Rating: Summary: It needs more than five stars! It's AMAZING! Review: WOW! THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ YET (of course, excluding book 5!). The most brilliant book Rowling has wrote yet. The Triwizard Tournament has started and..... well, I wont give so much away..... but he comes in contact with Voldermort (OOOOOH! Oh, stop it!) and meets Diggory and...... well, just read the book! This is the best one yet due to the fantastic story and cool new characters. read the damn book!
Rating: Summary: A bit long but still great Review: Book 4 in a series of 7.Harry gets invited to the Quidditch World Cup until to find that someone has made the Dark Mark up in the sky, which is the sign of Voldemort. Harry returns to school having to deal with Snape again and questions about the mark. The school announces there will not be a Quidditch tournament this year, but a Triwizard Tournament, a gathering among 3 schools including Hogwarts to vie for the Champion. It's always been 3 however Harry's name gets pulled out of the Goblet of Fire(kind of like those cases with the lottery balls you see on tv) and everyone starts to hate him, including a special friend. Is somebody out to get him? While this can be a bit long and a bit dark, this is one of the better reads and highly recommended.(P.S: the Raincrest/Bloomsbury covers are much better looking than the Scholastic ones)
Rating: Summary: Harry Potter Mania! Review: This book was one of my favorites! I loved all the other three books, and this one was NO EXCEPTION! Some of the Quidditch scenes were very engrossing and the new characters were inetresting. J.K. Rowling wrote this book in a very interesting way too. She shows Harry's emotions very well. When Harry gets angry, I believe that I can almost feel the way Harry does. The book is about Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, where he and his friends encounter all sorts pf adventures, such as a TriWizard Tournament, a new defense against the dark arts teacher, and of course, "he-who-must-not-be-named." I give this book two thumbs up! :-)
Rating: Summary: bigger and better Review: i am sure that those people who have not yet read the harry potter books will be wondering what all the fuss is about. no doubt some are shaking their heads and putting j.k.rowling's success to over-inflated media hype, a frenzy whipped up by bookshops and publishers to make as much money as possible. i have to tell those people they are mistaken. the first couple of books had hardly any publicity at all. they became popular because kids (and some adults) loved them. the word spread in playgrounds throughout the country and *then* when the third was published, bookshops realised they were on to a winner. joanne rowling herself seems very uncomfortable with the amount of publicity this, the fourth in the series, is generating. i suppose cynics may say that the millions rolling into her bank account may help ease the pain; but she comes across as a thoughtful, protective (of harry's character and her own daughter) and quite shy woman, who is just as surprised as everyone else at the media frenzy over her books. anyway, what really matters is the book itself. no matter how much you hype a book, if the readers' don't think it's up to standard, nothing can save it. it is a tribute to rowling's talent, then, that this latest offering is simply brilliant! she could so easily have churned out a rubbishy moneymaker, but this is by far (in my opinion) the best so far. not only that, this a whopper of a book - well over double the size of the others. i am thrilled to think kids all over the country are learning that huge books can be fun, too. it should also quash the popular opinion that 'kids today have three second attention spans and only want to play video games'... i love the way rowling lets harry and his friends grow up, at the same pace as her younger fans. this is no 'childhood purity' tale, as those of enid blyton, where the characters never change, never experience growing pains or doubts or insecurities. Harry is 14 years old, and so she writes about acne and jealousy and noticing that girls are actually ok (even fanciable). She writes about turbulent changes with humour, empathy and sincere understanding - and yet she is never patronising, never lectures. Rowling is like a cross between Roald Dahl (with her sarcastic look at adults and the humour that works on so many levels) and Charles Dickens (with the wonderfully evocative names she gives her characters). She deserves every bit of glory the media afford her. This book has some very complex issues, some really dark themes to deal with, and they work brilliantly on all levels. There is slapstick humour, mystery and intrigue, a good dose of fantasy and a dark splash of horror. I think this is the most intelligent, wonderful book I've read so far this year. Rowling deserves to be known as a fantastic author, full stop - not just labeled as a 'kids author'.
Rating: Summary: It was Wonderful Review: The Goblet of Fire was a fantastic story. It held my attention until the end. I read it in a day because it was so hard to put down. Harry and his friends are like family, especially if you've read ALL the books. They are awesome.
Rating: Summary: Loved It! Review: I thought the fourth book was awesome. I just got done reading it. It only took me about a week to read, if I didn't have classes it would have taken me less. I am now starting on the fifth harry potter book. I couldn't put the fourth harry potter book down! Now I can't wait to see what is going to happen in book 5!
Rating: Summary: EXCELENT Review: This book is an excelent link for the Harry Potter Series (the plot was getting to be a bit formulaic) but JK Rowling shook it up (and we all witnessed the results on Saturday June 21, 2003 12:01 am) (hopefully we wont have to wait another 3 years for the next book), this is a great book. Get it (if you dont already have it)!
Rating: Summary: Epic-size Harry Potter book worth every magical page Review: OK, I was wrong. I let the really dark turn this book took towards the end make me rank it below The Prisoner of Azkaban, but a reread and the ensuing reflection found me ranking this above its predecessor. With the fourth book, J.K. Rowling turns the Harry Potter series into epic-size proportions and given the recently-released fifth book, it's something that will continue with Books Six and Seven. In fact the opening chapter of this book hints at what's in store. The question is when and how? There are two big extra-special events in this book. The first one is the Quidditch World Cup, where thousands of wizards attend to see Ireland play Bulgaria. Harry goes with the Weasleys and Hermione to this once-in-a-while gala sporting event, which takes place in the woods. However, mayhem is later caused at the campsite when the Dark Mark, an emerald skull representing Voldemort's supporters, appears in the sky. Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Dumbledore announces the Tri-Wizard competition, revived after its dangerous past, with 6th or 7th formers (16-17 year olds) allowed to compete. Qualifying students are told to enter their names into the Goblet of Fire. That eliminates Harry, who is only a fourth former and knowingly does not put his name into the Goblet. You can imagine what happens, right? Many new developments are taking place. Fred and George Weasley would rather open up a joke shop, much to the chagrin of their mother, who think they should be putting more emphasis on higher education. Dudley, Harry's nasty cousin, is their first victim a la the Ton Tongue Toffee, but then again, he deserves it. Guess what it does? The character of Rita Skeeter, a gossip columnist always looking for dirt on her subjects who would put Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons to shame, is introduced. Woe be to anyone who crosses her, although one would think the article on Hermione being Harry's girlfriend, though untrue, would be a compliment to Harry and Hermione. Along those lines, Harry and Ron are growing up. They notice beautiful women in the form of veelas, sensuous-looking creatures from Bulgaria with a Siren-like effect. There's another new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad Eye Moody, He's gruff, no-nonsense, blunt, --he even punishes Draco Malfoy in a very funny way-- but he really knows his stuff and the part where he discusses the Unforgivable curses really demonstrates what should really be learned. In the third book, Rowling portrayed a conflict between Ron and Hermione due to Crookshanks, her cat. This time, it's between Harry and Ron, and among his peers, Hermione is more than ever a beacon of support for Harry in his time of need, even though having her as a friend means spending more time in the library and less talk about Quidditch. Hagrid is also a pillar of support, as he believes in Harry. The book sets things for the next book, but is the story worth the 700+ pages? Well, yes it is! I recently read an article saying that the movie for this book might be split into two movies. If that's the case, I wonder if they will film it all at once, then stagger the release dates (a la the recent Tolkien trilogy adaptations). That would still keep interest stoked up in the series, and by then, the penultimate book will have hit the shelves and the third movie out on video.
Rating: Summary: Great book to waste time with... Review: But that's about it. I basically picked up books 4 and 5 because of the hype and because book 3 was a great improvement over the movies. First thing obviously is that book 4 is more than twice as big as the first 3. But that's not a drawback. Actually, the more the better in my opinion. And although I do feel the author wasted a lot of pages with irrelevant stuff, I did enjoy the additional pages. But I still don't get the hype. To me, this is the Hardy Boys or the Three Investigators (which I read growing up in the 80's) based in a world of magic and wizards. It's still pretty juvenile and the plots of each book are full of holes and don't make a lot of sense. For instance, if no electronics work at Hogwarths and if wizards can apparate there, then why would portkeys work there? Sounds like a serious security hole that Dumbledore overlooked (which doesn't make sense). But since portkeys obviously do work there, why go through the pained ordeal of trying to set Harry up to win a contest just so he can touch it? Crouch could have made any item a portkey and had Harry touch it. The whole Triwizard Tourney was kind of a mess. What did the kids from the other schools do the whole time? Who taught them? And why would schools set up an event that could be fatal? It'd be nice to see Harry actually do something on his own. He was helped out each and everytime something challenged him. On each task, voldemore, and even with Crouch (madeye). You almost feel like rooting for Hermione instead because she's obviously the brightest and most resourceful student at Hogwarths. While Ron is quite the idiot, Harry doesn't seem much wiser than him. And it was redundant that again (like in book 3) that the villian (crouch) was killed right after confessing to the staff and Harry & co (versus Wormtail just escaping). And finally, the whole SPEW thing. Why? This served no purpose really unless the author plans on expanding on this in future books. And the speech of the house-elfs is an insult. Why does the author have house-elves talk like the african american slaves did? All in all, it was an ok book to waste a little time with. But it definitely wasn't great. Too full of holes. I suppose its the hype but I've read much better books when I was a child.
Rating: Summary: Harry just keeps going...and going... Review: At the time this review was written, I've been perusing through the fifth book in the series, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. There are undoubtedly a lot of folks out there who have been introduced to Harry Potter for the first time in recent months, and if you're one of my fellow latecomers, this review is especially for you. First off, GOBLET OF FIRE is an engrossing read, terrific for kids and adults alike. Harry is about to start his fourth year at Hogwarts, which means more time with his best friends Ron and Hermione - but then again, more run-ins with arch-enemy Draco Malfoy and the noxious yet enigmatic Professor Snape. There's some new stuff brewing in the Hogwarts cauldron, though, including the fabled Triwizard Tournament which will bring Hogwarts students in contact with other young witches and wizards from all over Europe. Yet another new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be on hand to make things lively for those who still miss the instructor from PRISONER OF AZKABAN. But there's still a world of trouble headed Harry's way, primarily because he's so different from the other students... Now for the critical part. The book, which spans 752 pages in the US hardcover edition, could have been trimmed of a little fat at the beginning. Author J.K. Rowling wrote the book without the oversight of an editor, and the change definitely shows. Fortunately, Rowling manages to avoid the "Thomas Harris Syndrome" that plagued HANNIBAL and made GOBLET OF FIRE an enjoyable (and sometimes terrifying) read. Harry's exposure to the wizarding world continues to expand, giving readers plenty to be delighted with while still making them beg for more. Despite a relatively slow start, this book is terrific. Jo Rowling has every right to be proud of this book.
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