Stephen Aug 25, 2009

it was amazing bookshelves: award-nominee-hugo, award-winner-hugo, award-nominee-bram-stoker, award-nominee-locus, multiple-award-nominee, comfort-food, ya, 2000-2005, potteresque, fantasy

Read 2 times. Last read February 5, 2011 to February 7, 2011. 's review

This was the beginning of my addiction to POTter. I had previously experimented with and enjoyed POTter on 3 different occasions, but could easily have walked away and never touched the stuff again. Then, under some pressure from some POTterHEAD peers of mine, I tried the newest blend called the Goblet...and everything changed. As the warm, easy, potato chip prose crossed my blood-brain barrier, euphoria ensued. My inner child was smitten.



I...was...hooked and I...was...happy.



Ignore the so-called "experts" who say POTter is brain cell killing pap. Don’t listen to those jaded, book snobby squares. Most of them are wound so tight they wouldn’t know a good book if it sat on their face and wriggled.



POTter makes you feel good. POTter makes you smile. POTter makes you joyous and giggly. Hell, POTter makes you want to use the word giggly.



POTter is enjoyable and fun. That's enough for me.



So what made the Goblet so much more addicting than the rest of the POTter I had tried. Part of it was that I had already seen the movies (up through Order of the Phoenix) before I got my hands on genuine POTter. The first 3 were fun but I felt like I had already "been there done that" as they were pretty faithfully adaptated for the screen. Still enjoyable, but not enough to put the POTter monkey on my back.



Then came the Goblet of POTter and it was a big, huge, tightly-rolled fatty at 750 pages. The cut, diluted movie strain couldn’t hope to be as potent as the primo original and the story was finally given the room to breathe and take on an epic feel. It was completely addictive. The world-building details started coming fast and furious and the characters were given considerably increased depth. Add that to Rowling’s breezy, “ear friendly” prose and I found myself spaced out for hours turning the pages and still hungering for more.



It’s high praise indeed when I say that 750 pages did not contain a single dull, ploddy moment. This was fun and wonderful and a pleasure to experience. It deserves to be recognized for the iconic work that it is in the realm of YA fantasy.



Is it popcorn? Certainly.

Is it a joy to read? Definitely.

Is it one I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to all lovers of feel good, comfort food? YES.



5.0 stars.



Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2001)

Nominee: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2001)

Nominee: Bram Stoker Award (YA) for Best Novel (2001)

