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migimon2002's review against another edition
4.0
What an intriguing edition to the His Dark Materials world. One just can’t rid themselves of that d#*# golden monkey!!
sandra_12raven's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
aljosa's review against another edition
4.0
Much better and interesting than [b:Once Upon a Time in the North|2225238|Once Upon a Time in the North (His Dark Materials, #0.5)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331317426l/2225238._SY75_.jpg|3568899]
fxp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
A spooky short story with beautiful illustrations.
bboduffy's review against another edition
5.0
I had the privilege of attending the launch event for the print version of this text at Blackwell’s Books last night. The story, originally composed for audiobook form, has now been set in print with delightful illustrations.
Seeing Philip Pullman in person was a dream, not unlike attending Oxford in the first place. I credit him for planting that seed. What a perfect book for the occasion as well, one situated in the arcane and covetous chambers of “Horley” College’s Senior Common Room (SCR). It is a world between Lyra’s and our own - they don’t have dæmons but they have artifacts of (Mrs) Marissa (Coulter) that are the centerpiece of the tale - but with different names for the younger (poorer) colleges.
An early anecdote from the event called attention to the dedication - to songwriter Kate Bush. We learned that kernel for this short tale came from a story she had shared about two items in her personal art collection.
Speaking of art, Pullman also drew attention to the Balthus painting on the cover. It’s not the first time he’s featured a Balthus portrait - a previous edition of The Golden Compass/Northern Lights also had a Balthus rendering of a girl at a desk. As with the time Pullman previously saw Lyra’s face on canvas, the minute he saw this « portrait de la jeune fille en costume d’amazone » he recognized Mrs Coulter as a child.
I will add more later (I owe my supervisor some pages) but I’m still reeling from the evening and wanted to jot down my thoughts.
If you ever listened to the audiobooks of HDM (as I often did when growing up), you’d recognize his voice as the main narrator. He joked that he was disappointed to have not done some of the other voices (particularly Iorek Byrnison - he did an impressive booming impression). I wish we could have heard him talk and listened to his stories all evening.
They say “don’t meet your heroes” - perhaps this didn’t count as he wasn’t signing books or meeting with fans after the event - but I do think he’s someone I’d love to talk with over dinner.
Seeing Philip Pullman in person was a dream, not unlike attending Oxford in the first place. I credit him for planting that seed. What a perfect book for the occasion as well, one situated in the arcane and covetous chambers of “Horley” College’s Senior Common Room (SCR). It is a world between Lyra’s and our own - they don’t have dæmons but they have artifacts of (Mrs) Marissa (Coulter) that are the centerpiece of the tale - but with different names for the younger (poorer) colleges.
An early anecdote from the event called attention to the dedication - to songwriter Kate Bush. We learned that kernel for this short tale came from a story she had shared about two items in her personal art collection.
Speaking of art, Pullman also drew attention to the Balthus painting on the cover. It’s not the first time he’s featured a Balthus portrait - a previous edition of The Golden Compass/Northern Lights also had a Balthus rendering of a girl at a desk. As with the time Pullman previously saw Lyra’s face on canvas, the minute he saw this « portrait de la jeune fille en costume d’amazone » he recognized Mrs Coulter as a child.
I will add more later (I owe my supervisor some pages) but I’m still reeling from the evening and wanted to jot down my thoughts.
If you ever listened to the audiobooks of HDM (as I often did when growing up), you’d recognize his voice as the main narrator. He joked that he was disappointed to have not done some of the other voices (particularly Iorek Byrnison - he did an impressive booming impression). I wish we could have heard him talk and listened to his stories all evening.
They say “don’t meet your heroes” - perhaps this didn’t count as he wasn’t signing books or meeting with fans after the event - but I do think he’s someone I’d love to talk with over dinner.
gabriellugh's review against another edition
3.0
Nobody meets Marisa Coulter and remains undamaged. This is really nice. Super short and just enough to remember that they should always stay together.
olyts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5