Harry Potter book captures children's fantasy worlds

By Tom McHenry
Summer Editor

Surrounded by an age of science reason and technology, magic is hard to come by. Magic is a rare and wonderful thing.

Take, for instance, the magic that has inspired a generation of avid readers to be worthy of over 3 million copies in a first printing, the largest first print run in history. This is the sort of magic that publisher's dreams are made of and the sort of magic surrounding J. K. Rowling's fourth book in the Harry Potter series: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

Magic tends to be something unexpected though, and with the legion of loyal fans who read and re-read the Harry Potter books, maybe it's less magic and more good storytelling.

There's a stigma surrounding children's books because it seems easy to write children off as an easy audience to appeal to with little or no talent. This being, after all, the age of Pokémon.

Rowling, however, has succeeded in being something more than just a children's writer and something more than just a fantasy series writer. In the tradition set down by C. S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" and J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", Rowling is bringing the sort of fantasy that inspires wonder and awe back in fashion to the masses.

With an eye for endearing details and personality quirks and names that are as fun to say as they are to read about (for example: Lord Voldemort, Ludo Bagman, and Professor Dumbledore), Rowling created a microcosm strong enough to stand on its own. Where the easy way out would be to simply rest on her laurels, Rowling takes the fourth book as an opportunity to challenge herself and her characters.

At 734 pages, the longest yet of the series, her limits are stretched but more importantly real insights are given into the characters and their growth. Harry and his friends begin discovering the opposite sex.

The plot revolves around Harry proving himself against representatives from the other nearby schools of magic in a series of trials beyond what he's faced before.

The book also has a darker tone, and whether it’s a reflection of Harry's age or the number of adults now reading the series, it definitely makes the challenges faced seem more real in a nail biting sort of intensity.