Customer Reviews
How much better can it get? - By: , 30 Oct 2004 
I am constantly amazed by the depth & strength of J.K.Rowlings writing. Even in the first book of the series `Harry Potter & the Philosophers Stone`, when the writing was simpler & more geared to Harry`s then age-group, there were complexities visible to older readers. As the characters have aged so has the style & content changed and, as Rowling herself says, become darker. No longer does every book end on a more or less happy note. The violence, torture & death of an adult world are beginning to impinge on Hogwarts & to increasingly affect Harry & his friends. On an emotional level too the characters are changing although there is always the typical J.K.Rowling wit & humour! She has the gift of a quality writer for creating a vivid picture with the perfect choice of just one or two words. Obviously she`s not infalllible but any mistakes she makes tend to relate to smalll oversights in the plot or background which in the context of the whole reallly don`t seem to matter.
`Order of the Phoenix` is, for me, the best book yet in every sense of the word. The others were each valuable in their own way & this one is simply the result of a natural progression - it needs the others for the development of plot & style - but Rowling is now reallly showing the power of her writing. Without going into detail for those who have not yet caught up with the series I can still say that there are scenes in `Goblet of Fire`and Òrder of the Phoenix` which contain so much tension & action that it could be difficult to maintain but she never lets your attention flag.
The recording of the books is done with as little disruption to the story flow as possible. The crucial thing, though , with the recorded version has to be Stephen Fry. He is absolutely brilliant! I can`t imagine anyone replacing him & I hope he`s already signed up for the rest of the series. His interpretation of the different characters is amazing. One word of warning though - once you`ve listened to him reading the books you`ll never be able to read them yourself without hearing him. The power of his interpretation just makes you appreciate Rowling`s writing more. A perfect match! Once The Half-Blood Prince`has been published the next thing I shalll look forward to is Stephen Fry`s recording of it.
Harry potter 5 - on audio tape - By: , 24 Oct 2003 i thought this was prehaps not the best harry potter book but still just as equallly engrosing!
Some nights before i go to bed i can't face reading the book (i hear you ghasp!) so i just stick one of my tapes on. They are very entertaining & sometimes so relaxing they send me
straight off to sleep.
The price may seem slightly hefty but no worries i swear they are well worth it, in my opinion any ways.
Stephen fry who reads the Cover to Cover series is borne to read harry potter, & the enthusiasm he puts into his text is stimulating & keeps your attention throughout.
I hope you enjoy listening to this book just as much as you enjoyed reading it.
sweet listening. xxx
Lets hope JK gets back on form for book 6 - By: , 15 Oct 2003 
This book introduces many new characters & deals with Harry going through adolescence. The main problem with the book is that it doesnt contain enough for your seven or eight hundred pages - in fact it it positvely crammed with detail you just dont need. Listening to the tapes read by Stephen Fry I am at Chapter Seven & so far I feel that Chapters One & Two should be one chapter of 1/2 the length, chapter 5 is mostly redundant & chapter six while it contains lots of relevant information on family trees is twice as long as necessary, as so on.
The book should be 400 paegs long for what it covers.
