Reviews

I didn't like this book. I came to it biased but even taking that into account, I would rather not have read it. It was almost as bad as the film adaption, aside from there being a little more plot to play with.

I'll reel off the positives first: I absolutely loved the concept of daemons; the writing was superb; the setting was harsh, brutal and fantastically different from anything I've ever read and Lyra's perspective was a perfect balance between innocence and instinct.

If Pullman had left the story at that and worked with its strengths, there wouldn't have been a problem. The Gobblers' story line would have served well enough on its own, if it was beefed up. But things weren't left there. Armoured bears and witches were thrown into the mix, as well as Dust and alternate worlds and fifty separate, confusing organisations of the Church. By chapter four my poor brain was crying out for some character development rather than world-building and by chapter six it'd given up the plea. Side note - what the hell is Dust because I still don't know?!

While Asriel and Marisa were of interest, simply because they were not depicted as parents usually are in childrens' literature, they failed to carry the rest of the novel. I didn't empathise with anyone - Lyra being the exception. Even Roger failed to make an impression and he was such a helpless kid. I was more interested in the daemons and their behaviour towards others actually.

What bothered me most, however, was that almost every word added something to the story and I reached a point, early on, when I didn't want any more story. All I wanted was to know more about what had already been introduced and that never really happened. Lyra's parentage was revealed I guess but other than that, plot twist after plot twist was lobbed at my head and I had to duck for cover. The plot was like a shark - always moving, never stopping.

I'm not eager to read 'The Subtle Knife' but it's on my course list for September and I want to be thorough. I'm not expecting great things but I'll wait and see before I make a judgement. Hopefully the plot will be more grounded.

eventual_ghost's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Loved listening to it with a full cast. One of my favorite stories and always an amazing time to revisit

dariadanley's review against another edition

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4.0

What a book and what a story.

I am proud to say that I have finally read this book and I am most likely going to marathon the rest of this series since my mom has a box set.

The world is so rich and beautiful it is almost impossible not to love it. One would think it is probably random, similar to Peter Pan, since it has witches, armoured bears, and dæmons all in one book. It would probably be too many ideas at once, but Pullman pulled it off perfectly.

Lyra is a perfect protagonist. I love that she is a child and acts like a child. She is intelligent and clever, but she also doesn't think everything through. I love when the story revolves around a child because it is such a welcome change from the normal books I read.

The writing was a little dry and I wish it wouldn't have been. If the writing was more lyrical or had a more melodic style, it would have matched the whimsy of the world.

I'm already starting the next one if you couldn't tell.