Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (2000)

I love Harry Potter and being able to listen to it while still doing things is awesome. Two thumbs up!

I love this series. Every additional book adds more and more to the story and the characters. The movies are fine, however I love the books the most.

I got this for one of my granddaughters who love watching HP movies. She is not old enough to read many of the words used in the books and I thought given her books on tape would enlighten her world. I was every so right! She is only 6 and has really picked up reading on books even more since they add so much more to a story that a movie never could. Just wished I had got this on CD and not tape.

The Goblet of fire was just what I expected. Good reading. I have read all books before and I thought I would like to hear Jim Dale do it to see if I had missed anything.

I had seen the first three Harry Potter movies and decided I was missing a lot by not getting more details. In addition, I heard that Jim Dale was a wonderful reader. This turned out to be the case and I was a little sad when the book ended. The tapes were perfect so that I could not ask for a better copy.

I really enjoyed the book on tape. The reader is so talented that I'm actually more entertained by the book than I am by the movie.

The main plot centers around the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where the three most prestigious schools of witchcraft and wizardry select a champion to compete. The tournaments are extremely dangerous and this year's is no exception. The events include stealing an egg from a dragon, rescuing a loved one from the bottom of the lake and the guardian mer-folk and finding the winner's cup in a maze made up of carnivorous hedges.

Harry wants no part of it, but the Goblet of Fire, which chooses a champion from each school, spat his name out. The tournament is supposed to be only for sixth and seventh years, but Harry is forced to participate anyway.

I said in my review of Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry comes of age at the end, when he decides to bring his parent's betrayer to justice rather than kill him out of revenge. In Goblet of Fire, Rowling has the world treat him like an adult as well, despite his age.

The new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts shows the class the three most horrible curses known to the wizarding world, which is pretty mature stuff. It is also the last real lesson a teacher gives Harry for the rest of the series. Never again does Harry learn a new spell in school, at least not one that is specifically mentioned in the books. He either uses spells he already knows, learns on his own or gets from his peers. There is only one more effort for a professor to teach him something (Snape teaching Occlumancy in Order of the Phoenix) and it fails.

The theme of adults no longer being able to help Harry does not end in the classroom. In the earlier books, tough questions could usually be answered by adults, or at least enough information as to form a helpful clue. Although Harry does continue to receive advice from adults in this book and the rest of the series, it is no longer very helpful. Much advice turns out to be wrong and often the adult admits to not knowing. When anything useful is received, it is of very marginal value.

The final demonstration of manhood comes when Harry must face off with Voldermort one on one. When it is over, he has completed his rite of manhood, regardless of what the Ministry says about his age.

But more than just Harry is developing. Although a mega-plot has been hinted at in previous books, this is the first time we see more than just shadows or vague references. Voldermort is alive, he has a plan and he is able to get his minions to execute his wishes. The attack on Harry wasn't a target of opportunity like the three times before, it was pre-meditated.

And Voldermore has an unwitting ally in The Ministry. The Ministry unwittingly joins the side of Voldermort when they force Harry to compete. One law says that the goblet chooses the champions, but another law says the underage should be protected. Any judge with a sense of fairness and decency would choose to protect the young over a rule to a game, no matter how important the game was. This should especially be true when it was clear that the goblet was tampered with.

Yet the Ministry didn't. It made a conscious decision to pervert the intent of a tradition for the sake of preserving the past and, in doing so, ignore the perils of the future. Like many decisions made in life, this choice has far reaching and disastrous consequences for wizards and muggles alike, but we don't see them right away. You have to read the final three books for that.

John Holland-author of The Necklace of Terrersylvanous

We purchased the tapes as a supplement to the book. My second grader was reading the book for AR points and we needed something as a review since the read is pretty challenging for an eight year old. We were impressed with how the narrator kept our child's interest. We were a bit limited as to where we listened to the tapes since they were cassettes. We do not have a cassette player in our home or in any other vehicles other than my SUV. The tapes did provide more of a chapter understanding for my son. We did watch the movie several times however the movie leaves out certain parts such as the Hermione and house elf saga. We enjoyed the tapes and would certainly recommend them to anyone who wants to supplement the book!!

When Harry Potter first came out, I was not at all interested in reading this series of books. However, shortly after Goblet of Fire came out, my younger brother handed me the first four books and told me I needed to read them. I knew if he liked them they had to be good. I read the first four books in just under two weeks. Needless to say I have been hooked ever since. Not only do I have all six books in print, I have the first four movies, as well as many other items. J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer. I tell everyone with or without children to buy her books because they are fun and entertaining.

i think the seller should double check the item they are selling. once my child was ready to listen to this book tape 3 was ruined. someone had exposed it to a magnet and it is unlistenable. this makes following along in the book very difficult. thank you so much to the seller for telling us this in the discriptiion of your item.

It came in good shape and I'll enjoy listening to it. It was delivered very late and I was getting concerned.

I'VE READ ALL THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS. BUT LISTENING TO THEM ON AUDIOBOOKS IS A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. JIM DALE, AS THE READER REALLY EXPANDS THE BOOKS. HEARING THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE SOME OF THE NAMES HELPS A GREAT DEAL.

GOBLET OF FIRE IS A TRANSITIONAL BOOK, THAT TAKES YOU FROM A CHILDREN'S STORY, TO A DARKER PLACE. THERE ARE GENUINE CHILLS IN THIS BOOK, AND VERY DARK THEME'S.

I never received this item. I sent an email to the seller and never received a response to my email. I would like to be reimbursed or be sent the tapes.

I have got the purchase. The condition of that harry potter CD audio book is very good. I have reieved it a little bit lately. But that is okay. And I hope my kid love this. Thank you anyway. I hope I will buy another product later.