Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) in The Nerd Herd

May 10, 2019 Belisarius Carstairs rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: author-rowling-j-k, genre-fantasy, novels-books

“'Curiosity is not a sin,' [Dumbledore] said. 'But we should exercise caution with our curiosity ... yes, indeed ...'”

Hogwarts will host the tri-wizarding tournament. Only wizards over seventeen are allowed to enter - but that doesn't stop Harry dreaming that he will win the competition. At Hallowe'en, when the Goblet of Fire makes its selection, Harry is amazed to find his name is one of those that the magical cup picks out. He will face death-defying tasks, dragons and dark wizards, but with t “'Curiosity is not a sin,' [Dumbledore] said. 'But we should exercise caution with our curiosity ... yes, indeed ...'”

Hogwarts will host the tri-wizarding tournament. Only wizards over seventeen are allowed to enter - but that doesn't stop Harry dreaming that he will win the competition. At Hallowe'en, when the Goblet of Fire makes its selection, Harry is amazed to find his name is one of those that the magical cup picks out. He will face death-defying tasks, dragons and dark wizards, but with the help of his best friends, Ron and Hermione, he might just make it through - alive!

To me, the Goblet of Fire is the calm before the storm. Hogwarts and Harry get a few thrills from the three tasks of the Triwizarding tournament instead of the usual looming sense of impending death – sort of.

This story gives us a breather from the house Quidditch cup, which is still exciting, unique and iconic, just waning in its awe after three books. The three tasks all offer different challenges, and the clues leading up to them are served in their own ways, keeping the story fresh and exciting.

What makes the story fall flat in places is all the exposition dumping at the end. There’s so much of it! We’ve got a chapter of Voldemort monologuing, a chapter of a hospital argument, and the chapter where Barty Crouch gives his excruciatingly monotonous confession. Exposition isn’t anything new a problem with Rowling’s work at this stage, but when it does turn up, whatever tension built up simply gets released in these scenes and entire chapters of exposition.
That being said, she does deliver some exposition well, such as Rowling’s way of revealing all three tasks. Not to mention, J. K. Rowling does a great job of drip-feeding us hints when it comes to any mystery, giving us just enough information for us to find our own conclusions before we do get loaded with its related exposition dump.

There’s a lot of telling and exposition in this story, as is a problem in any Rowling story, though she does use them as part of a witty joke. Those moments of comedy wouldn’t work without such storytelling flaws.

One of the great things J. K. Rowling can do is build a vast, imaginative and convincing world. In this particular story, she takes the already fantastic wizarding world of Hogwarts and expands it tenfold. She brings in celebrated sub-annual major events, introduces international wizards and wizarding schools as well as giving us a far more in-depth insight into the workings of the ministry and the death-eaters.

One thing that stuck out to me was Rita Skitter sub-plot. This story felt so wonderfully relevant to how I think about journalism today. I find it difficult to trust any journalist or company, particularly the BBC. I recently watched an interview with John Cleese. The host was twisting everything he said to discredit Cleese as a guest interviewee live on television. The journalist in this story uses similarly snide techniques to attack the good wizards of Hogwarts, so it always put a smile on my face whenever there was a mention of Rita Skeeter, particularly when it came to her comeuppance.

Despite some forgivable storytelling flaws, The Goblet of Fire offers a compelling and exciting story, giving us a breath of fresh air from the minor rhetorics of previous Harry Potter books and drastically expands on the world of Harry Potter. ...more

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May 22, 2016 Sherry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, favourites

I love rereading these books, especially after watching the movies so many times, you tend to forget some of the details that were left out. The books are ALWAYS better, that’s a given...It’s nice being reminded is all.

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