Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling: The Best Potter Ever?

Are you a fan of Harry Potter? I ask the question cautiously: sometimes it seems like it’s the great dividing line, the chasm that separates the human race onto two fast separating tectonic plates that ne’er again shall meet. Give the wrong answer to the person asking you, and you might be cast out into the outermost pits of hell. Or at least marked down as ‘not our sort of person at all’.

Myself, I wouldn’t class myself as such – and yet, I’ve managed to work my way through the entire septet of J.K. Rowling’s books, as well as most of the films currently made. It’s hard to avoid them, sometimes! Out of the seven books, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire probably is the closest thing I have to a favourite. Compared to the rest, there are so many good things about it that I can almost forgive Rowling her annoying writer’s tics. (What do I mean? Apart from the terrible punny non-jokes? The endless descriptions? Cutesy characters? Awkward style? I’m going to shut up now before the flood of fury.)

But the good stuff in Goblet of Fire! There’s Cho Chang. (Cho! Why did Harry let you go? Your parting caused him endless woe! I could write a poem to Cho Chang. Hey, I just did!)

It’s not just that. We also have the Triwizarding tourmament, an event that gets closer to excitement for me than almost any other in the Potter universe. (Yes, I am including Deatheater plotting and wars. Yes.) We have friendship between rivals, always (for me) a heart-touching topic, since it’s so much more convincingly sincere thing than the friendshippy mush Rowling exhibits such enthusiasm for. (Where are the vicious spats, genuine infighting and grudges of childhood, even between friends?)

I did enjoy this book. (I don’t mean to sound so surprised). It has a ton of fun and real drama in it. Still not much on the joke front though. But if you’re only likely to read one Harry Potter book in your lifetime – now you know the one to go for!