Product Description

When Harry and his best friends go back for their third year at Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass-murderer on the loose and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school. Lessons, however, must go on and there are lots of new subjects in third year - Care of Magical Creatures and Divination among others - to take Harry's mind off things!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #667 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Harry's transitional third year at Hogwarts
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban doesn't quite live up to the greatness of its predecessors, in my opinion, yet it is definitely another fabulous read. Azkaban, of course, is the prison in which convicted wizards are held, and it is nice to get our first information about the type of place it really is. This also serves to introduce what are perhaps the most sinister creatures encountered thus far in the continuing story of Harry's years at Hogwarts. Rogue wizards are a pretty devious and tricky lot, but the Dementors of Azkaban are more than up to the task of keeping them subdued. A Dementor, a cloaked, hooded, thoroughly spook-inducing creature, sucks the happiness out of everyone around it, and virtually all prisoners eventually go mad after enduring nothing but their most unhappiest memories at all times. No prisoner has ever escaped the prison - until now. Sirius Black, convicted of killing one wizard and a dozen Muggles twelve years earlier, has escaped, and every indication is that he is coming after Harry Potter to kill him. This threat looms over Harry throughout his third year at Hogwarts, as even the Ministry of Magic is working to keep young Potter safe from the hands of such a dire criminal. Naturally, there is much, much more to the story of Sirius Black than meets the eye, and a number of old secrets and missing pieces of Harry's history are brought to light. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban strikes me as bearing a transitional place in the Potter series of books, enriching the landscape with more involved sub plots and new, potentially important characters, enclosing all of this important information inside a story that is sure to delight and entertain all fans of Harry Potter.

Absolutely amazing; the best Harry Potter book yet!
What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said by someone here? It was absolutely amazing! I've loved the Harry Potter books since I read the first one last spring, but this is my favorite of them so far. The beauty of it, the layers of betrayal and friendship that are slowly peeled away chapter by chapter, are all simply breathtaking.

I started Prisoner of Azkaban one night as I got into bed, planning to read only a few chapters and then sleep. 435 pages and many hours later, watching the sun start to come up, I finally put it down, having finished the entire book. In the process of those 435 pages, I laughed, I gasped in surprise, and believe it or not I cried. The emotions of the characters expressed in this book as, bit by bit, the story of what really happened that Halloween night that Voldemort killed Lily and James Potter, were absolutely perfect.

One of the finest books I've ever read!

A Masterpiece!
I thought Harry Potter couldnt get better after the Philosophers Stone but then I discovered The Chamber of Secrets and now, to surpass them all comes The Prisoner of Azkaban! Stephen Fry continues to amaze me with his ability to draw the "listener" into the story. I listen to Harry Potter every morning and evening on the way to and from work. Before discovering Harry, I used to get frustrated with the hours drive home in traffic queues but now look forward to having a long journey home, just so I can hear more of Harry. Im an addict - officially! Im 25 and my partner thinks Im crazy for being into this "kiddy" thing - well im here to tell you that imagination doesnt stop when you leave school and I find this the perfect antidote for a stressful life - I can escape it all and listen in bliss to the great Stephen Fry excelling himself and complementing the already brilliant Harry Potter!