Brian Cole’s Reviews > Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire > Status Update
Brian Cole
is 72% done
Speaking of discrimination, Islamophobia is strong among English wizards what with the magic carpet ban that keeps getting brought up. The explanation they give early on is that it could be mistaken for a regular rug and end up in muggle hands and I'm like What? What the... WTF do you think BROOMS are for? How is a flying broom any different than a flying carpet? So yeah, that either makes perfect sense or no sense.
— Jan 16, 2019 05:57AM
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Brian Cole
is 75% done
And yeah, the Ron/Hermione thing really does kind of come out of nowhere. You start to see it starting here in this book and it's just... no. Ron and Hermione never show much chemistry. I liked it as a kid because it felt right for the opposites to be together, but as a grown up who's been in relationships, opposites don't make for cute couples. And Ron and Hermione aren't cute at all together.
— Jan 16, 2019 06:11AM
Brian Cole
is 74% done
Also I have been taking JK's advice and reading Hermione as black the entire time since book one and it fits pretty well, although for sure the discrimination and personal insults sent her way by Slytherins this time around bite harder and feel racially charged in addition to the wizarding sense. But anyway, I am enjoying my re-read of the series. I'd say it all still holds up pretty well.
— Jan 16, 2019 06:06AM
Brian Cole
is 73% done
And I have to give a little JK criticsm here: did she really have to make Hagrid's Care for Magical Creatures storyline as frustratingly uninteresting as possible? I understand in universe why he sucks so bad but it makes for miserable reading. I understand he was spooked by what happened in his first class with the Hippogriffs but it really didn't need to go this direction and get so dower and boring. Raw deal.
— Jan 16, 2019 06:01AM
Brian Cole
is 71% done
The unspoken implications of impure-bloodline discrimination stands out to me strongly this time. I find it hard to believe there hasn't been mass genocide in the past of people born with magical powers to muggle parents what with the numerous people in power who strongly disagree with their admittance into Hogwarts and other wizarding schools.
— Jan 16, 2019 05:54AM
Brian Cole
is 70% done
Okay, I need to get a bunch of random thoughts out of my head. First off, like many people, it's been years since I read these books and coming back in my 30s since reading them in my teens has been a trip. But yeah, this time around Snape isn't nearly as amusing as he was before. He's such an unlikable shit. Harry and Ron are both as annoying as I remember them being in this book. Puberty's a bitch.
— Jan 16, 2019 05:52AM
