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andycroll's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A delightful short story, it’s good to see Lyra again, briefly.
lauraeliza23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
3.5
auberginehayz's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
amebco's review against another edition
reflective
fast-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
4.0
radomu's review against another edition
4.0
A bit short (took me 20 minutes to read) and inconsequential, but leaves a good taste in your mouth if you read and enjoyed His Dark Materials before.
rkalajian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
xavierdragnesi's review against another edition
3.0
Serpentine is a nice little bridge between the end of His Dark Materials and The Secret Commonwealth. Not being a frequent reader of short stories, it's a little hard for me to judge this one - as always, I enjoy any opportunity I get to be in Lyra's world, but this was almost so brief that I felt like I wasn't able to immerse myself properly. The colour that this book adds to Lyra and Pan's relationship is rewarding and meaningful especially for a dedicated fan, and it's also a testament to Pullman's engagement with this world that he has crafted that he could write this short story even before he had any plans to write The Book of Dust, yet have this fit so naturally between the series. Ultimately though, it scratched an itch for me but didn't blow me away.
breakfastgrey's review against another edition
4.0
Rating all of the Pullman novellas (which are really more of short stories stretched out with illustrations and small pages that only hold a few lines of text) feels like running up the score on GoodReads, so I'm going to clump them all here in one Serpentine review because I'd still like to keep track as I'm working my way through the whole Lyra epic.
Lyra's Oxford- 3.5- Enjoyed this one, but it feels a bit brief and lightweight. I liked the twist at the end and the way that Lyra was played, but it was a bit inconsequential as a standalone book. The map was super cool, though.
The Collectors- 2.5- I wasn't particularly impressed by this one. It wasn't bad, but it didn't do much to engage me. It's unnecessarily complicated for a story this short that doesn't particularly go anywhere. I do like the idea of a darker, scarier story set in these worlds, though.
Serpentine- 4- Also ultra brief since the book boils down to a conversation and not much else, but I still really enjoyed that conversation. It added some new wrinkles to the overall mythology, which I enjoyed and showed some character progression. The art was also super cool.
Honestly, these three stories should be collected into one volume with Once Upon a Time in the North. Charging full book price for individual short stories is a bit much. The stories are all good, but I'd recommend using your local library to read them since they're all super quick reads. They're not necessary reads, but they are worthwhile if you're a fan looking for more and packaging them into one book of odds and ends would enhance the appeal.
Lyra's Oxford- 3.5- Enjoyed this one, but it feels a bit brief and lightweight. I liked the twist at the end and the way that Lyra was played, but it was a bit inconsequential as a standalone book. The map was super cool, though.
The Collectors- 2.5- I wasn't particularly impressed by this one. It wasn't bad, but it didn't do much to engage me. It's unnecessarily complicated for a story this short that doesn't particularly go anywhere. I do like the idea of a darker, scarier story set in these worlds, though.
Serpentine- 4- Also ultra brief since the book boils down to a conversation and not much else, but I still really enjoyed that conversation. It added some new wrinkles to the overall mythology, which I enjoyed and showed some character progression. The art was also super cool.
Honestly, these three stories should be collected into one volume with Once Upon a Time in the North. Charging full book price for individual short stories is a bit much. The stories are all good, but I'd recommend using your local library to read them since they're all super quick reads. They're not necessary reads, but they are worthwhile if you're a fan looking for more and packaging them into one book of odds and ends would enhance the appeal.
darren173's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75