HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling

Originally published in 2007.

Audiobook re-mastered and re-published in 2015 by Pottermore Publishing.

Read by Jim Dale.

Duration 21 hours, 37 minutes.

Unabridged.

Ten months ago I started to listen to the Harry Potter books. I had never read them before and only watched the first movie so I came to the party quite late.

But, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I have finished the series.

What did I think?

The series is quite good. There are plenty of great themes and memorable themes throughout. It is well worth the time to read (or listen, like I did).

The last book is an up and down affair. It certainly drags in the middle of the book. This was the part I heard my oldest daughter complaining about years ago when she said it was just three people sitting in the middle of a field talking for way too long. I agree.

But, the book does bring the series to a satisfying conclusion with plenty of surprises (that I will not reveal). 

So, in the interest of not providing any spoilers, I will just say that I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.

HARRY POTTER and the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (Harry Potter #6) by J.K. Rowling

 

Originally published in 2009.
Published by Pottermore Publishing in 2015.
Read by Jim Dale.
Duration: 18 hours, 32 minutes.
Unabridged.

The Half-Blood Prince is the book that one of my daughters complained about several years ago when she read it. She said it was too much talking and not enough action. Certainly when compared to the previous two books, there is a lot less action and a whole lot more talking. Rowling changed up the narrative and tells the back story of the villain of the series, Lord Voldemort, by way of an investigation by Dumbledore and Harry.

The pace is certainly slower, but the information was valuable. Perhaps it might have been delivered differently, but I was glad to have it. 

The last two hours of the audiobook were full of nothing but action and consequential moments. 

Jim Dale continued to do a great job with the book, with the exception of the voice of Hermione. 


This is my favorite cover of the entire series. Once you get done with the book you can see that it covers the major points of the story in one picture. Well done.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5 and I look forward to the last book of the series.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: HARRY POTTER and the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (Harry Potter #6) by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.

HARRY POTTER and the ORDER of the PHOENIX (Harry Potter #5)(audiobook) by J.K. Rowling

 

Originally published in 2003.
Published by Pottermore Publishing.
Read by Jim Dale.
Duration: 26 hours, 29 minutes.
Unabridged.

Harry Potter has verified that the Lord Voldemort has returned - but the Ministry of Magic (the UK government for the Wizarding World) officially denies it. A team of wizards and witches have secretly formed a group called The Order of the Phoenix featuring a mixture of characters from the other books. Their purpose in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is to protect Harry Potter and try to figure out what Voldemort intends to do next. 

At Hogwarts, things are going poorly. The Ministry of Magic has created a new position (the High Inquisitor) and her job is to root out anyone who disagrees with the official Ministry of Magic position on Lord Voldemort (meaning that he has not returned) and end the independent nature of the Hogwarts teaching staff. 

The reader, Jim Dale

Jim Dale's reading is always a mixed bag for me because his characterization of Hermione Granger comes off as whiny and annoying. However, his reading of the most memorable and most hated character of the entire series for me, the High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, was magnificent. Man, I wanted to smack that woman every time he read her lines, which is exactly what was intended when it was written.

Luna Lovegood was a welcome addition to Harry Potter's circle of friends and the scene with Neville Longbottom in the hospital is completely heartbreaking. 

This lengthy book could have been edited a bit (the night bus scene comes to mind), but this book was the best book in the series. Simply excellent. 

5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: HARRY POTTER and the ORDER of the PHOENIX (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been placed on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.

HARRY POTTER and the GOBLET of FIRE (Harry Potter #4) (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling

 

Originally published in 2000.

Read by Jim Dale.
Duration: 20 hours, 37 minutes.
Unabridged.


I am continuing my first time read (technically a listen) of the Harry Potter series 20 years after the fact. Rather than go through the plot of the book, I am going to skip to my review.

The fourth installment of this book is best so far. A slow start builds up to a tremendous ending. I have been pretty critical of Jim Dale's performance in this series up until now. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Jim Dale nails it. As it goes along he gets better and better. His reading of the scene where Harry looks into Dumbledore's pensieve is absolutely riveting. This is the book where the Harry Potter series makes a turn from being a bunch of cute kid's books. For example, grown-up topics like racism are dealt with. Racism is actually dealt with in 3 different ways - with the House Elves, Giants and the topic of pure blood wizards.

Jim Dale

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be be found on Amazon.com here: HARRY POTTER and the GOBLET of FIRE by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.

HARRY POTTER and the PRISONER of AZKABAN (Harry Potter #3) (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling

Originally Published in 1999.

This audio edition published by Pottermore in 2015.
Read by Jim Dale
Duration: 11 hours, 49 minutes.
Unabridged

I am 21 years late to the Harry Potter party. I had seen the first movie and some of the second one but I knew nothing of this novel so I was able to come to it without having already formed any sort of impression.

The first part of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban disappointed me. The tried and true plot points of the first two novels were brought back (Harry and his horrible muggle family, yet another shopping trip for school supplies, a new super-fast broom was being sold, and a focus on the strange candy.  The monster books that were actually monsters themselves probably delight children (and it is a children's book so that it is appropriate), but this middle-aged teacher kept wondering what is wrong with the administration at Hogwarts when they let a teacher order a book like that!

A little past the halfway point, the novel takes a darker turn. This was a welcome change - the novel gets much more complicated and adult. Harry has multiple tough decisions to make and the action gets pretty complicated pretty quickly. I would rate the first half of the book 3 stars out of 5. I'd rate the second half of the book 4.5 out of 5. I'll make the whole book 4 stars out of 5.

The narrator, Jim Dale, is both a plus and a minus to the book. His voice characterizations for Hagrid and Professor McGonagall are excellent. However, almost all of his Slytherin characters sound the same and his characterization of Hermione Granger is horrible. She sounds like a nagging whiner.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: HARRY POTTER and the PRISONER of AZKABAN (Harry Potter #3) by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.

HARRY POTTER and the CHAMBER of SECRETS (Harry Potter #2) (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling

This book was originally published on paper in 1998.

Re-mastered audiobook version published in 2015 by Pottermore Publishing.

Read by Jim Dale.

Duration: 9 hours, 3 minutes.

Unabridged.

Harry Potter returns for his second year at Hogwarts. Volume 2 follows a similar pattern as the first one in that we begin with Harry enduring a summer with his horrible muggle (non-magical) family, going off to Diagon Alley to shop for back-to-school shopping and then having an eventful trip to school with his supplies. We hear about his classes, quidditch, his teachers, his friends and some foul goings on at the school that threaten everything.

But, there are plenty of differences and that make this book much more enjoyable than the first book. There is much less macro "world building" going on because the general parameters have already been set. Instead, interesting details are fleshed out. For me, as an adult first-time reader, the relationship between those who can do magic and the muggle world and the controversy in the wizarding world over how inter-related these worlds should be.

Jim Dale read this audiobook. Jim Dale's reading is a mixed bag. His take on Lockhart, Dobby and Hagrid are fantastic. But, his voices for the Malfoys, and snake and Voldemort all sound essentially the same. I get it - Slytherin and snakes. Do other characters sound like the animal that represent their houses? His characterization of Hermione always sounds like she is whining.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: HARRY POTTER and the CHAMBER of SECRETS (Harry Potter #2) by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.

HARRY POTTER and the SORCERER'S STONE (Harry Potter #1) (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling

Originally published on paper in 1997 by Scholastic.
Originally published as an audiobook in 1999.
Published in 2015 by Pottermore.
Read by Jim Dale.
Duration: 8 hours, 18 minutes.
Unabridged.

Truth time. This was my first time with the book form of Harry Potter. I'd seen the first movie and maybe the second, but never actually read or listened to any of them. This is a big deal for me because I am generally a fan of the wonderful world of nerd stuff. 

I will dispense with the plot stuff since just about everybody, even me, knew the bare outline - orphaned wizard boy with no friends and hated by his relatives that took him in, special magic school, Quidditch, and a creepy bad guy that killed the boy's parents.

So, what did I think?

This book is so adored and so talked up that it couldn't possibly live up to the hype. But, I liked it. I am looking forward to the other books. It is my understanding that they get more complicated and I certainly don't know the plots of the other books (beyond the annual attack by Voldemort).

Jim Dale read the audiobook version I listened to because it was the American version. The British version is read by Stephen Fry. Jim Dale's voices were all solid except for Hermione. She consistently sounded shrill and whiny.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here:  HARRY POTTER and the SORCERER'S STONE (Harry Potter #1) (audiobook) by J.K. Rowling.

Note: this entire book series has been on banned book lists multiple times since it was originally published due to complaints from religious conservatives. Check out this website for more info.