The first one was enchanting. The second was ingenious. The third was a little bit of a regrouping episode - but still a cracker of a yarn.

Today Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, known to cognoscenti on the Harry Potter websites as HP4, has finally been unleashed. And is it good? You bet it is.

Harry's - and our - fourth year at Hogwarts is funny, full of delicious parodies of our own world, and wildy action-packed. Billed as "the one in which Harry discovers girls", it really stands out as the sporty Harry Potter.

The "J.K." was imposed on Rowling because her publishers feared a woman's name would put off boy readers: she could now call herself Fifi Trixibelle for all it would put the lads off devouring this complex, puzzle-filled yarn.

Rowling has even invented another wizard sport: much of the plot revolves around a gloriously complicated inter-school magic contest, complete with points-systems, conundrums and tests of ingenuity.

Once again, Harry meets his arch enemy, Lord Voldemort; once again he comes close to death. The much hinted-at death does take place but not until right at the end. And I'm not telling you who it is. All I will say is that it is not who you think, and I dare add that you will feel ever so slightly let down.

Rowling seems now to be confident that there are enough copies of the first three books in the world for no one except a complete Squib (person who should have magical powers but does not) to be so foolish as to read this one first.

So wisely, she has cut down the boring reiterative material that marred the second and third books, sharpened up the writing noticeably (HP3 was veering towards sloppiness) and shifted from the opening format of the previous books, whose stories all started off in Privet Drive, home of Harry and his beastly relatives, the Dursleys. Instead we have a creepy opening chapter, involving Lord Voldemort.

As Rowling hinted a few months ago, some of the bloom has rubbed off Dudley's relationship with his indulgent parents. It turns out he has been put on a diet - the school nurse at Smeltings, his gloriously named and hideously pretentious public school, has pointed out to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon that their son has grown so fat that the school outfitters can no longer find knickerbockers in his size.

Meanwhile the Weasleys, the numerous and impecunious but loving wizard family of Harry's best mate Ron, make an ill-fated attempt to arrive at the Dursleys' house by Floo powder - through the fireplace - without realising that the fireplace has been closed up in favour of an electric fire. The scene shifts to a great Rowling set piece - the Quidditch World Cup final (between Ireland and Bulgaria), for which the Weasleys have secured tickets. Nationalist pride and tension surrounds the match; after all, British wizards are immensely proud to be hosting it, but to everyone's horror the event is scarred by - you guessed - post-match violence and - horror of horrors - cruelty to Muggles (people without magical powers).

Harry and his loyal mates Ron Weasley and Hermione Grainger arrive at Hogwarts the following term to find that a terrifying three-way tournament, the Triwizard Tournament, is to take place at the school throughout the year, which means that the school must play host to pupils from two rival wizard schools, Beauxbatons from France and the more sinister Durmstrang which seems to be somewhere in Central Europe.

Romance blossoms all round and among the teaching staff, too.

Once again, Rowling packs the pages with witty and imaginative ideas. We meet Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet's star interviewer, the wooden-legged figure of Mad-eye Moody with his horrible, magical, rolling eye and his all-seeing equipment, and the stocky, silent figure of Viktor Krum.

Best of all we see the friends moving through their teens in a very grumpy, awkward, British way. "Giggling should be made illegal," thinks Harry glumly as bouts of this activity greet his attempts to invite a girl to be his dance partner - it seems these young magicians blush, giggle and think Uranus is the funniest planet in the solar system. Just like Muggles.

Fourth year report? Another fine year, Ms Rowling. Three more to go and it looks as though your OWLS (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) results will be terrific.

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Bloomsbury

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