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The Barnes & Noble Review
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.
--Douglas Clegg
Douglas Clegg is the author of several books, including the Bram Stoker-award winning collection, The Nightmare Chronicles, and the novels You Come When I Call You and The Halloween Man. He lives near Manhattan and also enjoys a good game of Quidditch now and then.
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.
Clegg
October 2000,/i>
Harry Potter IV
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the pivotal fourth novel in the seven-part tale of Harry Potter's training as a wizard and his coming-of-age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He also wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place this year at Hogwarts, an occasion involving two other rival schools of magic and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years. Harry just wants to be a normal, 14-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for our hero, he's not normal -- even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.
Read our review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and be sure to join us for a rare, always-worth-the-wait, live chat with J. K. Rowling!
Hogwarts and All
You've been waiting for this one, haven't you?
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, his uncle Vernon, and his 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 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 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 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 again has proved her international success seems inevitable -- from the first page of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the story soars. It is beautifully written, with a strong narrative and fascinating, unforgettable characters. There is not a reader in the world who won't love this book. The novel is long -- more than 700 pages -- but 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.
--Douglas Clegg
Douglas Clegg is the author of several books, including the Bram Stoker Award-winning collection The Nightmare Chronicles and the novels You Come When I Call You and The Halloween Man. He lives near Manhattan and also enjoys a good game of Quidditch now and then.
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)
