Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling > Reviews > The Cult Book - Volume III

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to similar audio books?	Excellent
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Very good

Advantages:	excellent read, thrilling, enchanting
Disadvantages:	none that I can think of

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the book about Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.

There are four books in total so far (and three more to come) - one per school year. You should always read the Harry Potter books in the correct sequence, which is:

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Volume III is a book with 317 pages in my paperback version which is longer than volume I and volume II, but not quite as long as volume IV. As with the other Harry Potter books - once I had started to read it, I could not easily put it down before I had finished reading.

As all the other books, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban starts with Harry being at home with the Dursleys, his aunt and uncle who do not really like him.

Harry knows that it is strictly forbidden to do any magic in the muggle (= normal human beings, not wizards) world. He could be told off the school for doing magic whilst on vacation.

However, when Aunt Marge insulted Harry's parents, he simply could not restrain, and he inflated Aunt Marge to the size of a large balloon and made her rise up to the ceiling.

Harry had to leave home and he tried to hide somewhere. A stange Knight Bus suddenly appeared and took him to Diagon Alley, a place with a lot of magic shops that he knew from previous years.

There he met Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Harry thought he'd get punished now, but Fudge was more than happy to have found him. Obviously, something very strange was going on and Harry was in danger.

Sirius Black, one of the worst criminals of all times and - according to many - implicated in the murder of Harry's parents, could escape from the prison of Azkaban, although this was meant to be the safest prison.

Fudge seems to think that Sirius was after Harry and that his escape might be linked to You-Know-Who, the Dark Lord, the worst enemy of Harry and murderer of his parents, Lord Voldemort, who was trying to rise to power again.

Hogwarts seemed to be the best place for Harry to stay, because Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster, has a lot of power to protect him against Lord Voldemort.

The school year moves on, and a lot of surprising developments occur. Harry, once again, has to face the evil, and Lord Voldemort undertakes another attempt to kill him.

But I would not like to give away most of the plot now - read it yourself!

Joanne K. Rowling has written yet another excellent book, one is more compelling than the other. Everything fits together perfectly well to one fantastic story. Minor hints that you might not even fully notice in the first two books now become important details that can explain some developments in the third year at Hogwarts.

It is one more very enchanting Harry Potter book, thrilling, fantastic and never boring, simply magical, from the first to the very last page.

Once you dive into the plot, you forget about the real world and become part of the magical world until you have finished reading.

I can recommend Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaben to all readers. I have never met someone who did not like it.

Take care,
Michael