Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

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Summary: If you really need a summary, you probably aren’t going to read the review.

I have been craving some comfort reading lately. So I picked up the Stephen Fry narrated version of The Goblet of Fire that a friend loaned me. (It is the narrator for the British edition; Jim Dale is the narrator for the US edition). There isn’t any way for someone in the US to get the UK edition without importing the CDs or off the internet.

The new narrator did help give a fresh gloss to a story I have read at least five times and listened to at least once. Stephen Fry is best known to me as the narrator of Pocayo, a kid’s TV show. I prefer him to Jim Dale. I need to listen to another one or two books to be sure.

The production values are different. Jim Dale does straight reading with a ton of voice but no effects. The UK Edition has some effects, like microphone echo for the announcers’ voices at the Quidditch World Cup. The Goblet of Fire is the first of the “older” books in the series. And even Jim Dale doesn’t make his reading quite so young, but Stephen Fry is even more so. (The too-young reading style of Jim Dale is what I dislike most about the early books.)

I have nothing new to add, but a new narrator can help bring some new life into the story. I also always forget the real timeline of the book. The Goblet of Fire is not introduced until nearly 40% of the way through the book. The first task is almost exactly halfway through the book. And the big tragedy of the book is just over 2 hours from the end.

I like the new covers better than the old ones. And, while I understand why Rowling wants to control the electronic version of the stories through Pottermore, it is a bit irritating that there is no way to alternate easily between audiobook and Kindle book like there would be if the editions were managed through Audible and Amazon.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

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