Stephen Fry + HP = Fantastic! (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio CD))

Member Name: scotlandizdabest

Product:	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio CD)
Date:	10/04/09 (333 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic reading, Plot, Characters, Love It!

Disadvantages: A bit dark for younger children

**What Is It?**
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the 2nd book in the Harry Potter series. I own all the series now on audio CD and have been able to get almost another perspective of the series in general, just by listening to it, instead of reading it. This is one of the shorter books at 251 pages (compared to over 650 in the later books!) This book comes in many formats; paperback, hardback, braille, larger print, in many different language and audio. This review is on the audio CD Children's version on the book, for the Chamber of Secrets.

**Why Buy It?**
I am a HUGE HARRY POTTER FAN. So if you are like me your a huge boy wizard fan like me then you HAVE to read it as you want to knew what happens next, from his first visit to Hogwarts. If your not as serious as us fans then you may read the book just to see if you like the Potter series or not. But the reason a lot of people buy it is because there children want to read it but can I stress that this is not actually that big of a children's book. It would be suitable for any range of reader.
A good example of another reason to buy is as because the books are getting longer, your child may love the movies but may not be able to read to that level. So listening to the book, can then lead to them reading the book. This would also benefit dyslexics, who may have trouble reading the book, but want to enjoy the adventures of the boy wizard. It would also be good for people who may don't like reading very much but enjoy the films, and want to get another perspective on the story. And of course for lazy readers, ok I have to admit I can't be bothered sometimes to read, but want to just relax and listen to another world.

**Characters**
*Harry Potter- The main character and the wizard we all love so much. The Chamber of Secrets see Harry slowly start to realise who he is, and going on his most exciting adventures to date. Chasing spiders, solving mysteries and beating a giant snake just to name a few.

*Ron Weasley- Harry's loyal best friend. Has been with Harry since the beginning. You see a new side of Ron in this book which is fantastic, as you see his courage and starting to like Harry, discover himself.

*Hermione Granger- Harry's other best friend she shines in a new light in this book. Unlike the last book, you see her getting caught out however is able to save the trio in numerous situations, even if she didn't mean to. One of my favourite characters in the book.

*Ginny Weasley- Awww! She fancies Harry and is Ron's little sister. However gets herself into a horrible situation in this book where she gets caught out by a magical diary. Also she gets the moment of her dreams where she gets rescued by Harry. Awww!

*Lord Voldemort- His powers are growing and his plans to kill Harry are becoming more powerful and adventurous. He is a hugely important character in the book, in which Harry again tries to defeat him, while figuring out how Voldemort is connected to the diary. Also known by his real name as Tom Riddle.

*Dobby- The loveable house elf, who helps Harry immenesly through a difficult adventure. He also opens Harry's eyes to the inhumanity some witches and wizards use against Magical Creatures.

* Gilderoy Lockart - The new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher and considered new sexy diva in Hogwarts. He has claimed that he has fought WereWolves, slayed Dragons and destroyed evil beasts. However apart from being a girls pin-up in the magical world, is he everything he says he is?

*Rubieus Hagrid- The mini giant (Yes his mother was a giant and his father was 'normal') is the gamekeeper to Hogwarts. He has been looking after Harry since he started Hogwarts and you get to see a new light of him in this book.

**So What Has Happened So Far?**
The Philosphers Stone, saw Harry being introduced to the Wizarding World, and of course to Hogwarts. This was a great introduction but as the reader you want to know more about the magical world itself and the secrets. We have discovered that Harry's poor parents were not killed by a car crash, but by evil Lord Voldemort in which Harry was the only known survivor.
After being brought up by his horrible aunty and uncle, he discovers (much to his delight) he is actually a wizard. He goes to Hogwarts and makes friends with Ron and Hermione and shares an adventure. This forms the platform for their later adventures.

**Front Cover**
The front cover comes in two designs, the Childrens and the Adults. The childrens is of Harry and Ron in a magical flying car. This is one of my favourite scenes in the book, and I love the artwork. This is found on a majority of the Audio covers. The adult cover is of 2 snakes entwined with jade green eyes. This fantastic artwork (see the Dooyoo photo) represents the Chamber of Secrets itself. We later find out that this is a vital part of the story. Both of these books are exactly the same however and have exactly the same chapters etc. I like the idea of two different covers, however it is only to make the older adults who may get 'embarsed' at the fact they are somewhat reading a kids book...

**CD's**
There are 8 CD's to listen to in this audio book. This is a lot, but compared to the other audio books it is a tiny fraction! They all have clearly listed numbers on them so you are not lost to find the next CD. They are all read by the AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, BEAUTIFULLY VOICED Stephen Fry, his reading is simply flawless throughout. I adore his voice and he even does the character voices, which are amusing and fantastic. His iconic voice makes the book highly enjoyable and I adore listening to his crystal clear voice throughout. I couldn't think of anyone better to read the books (he does the whole series) and you get exceptionally familiar to his voice.
If you do what I do you can download the CD's onto iTunes which actually added up to 98 'tracks' so basically where they stop and started recordings. This is an excellent feature and means you can put it then on your iPod and MP3 player, if you are wanting to take it to extreme portable. I did this and it worked out really well, and I throughly enjoyed keeping up with the book, on my iPod. Most have the facility to recognise Audio Books, and keep it away from the music section if you desire that.

**Plot**
The book starts off similarly to the first book. If you have not read the first one (or listened to) then it would a good idea if you did, as it is harder to get into compared to if you had read the first one. Harry is in his room, stuck there and with little communication with the outside world. His owl, Hedwig is his only companion.
It is his birthday, but no one has bothered to contact him, even wishing him happy birthday. However he gets an unexpected visitor, a house elf by the name of Dobby visits him to warn him not to go back to Hogwarts. How odd? Harry's happiest moments had been at the school for witchcraft and wizardry yet this little (big eared) elf says not to do it. Dobby has also been stealing Harry's letters so he would get annoyed. How mean!
After Ron getting worried that he hasn't sent any replies to his letters so him and his brothers steal their fathers flying car and drive to Harry's house and break him out. This is one of my favourite parts of the book and after this rebellion the Weasley brothers get home to get the most massive telling off from their mother. After getting over the hastle of escaping they head off to Hogwarts.
They get all their school books, and we meet a new character, Gilderoy Lockart. He will be the new DADA teacher and is a girls pin up dream, and also very up himself. Loves a photo opp with Harry! Now the boys need to get to school however are are not able to oddly get through the barrier. We later find out that it was Dobby doing this. So Ron not learning from his last telling off, decides that they should actually drive up to Scotland to Hogwarts!
So they do that...
Of course getting into severe trouble, they also accidently crash into the ancient Womping Willow which almost kills them. They get almost excluded however Dumbledore stops this happening. So ok, not the best start but now they are finally able to get back into a 'normal' routine. However weird things start to happen.
Harry starts hearing a voice, however no one else can hear it at all. Of course everyone is getting worried about him. People start becoming 'petrified' which causes them to be frozen until they can be unpetrified. Harry, is basically blamed for everything going wrong. They figure out the story of the legendary Chamber of Secrets and they figure out that Harry can actually speak Parsel-Tongue which is why he hear the voices, however this means he can speak to snakes. Muggle-borns are increasingly being attacked and the trio desperately trying to solve the mystery. However when Hermione gets attacked and Ron's little sister Ginny gets captured, Harry gets desperate and has to risk life to save them. There are killer spiders, giant snakes, blood, teenage angst and of course a drop of romance. What more could you want from such an exciting plot?

**Price/Where to get it**
The RRP is £39.99, which is a lot of money, however I got mine for just £15.99 from Amazon. You do get it in a nice box to keep all the CD's safely.
It can also be downloaded of iTunes. This will cost you around £18, and comes in tracks. It can be easily found, just search Chamber of Secrets and you will be able to download it easily. For 9 and a half hours of Harry Potter brilliance, I think this is well worth the money.
But you can also BORROW it from the library for free (well in my local one anyway) but I'm pretty sure it will apply to a lot of people. This one you can still get on tape as well, if you prefer to use them instead of CD's. It can be bought from Borders, Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith and many more shops. There are a lot of deals on just now, like buy one Harry Potter audio book, and get another discounted.

**What's Right With It?**
This is such a thrilling, exciting book to read. I could not stop listening to it but had to because I needed to sleep or go to school! Seriously once you finish a chapter you have to listening the next one as you need to know what is happening. The characters characterisation is outstanding in this book as you see each indivual grow up and face the most horrible situations, at such a young age. It has a sense of reality as well and you feel it is possible to do these things. Also as I personally am around the same age as Harry and his friends I really feel I can relate to them. The book reminds you a lot that Harry, Ron and Hermione are just becoming teenagers and having to deal with all this must have been really tough. It is a truly fantastic listen, or if you get a chance, to read. It is the last book, and if you have been reading all the books this, I think everyone will guarentee you will throughly enjoy!

**What's Wrong With It?**
What I've found is that this book is very dark and quite scary. It features death and evil which may worry some parents to read/listen to the book. It really isn't for young children however this is one of the lightest books in the series and would be fine for many children. I first read the book when I was 11 and found it scary! Because it is avaliable in audio it is a lot easier for younger ones to get access so just a caution to parents, that this a little dark book to be listening to.

**Conclusion**
I've actually found, using myself as an example that readers grow up with Harry. I was only 8 when Philosphers Stone came out and I read it and watched the movies when I was 10/11 and as now I am 16 I can actually relate to Harry a lot. This was the second audio book of Harry Potter and I do prefer the book to audio, however only marginally. The audio allows you to relax more. If your not really familiar with Harry Potter but don't enjoy reading then this is for you (or just watch the films) but I can guarentee, content wise, the Books are so much better. I love this book, I love Harry Potter and I loved writing this review.

I would recommend it to everyone teenagers, parents, gran parents everyone! 5 stars from me.

Copyright 2009- Scotlandizdabest on Dooyoo.co.uk

Summary: A brilliant book, audio gives a new perspective.