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deluciate's review against another edition
4.0
I devoured this book in a single sitting on vacation today. I was a big fan of His Dark Materials, which I read several times as a child but hadn't revisited in a long time.
These characters are new but made me care about them immediately. This story feels more confusing and less defined than the original, but to be fair, this is only book one of three, and I'm sure the confusion and darkness of the last few hours is exactly how the characters have been feeling, so the author has done a wonderful job bringing us into their world. I'm eager to both read the next book and go back to the first one.
These characters are new but made me care about them immediately. This story feels more confusing and less defined than the original, but to be fair, this is only book one of three, and I'm sure the confusion and darkness of the last few hours is exactly how the characters have been feeling, so the author has done a wonderful job bringing us into their world. I'm eager to both read the next book and go back to the first one.
timinbc's review against another edition
2.0
OK, who wrote this mess really ?
Did a fan find a few scribbled notes and turn them into this steaming pile?
First off, who's the audience for this? We have rape, bludgeoning to death, multiple drownings, and I don't know what else. With an eleven-year-old protagonist.
We start with a long, slow, and dull exposition in which we learn that Malcolm is plucky - I hate plucky heroes - and that The Canoe Is Going To Be Really Important Later.
Then a long, slow and dull section where we see that Bonneville is Really Really Bad, which makes sure we understand that later on we're going to have a moment.
Not to mention the Hitler Youth, oops I mean the League of St. Alexander, which is carefully presented so we know They Are Going To Betray Us At A Critical Moment.
Then the warning about the coming flood. Only one person predicts it, and of course All The Grownups Don"t Believe It. But we know better, don't we, reader? the "gyptians" know all and see all (and indeed one of them is named Coram - a tribute to Johnny Carson's Cormac?) (Coram van Texel, a very gyptian name indeed).
And, here comes the flood. One of the characters Malcolm even asks on our behalf "where did all the water come from" and Pullman tells us "don't you worry your pretty little head about that." We have water as far as the eye can see! Odd, because there's a 165-metre hill just northwest of Botley. And for the record floods of 2014 even the "minimum risk of flooding" zone northwest of Oxford was maybe 2 km wide, per the Oxfordshire County Council Flood Toolkit.
Our characters ride the flood for what seems like days. Odd, because from Wolvercote to the middle of Oxford University, walking a path that meanders about as much as the Thames does, you'd go about 3.2 miles. And when the mighty Fraser River near me floods, it moves at a peak speed of about 0.2 miles a minutes, or a mean speed of 0.1 miles per minute, so that canoe would be well past Oxford pretty damn quick.
Except that it would have tipped in the first minute, based on the illustration. Lookit, I'm a master canoeist and I've paddled in fast water. It takes more skill and strength than you are likely to find in an 11-year-old who doesn't even know enough to carry a spare paddle. And don't get me started on the coal-silk cover with hoops that hardly ever gets in the way while keeping everything dry.
Or the constant searchers, followed by "whew, they're gone, let's build a great big fire because they'll never notice it."
Bah. I will not be reading Book of Dust #2.
Did a fan find a few scribbled notes and turn them into this steaming pile?
First off, who's the audience for this? We have rape, bludgeoning to death, multiple drownings, and I don't know what else. With an eleven-year-old protagonist.
We start with a long, slow, and dull exposition in which we learn that Malcolm is plucky - I hate plucky heroes - and that The Canoe Is Going To Be Really Important Later.
Then a long, slow and dull section where we see that Bonneville is Really Really Bad, which makes sure we understand that later on we're going to have a
Spoiler
He Needed Killin'Not to mention the Hitler Youth, oops I mean the League of St. Alexander, which is carefully presented so we know They Are Going To Betray Us At A Critical Moment.
Then the warning about the coming flood. Only one person predicts it, and of course All The Grownups Don"t Believe It. But we know better, don't we, reader? the "gyptians" know all and see all (and indeed one of them is named Coram - a tribute to Johnny Carson's Cormac?) (Coram van Texel, a very gyptian name indeed).
And, here comes the flood. One of the characters Malcolm even asks on our behalf "where did all the water come from" and Pullman tells us "don't you worry your pretty little head about that." We have water as far as the eye can see! Odd, because there's a 165-metre hill just northwest of Botley. And for the record floods of 2014 even the "minimum risk of flooding" zone northwest of Oxford was maybe 2 km wide, per the Oxfordshire County Council Flood Toolkit.
Our characters ride the flood for what seems like days. Odd, because from Wolvercote to the middle of Oxford University, walking a path that meanders about as much as the Thames does, you'd go about 3.2 miles. And when the mighty Fraser River near me floods, it moves at a peak speed of about 0.2 miles a minutes, or a mean speed of 0.1 miles per minute, so that canoe would be well past Oxford pretty damn quick.
Except that it would have tipped in the first minute, based on the illustration. Lookit, I'm a master canoeist and I've paddled in fast water. It takes more skill and strength than you are likely to find in an 11-year-old who doesn't even know enough to carry a spare paddle. And don't get me started on the coal-silk cover with hoops that hardly ever gets in the way while keeping everything dry.
Or the constant searchers, followed by "whew, they're gone, let's build a great big fire because they'll never notice it."
Bah. I will not be reading Book of Dust #2.
requiel's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
3.0
A bit disappointed tbh. Lacked the forward movement of the first book and I thought the pacing was off during the flood. Characters were fine, well drawn and Bonneville was great and grotesque, really dark.
But nothing much happens in a way, and what does seems a little confused, a little slow, or else skimmed over. Ending came up suddenly after a long slog. Hopefully it’s the weakest book of the new series.
But nothing much happens in a way, and what does seems a little confused, a little slow, or else skimmed over. Ending came up suddenly after a long slog. Hopefully it’s the weakest book of the new series.
brittspry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
smateer73's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I felt it was a good companion novel to the His Dark Materials series. All the characters are well developed and the story moves quickly.
trin's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful, beautiful writing, but suffers rather from prequelitis -- one knows going in exactly where Lyra is going to ultimately end up. Plotwise, this book is also hindered by being in the majority a journey story -- and then, and then -- and moreover, surprisingly unclear in its worldbuilding and character motivations. I'm sure much of this will become more apparent in the next volume, but in a way, Pullman gives the reader frustratingly little for a novel of 400+ pages.
But oh, the writing, the world. Daemons.
Spoiler
Bonneville, the main -- non-institutional -- villain is fascinating, and intensely, often viscerally frightening; his pursuit of Malcolm and Alice is very Night of the Hunter, which I adore. But it's never clear why he's after them or what he wants with Lyra.But oh, the writing, the world. Daemons.
popefacekillah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
flintlocklane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
3.75
This book is definitely stranger and darker than I remembered it being