Book 22 of 2014: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

It’s really weird to be writing a review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the other week (and finished watching it on blu-ray earlier this evening). Anyway, that just shows how far behind I am because this was my choice of reading material way back in June!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This one sees the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament, a dangerous event that Harry finds himself unwillingly entered into. It becomes apparent that someone at Hogwarts wants him dead and so Harry must not only survive the difficult Triwizard events, but by the end of the book he’s fighting for his life against Voldemort.

On this reread it took me a little bit longer to get through than I was expecting. I always used to think of the Harry Potter books as a quick read but as I’ve gotten older I find myself taking longer to get through them. I think it’s partly because I keep on slowing down to marvel at all the wonderful world building and little nods to things that will be important in future books. I did get to the last quarter and sped up considerably though, so who’s to say what my excuse for the slow reading is.

The little hints of things to come is one of my favourite things to look out for while I’m reading. It seems like each time I read these books I notice more little things which point to things to come. I love to think of how I glossed over them the first time and they didn’t register at all, yet now when I’m reading them I get that little burst of excitement as you realise that you’ve spotted something that Rowling hid in plain sight for you to find.

I found myself looking at Snape differently at the end of this book. I don’t think I’ve realised just how much of a big deal it would be for him to go and face Voldemort. I’ve always enjoyed the story of Snape but as I get older I’m finding I appreciate him more and more as a character now. I suppose some of it is watching the films alongside the books and finding I’m picking up on different aspects of the story lines, but Snape really does come across as a really brave character for me now.

I also feel like I pay more attention to the background characters now, rather than just the main characters. I think that some of this is due to Pottermore and learning the backstories to characters in the story which I didn’t learn in the books. It’s incredible how such a well-rounded and detailed world was created for these books and it seems that the events we see Harry and co involved in are just scratching the surface; there are so many stories hidden in these books and each time I read them I can’t help but pick more out.


At the time of writing this review I’m preparing to reread the last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hopefully before the end of the year. I’m going to be very sad to put these books back on the shelf for another year or two. Oh well, I’ll still be writing reviews for these books well into next year, I’m sure!