By JK Rowling
Read by Stephen Fry/Jim Dale
Reviewed by Gabby
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
Get Stephen Fry Audible version here.
Get the Jim Dale version on Audio CD here.
Get the Stephen Fry version on Audio CD here.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Overview:
Harry is entering his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This time there is a tournament on and Harry is looking forward to an exciting year watching the events unfold. But all is not as it seems. There is dark work going on at Hogwarts and whilst there are potions to make and spells to cast, Harry has no idea of the danger that awaits him at the end of the year…
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Audiobook Review:
STORY
The Good:
The Goblet of Fire has always been one of my favourite books in the series, simply because Rowling starts to explore darker, more complex themes than in her previous books. Rowling foreshadows so many things in this novel that you will only pick up on after listening to the book and its successors multiple times. The twists in the plot are surprising and exciting, some scenes left me breathless with anticipation and wanting more. The story explores issues of love, jealousy, death and rejection. The morbid undertones only add to the story though. The Goblet of Fire is arguably the most important book of the series, it is evident how much effort Rowling put into the book. She poured her heart into the details, not a brick was out of place in the wizarding world. I wasn’t bored for a second, this story will tug at your heart strings, make you laugh and make you cringe. It is brilliant.
The Bad:
One sub-plot which I always found to be a bit pointless was that of the House Elves and S.P.E.W (Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare). Hermione discovers that the house elves basically work as slaves and attempts to free them from their oppression in the wizarding world. This would have been fine if it wasn’t for the fact that Hermione is made out to be ‘weird’ and ‘crazy’ for wanting to free an oppressed magical species. I feel like Rowling could have done a better job with that. Furthermore, it really was quite a pointless sub-plot. Rowling didn’t take it anywhere which was disappointing. Despite this, I still love the book!
CHARACTERS
The Good:
We get to meet some new characters and see our old characters grow up a bit. Mad Eye Moody is a quality character, he’s pretty original, i’ve never really come across a character of his description before. Students from schools abroad and some more members of the Weasley family also come into the picture. Our trio all grappled with the issues that usually accompany that delightful time called puberty: jealousy, love, rejection. Suffice to say that Harry, Ron and Hermione handled these issues as well as can be expected from 14 year olds- badly. Ron can’t seem to deal with rejection of any kind/ not being Harry Potter. Hermione realises that 14 year old boys are absolute idiots when it comes to women and Harry realises that asking a girl to the school ball is far harder than fighting dragons, basilisks and Voldemort combined. My favourite character of this book is also the one that I hated the most. Reeta Skeeter. She was just so manipulative and self centred. Skeeter basically embodies shady journalism. It was interesting to see this idea portrayed in the wizarding world, it’s good to have a character whose only purpose is basically to stir the pot and throw everyone under the bus. Skeeter was amusing, callous and overall a great addition to the storyline.
The Bad:
Sorry about this Harry. But honestly, you are the most useless protaganist ever. Do you know who Harry reminds me of? Those guys in class who don’t pay any attention to anything, just mess around and then whine about how they don’t understand why they’re failing. That is Harry. He’s in a tournament, competing against older and far more advanced students, but seems to be under the impression that everything will be ok. That he doesn’t need to prepare for anything, that he can just wing it. If Harry didn’t have his incredibly clever, kind hearted friends, he’d be long dead. I also wish we had a bit more insight into Viktor Krum. He seems like an interesting character, potentially with a dark past, but he doesn’t really play much of a role in the story. Krum had potential!! He could have been so much more!
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NARRATOR
The Good:
There are two versions of the Goblet of Fire, one is narrated by Stephen Fry, the other Jim Dale. Below is our outline, and a video for comparison.
Stephen Fry again creates wonderful voices for all the characters and makes them larger than life. I love his smooth tone and deep voice. He’s so articulate and precise with his timing. He really is a professional and the story is better for it.
Jim Dale is another fantastic narrator. Born in England, Dale also has an English accent. Dale is a voice artist, and definitely weighted towards to the dramatized end of the scale. Dale invites a sense of urgency in his voice, and has you on your toes. This increased dramatization, although predominantly great, I feel it is sometimes a little over the top.
The Bad:
Some people can find Stephen Fry dry and nasally, and some people can find Jim Dale a little over the top. For the US audience I would suggest go with Dale. There is definitely a consensus in the US market that Dale is more preferred. Otherwise I would go with Fry, however i am biased as this is where i started.
Check out a side by side comparison here! (**SPOILERS**)
[kad_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJobfh62WAo” width=300 height=300 maxwidth=300 ]
More Harry Potter Reviews
- Harry Potter and Philosopher’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I hope you enjoyed our ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ Audiobook Review, come back soon!
Mladen
, I have to let it be know that Ms. Rowling does not disappoint. As every prncdeieg Potter book starts off, the newest is no different: Harry is staying with his insufferable relatives, the Dursleys. And as always, he has found a new, more creative and exciting means of shortening his summer stay with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. Trouble invariably manages to find Harry, even at his seemingly secure refuge. Lord Volde oh, goodness, excuse me! he-who-must-not-be-named is at his strongest, and Harry is facing greater risk than ever before. This is Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts, and he is now fourteen years old. So along with life-threatening situations, almost losing a best friend, meeting new foes, dealing with old ones- namely Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy, and managing to get most of his homework done, Potter must also deal with the anguish and misery of being a teenager. Take it from me, I’m seventeen years old, and it’s hard for me to believe that J.K. Rowling hasn’t just experienced the cruelty of peers and at the same time, the exciting prospects that come with the whole Being a Teen package. Fearing that I might give too much away, I’ll leave you with this tidbit: You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn how to pronounce Hermione, but most importantly, you’ll want to read more, and become a better person because of it.
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