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k_atrina's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
amylepp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gracerider's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
theogb451's review against another edition
4.0
Good to be back in Lyra's world and with a feel strongly of the original Northern Lights, which was my favourite of His Dark Materials for sure.
I hadn't expected this to be set prior to the events of HDM but apparently the next books will be after. In general a really good story and, as someone said, Le Carré in style but also quite CS Lewis - I am thinking of Voyage of the Dawntreader and the sense of little tales within the big tale. There are some points where the plot felt a bit rushed, an aspect that I've felt before with Pullman: I don't know if this is his style in general or it's something that he does to keep his narrative quicker to engage children. As a boy I would certainly have appreciated this style a great deal but as an adult it causes me to give it 4 stars instead of 5.
I hadn't expected this to be set prior to the events of HDM but apparently the next books will be after. In general a really good story and, as someone said, Le Carré in style but also quite CS Lewis - I am thinking of Voyage of the Dawntreader and the sense of little tales within the big tale. There are some points where the plot felt a bit rushed, an aspect that I've felt before with Pullman: I don't know if this is his style in general or it's something that he does to keep his narrative quicker to engage children. As a boy I would certainly have appreciated this style a great deal but as an adult it causes me to give it 4 stars instead of 5.
yazzer's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
_mynameisdrew's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
jamic3's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
barb_d's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Certainly action-packed and fast moving. I was surprised at how involved I got, given that I thought the second and third books of the original trilogy dragged. This one dragged in places as well, but was consistently dynamic. Another strange thing is the tone - it reads like a children's book but has a few more mature episodes, some involving more mature language.