Reviews
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 review Harry 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 be, "I'm relieved to report that Potter 4 is every bit as good as Potters 1 through 3 . . . The fantasy writer'' job is to conduct the willing reader from mundanity to magic. This is a feat of which only a superior imagination in capable, and Rowling posses such equipment." - Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review "J.K. Rowling proves once again that she is a riveting storyteller . . . the kind of reading experience that has you charging headlong through the book, oblivious to the outside world." - The Philadelphia Inquirer "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 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." - Janet Maslin, The New York Times "An engaging novel that is compelling, accessible, and impressively even in quality . . . Rowling has the rare ability to take children's fantasy worlds and their workaday worlds with equal seriousness, and she speak to both in Goblet of Fire." - The Boston Sunday Globe \ "The fourth Harry Potter adventure, centering on an inter-school competition, boasts details that are as ingenious and original as ever. Surely catching readers off-guard must get more difficult with each successive volume, but somewhow Rowling plants the red herrings, the artful clues and tricky surprises that disarm the most attentive audience. A spectacular climax will leave readers breathless." - Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2000 \ "Harry's fourth challenging experience will more than live up to his myriad fans' expectations . . . the carefully created world of magic becomes more embellished and layered, while the amazing plotting ties up loose ends, even as it sets in motion more entanglements . . . Let the anticipation begin." - Booklist, starred review "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." -- Kirkus Reviews "J.K. Rowling delivers the goods . . . This book (all 734 pages of it) is a rich, rewarding novel - funny and sad, exciting and heroic." - The Seattle Times "J.K. Rowling has done it again. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a marvelous book." - The San Antonio Express-News 0
