Customer Reviews

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)

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3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

I loved the Potter series. It is worth reading even if you have seen the movies. It gives you more insight into the charaters and also includes thoughts, ideas and extras that were not in the movies.

As Harry and friends enter the emotionally charged teen world, this third volume in the series has become one of my favourites. From tormented family memories to gruesome mass murder to infernal government corruption, our heroes face many problems beyond the typical for thirteen year olds. And they find ways to conquer these trials and emerge triumphant. Harry, Ron and Hermione fight the power!

So many topics and themes to cover in what could be described as the first truly adult book in the series. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling starts with our first real taste of the corruption inside the Ministry of Magic, since it is not spelled out in the text, but I firmly believe they are aware of Sirius Black's innocence. Just a feeling, a vibe so to speak, I pick up from J.K. all along the way. But this is kept top level secret, hence even the Hogwart's Professors not knowing the truth. Harry is treated like a child (to prevent him from finding the truth), lied to (once he starts getting pieces of the truth), and not listened to (when he speaks the truth). All these experience give him the courage and knowledge to speak back to the know nothing adults throughout the other tales to come. Sometimes it feels like Harry in the only honest man in a room full of liars. Good for him!

The central issue the Ministry of Magic is trying to scrub clean is another decidedly mature concept. Never shown, even by Pensieve, is the mass murder slash terrorist attack which Sirius Black was imprisoned for. Death has been apart of J.K.'s writings straight from the start, and the subject of parental demise is a common trope, but the destruction of so many unnamed innocents is slightly more rattling then the norm for a book aimed at young adults. And I give J.K. enormous credit for this. Once again, she redefines the genre.

Which brings me to the aforementioned parents, James and Lily. Previous books have had to deal with Harry's grief, and learning more about them. But now, with the secret truth of the betrayal brought to life, Harry's hatred of his parents murderer is far more tangible. While Voldemort may have zapped the spell, he is simply formless either floating around unfound, the wretched Black on the other hand is very real and very physical. Someone who could be wrought vengeance upon. The interesting twist is how, when the ultimate truth is finally known, Harry shows mercy on the real killer. Let the courts decide. It may not work out well is this book, but this decision proves fruitful much later.

This entrance to maturity is great and much welcome. J.K. is not artificially holding her characters in some strange time loop, but letting them and the stories move forward. This first taste brings happiness galore. And with the promise of Voldemort's return, this glee should last awhile.

Scoopriches

For my money, though I like the first two Potter books, this is where Rowling struck gold. I started reading the series in late 1999 or early 2000, well before GOBLET came out, and when I finished the three books that at that time were out, I thought AZKABAN was not only easily the best of three, but one of the best books I had read in a long time. The storyline is easily the strongest of the first three installments, and for once Voldemort is not the main villain driving the plot, but, so it is thought, a renegade supporter of his who murdered 13 people with a single curse.

In AZKABAN, we learn an escaped criminal from the wizard prison Azkaban by the name of Sirius Black is out on the lam looking for Potter. Black was once a vehement supporter for Voldemort, and now Black is gunning to finish off the job by murdering Potter, a task he had tried to do several years ago. Not only that, Potter learns during the course of the plot that Black was James' best friend, along with the new defense against the dark arts teacher, Remus Lupin. We get to learn who Scabbers really is (another instant of an character mentioned in passing on the first two novels who is hugely important here). Black is Potter's godfather, and yet he betrayed the Potters!

What makes Azkaban so interesting is you really get to learn about the relationships between James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Severus Snape. These five characters, and their relationships with one another, are huge portions of the foundation on which Rowling built her series. You need a clear understanding of these characters to fully experience Rowling's series, and it is thru these characters that this book, and the series itself, is as rich as it is. The fact no one knew that the three characters were unregistered animagus to help Remus cope with his condition was pretty cool.

For once, Rowling introduces a new magical artifiact called the Marauder's Map, which she uncharacteristically fully explains by the end of the novel. It was made by Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, and Prongs, which are the nicknames of James and his crew. The map shows you the location of every one on the Hogwarts grounds, a tremendously useful item, supplied, appropriately enough, by those masters of mischief, Fred and George.

Another great new bit of magic in the book is the Patronus, a magical spell that will help fight back the dementors and fear, a very advanced piece of magic for third years. It is also very touching to know why Harry's patronus is a stag, as that is what his father transformed into.

There are also other memorable scenes and events. You get Hermione and the Time Turners, Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Professor Trelawney, the Dementors, the Maurader's Map, etc. The climax of the novel is great, but for me, it's that time when Remus, Sirus, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Snape are all in that Shreiking Shack, and you finally get to learn a lot of key information about Harry's past.

Ironically enough, though I have long held the opinion this is the best Potter book of them all (not including Book 7), this book has the worst movie adaptation, BECAUSE they don't fully establish all the different relationships between the four, or even explain the Marauder's Map.

For myself, this is easily my favorite of the Potter novels, or was until DEATHLY HALLOWS came out. Still, I have had a great history with this book, and probably reread this more than all the other Potter books. This is the second best Potter book.

These are my order of Potter books by preference:
Deathly Hallows
Prisoner of Azkaban
Order of the Phoenix
Philosopher's Stone/Chamber of Secrets (I rank them both the same)
Half-Blood Prince
Goblet of Fire.

This book is the best in the series and I can bet my life on the fact that it will remain that way until the end of these books. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is nothing short of brilliant, and I canï¿t explain the feeling you get when you are reading it. It is endlessly entertaining and amazingly original, you wonder where J.K. Rowling could ever get these ideas. It also brings up some new facts in the characters and some brand new magical creatures that I wonï¿t give away just in case you havenï¿t read it. I doubt you havenï¿t read it, though, because basically the whole world is in love with these books and could finish them in a couple of days. The games of Quidditch are still fabulously entertaining. The characters are now pubescent which makes them able to feel new emotions ï¿ it keeps you awake at night wondering what will happen next. The finale is totally grand, mixing totally shocking ideas into magically nice descriptive language that truly brings to life a whole new revolution. I havenï¿t met one person who hasnï¿t claimed that this book is just great, flawless and spectacular. It seems everyone nowadays has good taste in books! Hooray for Harry Potter!

"Prisoner of Azkaban" remains my favorite of the Harry Potter Series. Sirius Black is officially my favorite character now, and if you go back and read the first book, you are surprised to find that his name was mentioned in the first chapter. That's how well J. K. Rowling writes, and has everything planned out. Year 3 in the set of (four now) books is the most interesting and satisfying. The only problem was that it put Professor Snape under a new light...a bad one. Before this book, he was an interesting and seemingly justifiably nasty (wow, lots of "y's") character, but in this one, he goes too far. The rest of the book, however, is wonderful. The Dementors are truly terrifying if you allow them to be, and Professor Lupin is a pleasent surprise to the world of rapidly dissapearing Defense-of-Dark-Arts teachers. Charaters are developing insights and backrounds. I find that I read these books not for Harry, but for all the supporting "cast-members." We know all about Harry's past by this installment, and it's refreshing to know more about everyone elses. I only hope that the fifth book measures up to the standards I have set by this one. (And hopefully it's not as long and dragged out as the fourth, although it was emotionally enjoyable.) Thanks for putting up with my opinions.

One day, Harry Potter is just an average kid trying to survive life in the suburbs with his emotionally abusive aunt and uncle, and the next he's a famous wizard with friends in powerful places. J.K. Rowling has a wonderful imagination and an incredible ability to tell a great story, while creating a very likeable hero in the process. Like Dahl's Matilda, her books are about children becoming empowered to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles -- particularly adults who are evil. Incidentally, I fail to see how the books are becoming "darker." There are all kinds of positive lessons in this book. One important underlying theme is that not all things are what they seem (i.e. Scabbers, Sirius Black, Professor Lupin). I don't think that's such a bad lesson to teach children. Rowling also provides an innovative object lesson on overcoming our worst fears (the boggart). My 13-year-old daughter and I can hardly wait for book number four.

I've held out for so long, being a die-hard fiction fan, refusing to read the Harry Potter books. I usually stick with bestsellers such as MIDDLESEX or even the ubiquitous DA VINCI CODE (which,if you haven't read ARE great) but now I'm hooked on the HP series. No wonder Rowling wrote so many as she was in love with her characters as much as we all are. Great fun and not at all what I'd expect.

It was surprisingly a good read. I enjoy it very much. Harry finally stood up on his own (against the Dursley) makes me smile. Ah, the joy of seeing them panic over magic... just like good old days in Book 1. The author is good in leaving her readers with several suspicions as to who Sirius really is. The answer is very satisfying. I also enjoy reading about all the exciting classes the students have at Hogwarts. (especially Professor Lupin's and the ever-so-useful Marauders' Map)
I recommand this wonderful book for anybody thrilling for an exciting read.

The third book in the Harry Potter series follows 13-year old Harry as he runs away from home and returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This year, the Minister of Magic himself is taking a personal interest in Harry's safety because Sirius Black (who was instrumental in the deaths of Harry's parents), has escaped from Azkaban wizard prison after muttering ominously, "HE'S at Hogwarts!"

The second half of the book concerns the days when Harry's parents were students at Hogwarts with Sirius Black, Severus Snape, and Remus Lupin, who happens to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and a wonderfully sympathetic character. With the help of his pals Ron and Hermione, Harry finally comes face to face with Black and learns what really happened to his parents. This is an exciting page-turner that HP fans will love.

I thought I was going to get the Scholastic Edition but I got something different. Not bad but not what I was expecting. Sorry about that.