanation for Voldemort's infiltration of Hogwarts is fairly preposterous and impossible to work out from the clues given. The characterization, as well, seems to be getting thinner, with Dumbledore in particular reduced to a caricature of geniality. As a transitional book, however, Goblet of Fire does its job—thoroughly if facilely-and raises some tantalizing questions. Will Snape really turn out to be one of the good guys? What's the connection between Harry and Voldemort's wands, between Harry and Voldermort himself. When Harry tells his tale of Voldemort's return, what does the fleeting gleam of triumph in Dumbledore's eyes signify? Stay tuned, Pottermaniacs, for Year Five. M.V.P.—The Horn Book, Nov/Dec 2000
OCT/NOV 00 - AudioFile
What’s wonderful about the Harry Potter stories is the believability of the world Harry and company inhabit, imagined by J.K. Rowling and fully realized through Jim Dale’s portrayal. At first, we were as awed as Harry to learn about the wonders of the magical world; now we’re as comfortable with what has become familiar. Dale fosters this expectation, bringing his symphony of voices back to each book even as he’s adding more. There’s an epic game of Quidditch, brought brilliantly into play as Dale narrates spectators and announcer alike, but overall, this is a darker adventure. As the Tri-Wizard Tournament unfolds, innocence gives way to knowledge and experience, trust is betrayed, and there’s as much horror as hilarity. (Some gruesome events near the conclusion might be frightening for younger listeners.) Harry’s growing up, and, with this installment, he’s firmly on course to his destiny. J.M.D. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award, 2001 Grammy Award Winner for Best Spoken Word Album for Children © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine
