Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I’ve read this book, now, 4-5 times since it came out. I’ve never written a review for it and i’ve never written a review for a book i’m re-reading. This one seems special to me though. The movie version is abhorrent and i just cannot resist making observations.

This is either my favorite HP book or second favorite. I’ve always liked the expansion of the HP world that happens in this book where we learn that other wizarding schools exist, we get to see wizards outside of Hogwarts at the Quidditch World Cup, the themes of racism and slavery emerge strongly, Rowling uses her awesome powers of misdirection again to teach us lessons, the plot to bring Voldemort back and kill Harry thickens, etc., etc. it also contains the most show more infuriating subplots in the series- Ron’s turning his back on Harry.

The book just feels more realized than its predecessors, like the characters and the world Rowling has created has finally taken on a certain depth. There’s so much happening on so many different levels it’s difficult to track. The fact that Harry’s name gets put into the Goblet by someone is really something to stop and ponder. He’s the one who stopped Voldemort. He’s had several dangerous adventures already, all revolving around Voldemort. He had enemies. Real world enemies that are no joke. They want him dead. Suddenly, a powerful magic item like the Goblet is made to malfunction and force Harry into another dangerous situation. It’s really messed up when you think about it. The menace that this provides for the backdrop of this story tends to get lost in the excitement felt surrounding the tournament itself, in the champions figuring out how to surmount each challenge, the blooming teenage hormonally motivated behaviors. It’s a complex story, more than Azkaban with it’s time-turner and Sirius twist. Woven like a tapestry.

We also get to see greatness. Harry squares off against Voldemort himself. He “meets” his parents, Cedric behaves like a hero, Snape steps forward and REVEALS himself as a former Death Eater to the whole gang and shoulders the burden Dumbledore lays on him without a twitch, Molly Weasley hugs Harry like a mother, Hermione PWNS Rita Skeeter… powerful emotions and characters are unleashed in this book. I recall now why i loved it.

Then there’s the movie. Completely destroys the richness of the book in a crude attempt to cater to a teenage audience and make it almost into a comedy. Several characters integral to the plot are dropped completely from the movie (eg Ludo Bagman, Winky), scenes are added that make no sense (eg the Hungarian horntail getting loose and NO ONE trying to stop it!!, the dance practice, extended Yule Ball). Those characters that remain are often portrayed extremely out of character (eg Dumbledore’s assaulting Harry after he’s named 4th champion, Hermione being the outraged one when she goes to the Yule Ball with Krum instead of Ron) or are given greater roles than they should (eg Moody and Crouch). It’s one of those times when i have to ask myself “why the f**k would they change that?” it’s really a completely different story. It’s like an alternate history of the Goblet of Fire. In the time they spent on the dance practice and the dragon chase hey could have included all of the aforementioned elements. However, there are SO MANY critiques of this movie out there on the web, i’ll refrain from adding more to it and let you search for yourself.

Unfortunately, the movie stands tall and salient in pop culture rather than the book. Maybe the strongest book of the series turned into the weakest movie. show less

Re-read for the first time in over a decade - I forgot how much of an ending it has! But first:
This is the first of the series that doesn't start with Harry at Privet Drive; instead, we see Voldemort and Wormtail and an unfortunate Muggle. Harry wakes from a dream with his scar hurting. He soon leaves Privet Drive with the Weasleys, who have scored tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. They travel there by Portkey and it's an exciting match, but marred afterward by Death Eaters marching through the crowd and someone sending up the Dark Mark.

At Hogwarts, it is announced that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place this year, with one champion each from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. The age limit to enter is 17, but someone show more sneaks Harry's name into the cup and he is chosen as the fourth champion, making him very unpopular (and rather nervous). He is helped throughout year by Ron and Hermione, of course, but also by the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mad-Eye Moody, and by the house-elf Dobby, who is now working in the Hogwarts kitchens. (Hermione has taken up the house-elf cause and founded the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare.) The first challenge is dragons; the second, rescuing an important person from under the lake, where they are guarded by mermaids; the third and final, navigating through a hedge maze to reach the Triwizard Cup.

But the cup is a portkey, and as Harry and Cedric grasp it together, they are transported to Tom Riddle's grave, where Wormtail and Voldemort are waiting for them. They kill Cedric and tie Harry up while Voldemort calls his Death Eaters to him and then duels Harry, but their wand cores create an unusual effect: Harry's wand forces Voldemort's to reveal the spells it has used, and echoes of the people he's killed emerge. Cedric, Bertha Jorkins, and Harry's parents protect him while he races for Cedric's body and the cup, which will transport him back to Hogwarts.

But the night isn't over; Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort is back, and Moody drags Harry off to his office - where he reveals that he isn't Moody at all, but Barty Crouch, Jr., who is supposed to have died in Azkaban years ago. Dumbledore and McGonagall arrive in time to rescue Harry, and Harry gets to tell the entire story - but the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge refuses to believe that Voldemort is back. The end-of-term feast is a somber affair.

One bright note: on the train home, Hermione reveals that she's caught the awful reporter Rita Skeeter; she's an unregistered Animagus. show less

Ah, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, one of my favorite books. I rarely give something above a 7; I only reserve that for special things, and this is definitely one of them.

Where do I begin? Firstly, I loved the international aspect of this book. Honestly, if you were reading this series for the first time, you'd be asking yourself why you hadn't thought of it beforehand. I think this was the perfect time to introduce that aspect of this series: right smack-bang in the middle. The reader has had enough time to learn about the basics of the magical world and is now ready to go above and beyond, exploring the wonders of this magical world.

I loved the Triwizard Tournament, the Yule Ball, and the Quidditch World Cup. They all kept me show more thoroughly entertained throughout this 700-page monster. I was barely bored. I would say the only time I was bored was during the first 100 or so pages, when there wasn't much happening besides the usual: Harry living with the Dursleys and escaping to go live somewhere else temporarily before returning to Hogwarts. I find it almost impossible to get bored at any section of these books that takes place within Hogwarts (so, the majority of them). This place is just so damn wonderful and exciting. There are always new things to discover, and J.K. Rowling creates tons of interesting scenarios to keep you hooked in (e.g. Harry getting caught in the trick stair.)

However, my absolute favorite thing about this book is the main storyline. It is phenomenal. You get a hint at what's happening in the very first chapter. Then, for the rest of the book, you delve deeper and deeper into the mystery, trying to figure out what is happening. Of course, you are kept entertained by the Triwizard Tournament and tons of comedy. However, just when you think the Tournament is about to end, you're brought right back to the main storyline, and you find out, with your jaw on the floor, how it was all connected. You learn about how a Death Eater has been stationed at Hogwarts, carrying out an intricate plan that would ultimately result in Harry Potter ending at the clutch of Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew, allowing Voldemort to finally conclude his plan and return to power. It has become a common occurrence, as you may have noted, that I always find myself blown away by the major plot twists in the end. However, this one is doubly good because, as soon as Harry escapes Voldemort, you immediately find out who the Death Eater was the whole time: Barty Crouch Jr., impersonation Mad-Eye Moody. Then, you learn about his entire story, and your jaw drops a second time. If this book ALONE doesn't convince you that J.K. Rowling is one of the greatest mystery writers of all time, then I don't know what will.

As I said, the first sections of these books are always really boring to me; however, there is so much good that comes after them that I almost completely forget they ever happened. I just get so engrossed in the overarching storyline, the incredible characters and their development, the exciting action, and the wonderful themes that get darker and more mature with every entry. show less

Conclusions I came to while rereading this book:

>> Hogwarts needs a better librarian--or, at least, Madam Pince desperately needs a few cataloging courses and several years to put that library in proper order.

>> Dumbledore needs to have a private tea with teachers on the first day of school to make sure everyone is still who they say they are--no unexpected changes over the summer, like forgetting shared experiences or suddenly refusing to take off a new turban.

>> The magical world leads a logic liaison for SO many reasons...not least of which:
...there are so many ways Harry could have fulfilled the tournament's "binding magical contract" without actually doing the tasks.
...adults are subjecting teenagers to binding magical show more contracts at risk of their lives.

>> Hermione needs to drop SPEW and found the a group for the prevention of cruelty to children, because Snape is incredibly abusive and should not be allowed within 100 miles of Hogwarts.

>> Wizards need to remember spells they've just mastered--like, say, summoning--for when they're caught in dark hallways with sensitive items in sight but just out of reach. Seriously.

>> They also need to accept that if it's not ridiculous to summon a broom from a dormitory, it's probably not ridiculous to summon a pocket knife from the same dormitory.

>> Everyone should always carry a small pocket knife.

>> Eager to return to your beloved evil overlord? No need to wait! Make that golden egg a portkey during the first task, avoid any chance of someone else getting to it first, and raise your own Dark Lord today!

>> Are you on the run? Found your old, abusive boss at his most vulnerable? Think he's the only one who can protect you from the old allies you betrayed? First, think about what it's going to cost you in dignity, pain, and actual human flesh to stay with him...then consider trading your boss's location for amnesty. Duh!

Of course, I say all of this with the greatest love and affection! Those five stars should make it obvious, but just in case...

I'm amazed how fast these books are going, but at least ten years of reading more advanced things will do that. I'm also amazed how suspenseful things get even when I know what's going to happen--the sign of a good book! That said, I'm also having trouble overcoming some of the stylistic quirks. I've noticed before that books I read when I was younger have very short sentences, and Harry Potter is no exception, but I've also been a bit annoyed by the punctuation throughout the series so far. Commas and semicolons aren't used consistently and some of the fragments don't seem intentional. There are a lot of dashes--which I have to forgive to avoid being hypocritical--and Rowling has eased back on them since the second book, but the capitalization and sentence structure around them makes me twitch. A dash should not be used to end a sentence when you start a new one immediately after! I mean, it can, but I didn't see any examples that really justified doing it.

The experiment with imagining Harry as part Indian and Hermione as black has had mixed results so far. Sometimes I do well, but then I'll be reading a scene and suddenly realize that I'm back to my old visualization of white Harry or Hermione. One thing I've noticed is that when I do focus on seeing them differently, I've been better able to age them up or down. On my first read through, everyone pretty much "looked" the same the whole way through--but now that I've lived through being all these ages myself, it's easier to "see" the differences between 11-year-old and 14-year-old boys and girls.

I've also been trying to reimagine characters based on their actual descriptions. My mom pointed out, for example, that Snape, Lupin, Sirius, and Peter are probably only in their 30s--if we assume that Lily and James had Harry around age 20. I definitely imagined them older, and the movies certainly cast older actors. It's pretty remarkable how young so many of the key adults are in these books!

I'm also developing a far greater appreciation for Molly Weasley. I mean, I loved her as a character before...but she so genuinely cares about Harry, and is one of the few people who do. Hagrid too, but Molly is really developing a special place in my heart. She's so busy, has so many kids, but still has so much love to spare for one more.

I would like to close with a rant about...my least favorite cover in the entire series. Marie Grand Pre, darling, I love you artwork so much, but this cover has seemed stupid to me since I picked it up with my grandma the first day it was available in the US. Part of this is just because I hate pictures of people looking right out at me, part of it is how much it looks like a movie poster, and a big part of it is that the cover looks so cheery compared to how stressed and dark the book is throughout. The first three books were definitely exciting adventures for kids...but Harry and his readers were going up at this point, and things were getting more serious. The cover should have too. Mostly, though, its how darn realistic Harry is compared to everything else on the cover and every other cover in the series. We've gone from the gorgeous, soft stylization of the first few covers (and even the lovely background characters on this cover) and the next three to something that looks almost like a portrait. Even the last book isn't aiming so completely for realism.

I wonder what she'd do if she had a chance to redraw all the covers? I'd love to see the color theme she had going for the fifth and sixth books carried throughout.

On to The Order of the Phoenix! show less

Believe it or not - yes, I finally read the fourth book in the Harry Potter series, a book which made me anticipate the next three installments in the series even more eagerly. A Harry Potter book is no book you simply read; it is a book you are allowed to live in. I don't know any fantasy world which feels as realistic as this one. While the first three books were comparatively short, this one was - so far - the longest with 766 pages. 766 pages? It felt like 300, considering my pace while rushing through this book.
Please choose wisely before reading this review. There are no specific spoilers, but in case you haven't read the first four books in the series, you might want to turn away from this review.

Until now, The Goblet of Fire was show more the Harry Potter book I enjoyed most because it managed to find the perfect point of balance between the dark, gloomy and complex plot elements surrounding the return of Vol ... sorry, You Know Who, and the light-hearted, funny scenes which managed to conjure a smile on my face whenever another one of those appeared during the course of the book. Still I couldn't bring myself to rate this with five stars, as there were quite a few things which bothered me. (And yes, I know that I am getting myself in severe danger right now with saying this. I will better take to my heels and run as fast as I can after posting this review.)

First of all, in case you have not already realized this during The Prisoner of Azkaban, the Harry Potter series is far away from being a children's book series anymore. Especially in the beginning and the ending, horror elements outweigh everything else, crying at the reader, "This is no children's book you are reading anymore!" Well, then why does J.K. Rowling still constantly fall back to the habit of using childish language? A short search of the story brought up nearly 1,400 exclamation marks. And everytime I stumbled upon yet another one, the only thing I could think of was this picture ...



But well, by now, I have developed a soft spot for Harry Potter books, and sometimes childish writing style is not that bad, just ... kind of annoying. However, quite a few other things bothered me while reading this book, and I will now try to go through them as fast as possible. After all, I have learned one thing about discussions in my school time which still stays with me - list the arguments your reader should forget about first, then he will be even more convinced by the positive arguments you will list afterwards.

► Rita Skeeter. I am sure just dropping her name makes a lot of fans of the series want her to meet a Dementor. However, the way she appeared made me think of her as a pure caricature, causing nothing but trouble, without being even the slightest bit complex, simply annoying and not the least obstacle to write as a character because of her one-dimensional appearance. I would have loved to see some more insight into her character, but sadly ... J.K. Rowling decided to just present us with a caricature.
► How could someone as dumb as Fudge be Minister for Magic? (That's no true criticism. After all, just look at some of our real world's politicians. And yet ... can someone please lock up Fudge right beside Rita?)
► The next tournament should include a World Cup of Perfection. Dumbledore would almost certainly win.
► Why isn't Hermione more prominent? Certain parts of the books made me wish for her character to have a more major role.

Now that the reasons for my 4-star-rating are out of the way, here comes what I loved about the book:

► DOBBY. I know there are quite a few people who didn't like his uncommon behavior, but I fell in love with him. He is probably the cutest and most adorable character of the entire series, and his actions are always based on good-hearted motivations. Go, Dobby!
► Socks that scream when they stink? Definitely my favorite moment of the book.
► DRAGONS!
► There are new characters, there are old characters, but they all have a certain depth. (No, Rita, I am not speaking of you.) I especially loved how the dynamics between Ron, Hermione and Harry were explored by throwing some obstacles for their friendships into the game. And this article perfectly highlights why Hermione should have a more prominent role in the books.
► The Triwizard Tournament was pure awesomeness. I loved every part of it, and I am not ashamed to admit it.
► (Almost) nothing is predictable in this series. I was so sure to find out Bagman is the true culprit, but ... J.K. Rowling took my prediction and shred it to pieces. (I only wish that my intention to predict things will not continue to be destroyed by spoilers people seem to carelessly leave all over the internet. I will leave a huge thank you right here to the person who spoiled all the upcoming deaths in the next three books to me ... in a review for the second Harry Potter book. Thank you.)
► There are actually signs of romance! Now let's hope there will be some more developments on the romantic level of these books, because even though I hate when romantic entanglements are thrown into the story just to make sure the reader roots for the oh-so perfect protagonists, these books need some romance. Harry, Ron and Hermione are teenagers now, and I totally want to see them discovering that children aren't born just because two people care about each other.
► I want more of Cho Chang. Seriously.
► Hagrid might not be as cute as Dobby, but he is certainly just as adorable.
► This has the best world-building ever. I never liked the fantasy genre; there was even a time which saw me absolutely and whole-heartedly loathing it.
And then I read Harry Potter.

Two final thoughts on this book:

An athlete: What was the most important moment in the history of sports?
Me: Viktor Krum caught the snitch, but Ireland won.

And finally ...




My reviews in the Harry Potter series:

1) [b:Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone|3|Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)|J.K. Rowling|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474154022l/3._SY75_.jpg|4640799]: Go to review
2) [b:Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets|15881|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)|J.K. Rowling|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474169725l/15881._SY75_.jpg|6231171]: Go to review
3) [b:Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|5|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)|J.K. Rowling|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499277281l/5._SY75_.jpg|2402163]: Go to review


Order of the Phoenix, here I come. show less

Hmmmmmmmmm. Going to write my review first and then decide what to rate this, see if I feel more enlightened. Rowling has a real skill that I don't understand in that she can keep a story interesting and readable even when I can't stop noticing huge flaws in the writing.

The BIGGEST issue with this book is that it doesn't seem to have been touched by an editor. I mean, I'm sure a basic edit was done to weed out typos but my God, a lot of this text should have been cut. Why is this book twice as long as the preceding books? What the hell happened? Somewhere between a quarter and a third of this book could have been, should have been cut. The story does not get going for a very long time and nearly everything at the start is superfluous show more to the plot. Then when we get to the ending, you get this huge swathe of exposition from one villain, only to be followed almost immediately by another huge swathe of exposition from another villain. It is frankly tedious and silly.

Then we have the usual issues, the stretching of a small amount of plot over an entire year even though it is totally illogical for the characters and lots of questions raised about magic that aren't really answered especially with the whole plot kinda being redundant in this one because none of it needed to happen if all they needed was a portkey. There's the ever-tedious explanations of plot from the previous three books. And then the awful, bloody attitude towards animals in which everyone in this world tortures and exploits them like they don't have feelings. And finally, the fact that I don't like any of these people. Every character, even the supposedly good ones, are horrible. Everyone is selfish and judgemental and mean and bullying. There is a real anti-intellect vibe too. Anyone who shows any desire to learn or to work hard (unless it is in something physical) is portrayed as an object of ridicule. Hermione is possibly the nicest person in the book and she is treated like a 'Britta'. With all the separation between girls and boys, the endless cruelty to animals and the bullying of 'keenness' I can only imagine how much I would have hated going to Hogwarts had I lived in this world.

So, lots of negatives. What's the positive? Dunno. It's just kind of readable anyway. The Yule Ball thing is completely pointless and yet it is a very accurate portrayal of what school prom was like. Having Harry have to face the tasks without his irritating sidekick was a blessing. Harry is infinitely more interesting when he is on his own. And then we have this tonal shift, where all of a sudden we're entering an arc plot. The first three books were pretty much stand-alone adventure stories. Now all of a sudden we're being poured into what I presume is going to be a four novel long arc battle story so once you're here, you're kind of guaranteed to read the rest of the series just to find out what happens.

I still don't know what rating to use. By all rights, this should only be 3 stars because it is so flawed, but I really didn't dislike it even though I know logically that I should have. So I guess it is another 4, but the lowest 4 of the lot so far. show less

First sentence: The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it "the Riddle House," even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there.

Premise/plot: Harry Potter returns (eventually) to Hogwarts where he and his friends discover several changes for the school year ahead. Before school returns, there is a Quidditch World Cup to be endured. It felt like the sporty Quidditch World Cup took up 800 pages. Once he (and his friends) return to Hogwarts and begin their studies again, the pace picks up a bit. One of the changes this year is the triwizard competition. Hogwarts is one of three schools participating. There is supposed to be one student per school. But someone has entered Harry's name into the goblet of show more fire and so he ends up being a 'champion' [participant]. Cedric Diggory is the other Hogwarts champion. [I don't remember the names from the other two schools.] This competition is spread out throughout the school year.
My thoughts: I feel like the first six-hundred pages were mostly dull and ho-hum. I think the last bit of the novel has all the action and suspense. Out of the four novels I've read so far, this has been the dullest all things considered. All things being taking the book as a whole. There were definitely intense, action-packed, emotional scenes/chapters. But does THAT end-portion make up for all the sporty-sport-sport bit at the start???? I'm not sure. This was the first Harry Potter book where I've had to force myself to keep reading to get to the end of it.

ETA: I had forgotten--almost--how much I disliked this one, OR, at least the start of this one. This one is like THREE different books. There is the EXTREMELY LONG AND BARELY NECESSARY "prologue" of the sporting world championship bit, AND there is the normal, formulaic school semesters bit, and then there is the super compelling, well-paced, ABSOLUTELY absorbing and completely and totally necessary bit that CHANGES EVERYTHING. Like the whole series pivots thanks to the last hundred or so pages of this one. But it takes FOREVER for the good bit to come. show less