UK/US release Goblet of Fire was the first book in the Harry Potter series to be released in the United States on the same date as the United Kingdom, on 8 July 2000, strategically on a Saturday so children did not have to worry about school conflicting with buying the book. It was given a record-breaking print run of 3.9 million. Three million copies of the book were sold over the first weekend in the US alone.
FedEx dispatched more than 9,000 trucks and 100 planes to fulfil book deliveries. The pressure in editing caused a mistake which shows Harry's father emerging first from Voldemort's wand; however, as confirmed in
Prisoner of Azkaban, James died first, so then Harry's mother ought to have come out first. This was corrected in later editions.
Launch publicity To publicise the book, a special train named
Hogwarts Express was organised by
Bloomsbury, and run from
King's Cross to
Perth, carrying J.K. Rowling, a consignment of books for her to sign and sell, also representatives of Bloomsbury and the press. The book was launched on 8 July 2000, on platform 1 at King's Cross – which had been given "Platform " signs for the occasion – following which the train departed. En route it called at
Didcot Railway Centre, , the
Severn Valley Railway, (overnight stop),
Manchester,
Bradford, , the
National Railway Museum (overnight stop),
Newcastle,
Edinburgh, arriving at Perth on 11 July. The locomotive was
West Country class steam locomotive no. 34027
Taw Valley, which was specially repainted red for the tour; it later returned to its normal green livery (the repaints were requested and paid for by Bloomsbury). The coaches of the train included a sleeping car. A Diesel locomotive was coupled at the other end, for use when reversals were necessary, such as the first stage of the journey as far as Ferme Park, just south of . The tour generated considerably more press interest than the launch of the film
Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which premiered in London the same weekend.
Critical reception In
The New York Times Book Review, author
Stephen King stated the
Goblet of Fire was "every bit as good as Potters 1 through 3" and praised the humour and subplots, although he commented that "there's also a moderately tiresome amount of adolescent squabbling...it's a teenage thing".
Kirkus Reviews called it "another grand tale of magic and mystery...and clicking along so smoothly that it seems shorter than it is". However, they commented that it did tend to lag, especially at the end where two "bad guys" stopped the action to give extended explanations, and that the issues to be resolved in sequels would leave "many readers, particularly American ones, uncomfortable". For
The Horn Book Magazine, Martha V. Parravano gave a mixed review, saying "some will find [it] wide-ranging, compellingly written, and absorbing; others, long, rambling, and tortuously fraught with adverbs". A
Publishers Weekly review praised the book's "
red herrings, the artful clues and tricky surprises that disarm the most attentive audience" and saying it "might be her most thrilling yet." Writing for
The New Yorker,
Joan Acocella noted that "where the prior volumes moved like lightning, here the pace is slower, the energy more dispersed. At the same time, the tone becomes more grim." Kristin Lemmerman of
CNN said that it is not great literature: 'Her prose has more in common with your typical beach-blanket fare and the beginning contained too much recap to introduce characters to new readers, although Rowling quickly gets back on track, introducing readers to a host of well-drawn new characters.' Writing for
Salon.com, Charles Taylor was generally positive about the change of mood and development of characters.
Entertainment Weekly reviewer Kristen Baldwin gave
Goblet of Fire the grade of A−, praising the development of the characters as well as the many themes presented. However, she did worry that a shocking climax may be a "nightmare factory" for young readers. In 2012 it was ranked number 98 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by
School Library Journal.
Awards and honours Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won several awards, including the 2001
Hugo Award for Best Novel. It won the 2002
Indian Paintbrush Book Award, the third after ''Philosopher's Stone
and Prisoner of Azkaban
. The novel also won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award for one of the best books, who claimed it was "more intense than the first three books". In addition, Entertainment Weekly
listed Goblet of Fire
in second place on their list of The New Classics: Books – The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008
. The Guardian ranked Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' #97 in its list of 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. ==Adaptations==