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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Great adventure story. I cannto wait to see what happens in the next book.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pullman uses too many semicolons at all the wrong times. But that aside, the book is a fairly good yarn—the controversial religious overtones that have resulted in multiple bannings of this series only show up in the final few pages. The armored bears are by far the best part of the book.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
I feel like I’m missing something here, maybe it’s because I watched the first adaptation of this first years and years ago, but I just didn’t enjoy this until the very end couple of chapters
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Holy world-building, Batman. It's been so many years since I read this that it was like reading it for the first time, and I enjoyed it so much! The way the complex world is worked so seamlessly into the action-packed plot is so impressive, and all of the characters are vivid and compelling. There's a reason this book is so widely beloved!
This book is a fantastic example of so many elements I love:
I love stories that are well written from a child's perspective. Lyra is a balanced blend: smart enough to hold conversations with adults, observant enough to pick up adult cues or dialogue not meant for her, but childish enough to get into trouble.
I love fictional universes extremely similar to human Earth, especially when writing for young adults. It keeps the new information to a digestible level while still adding magic, and it's easier to picture yourself in the fantasy. The daemons are a perfect idea. I wish I had one, I like to think it would settle as a fox.
Many fantasy universes cast other species or populations as overly anthropomorphized or too typical. I love stories with legitimately different (and often extremely dangerous) adjacent character groups; they keep the story moving in unexpected directions, because their actions don't have to be believable from human motivations.
The dragons of Earthsea are my favorite example, but the armored bears here are a close second, and the witches are great as well.
Typically I don't like audiobooks with multiple voice actors. For a single narrator to maintain multiple voices, they need overly dramatic, almost cartoony aspects to keep each voice distinct. Using a cast of actors removes that need, and the result often feels more like watching a movie with your eyes closed than being read a story. This cast kept the storytime in their voices, despite mostly being one character per actor, and I loved it all the more for it. Iorek Byrnison is a top-5 all time character voice.
This book is a great example of one clearly written as the first in a series while not feeling underdone. It has every element a story needs, it just doesn't have a satisfying ending - that's what propels me into the next book.
I love stories that are well written from a child's perspective. Lyra is a balanced blend: smart enough to hold conversations with adults, observant enough to pick up adult cues or dialogue not meant for her, but childish enough to get into trouble.
I love fictional universes extremely similar to human Earth, especially when writing for young adults. It keeps the new information to a digestible level while still adding magic, and it's easier to picture yourself in the fantasy. The daemons are a perfect idea. I wish I had one, I like to think it would settle as a fox.
Many fantasy universes cast other species or populations as overly anthropomorphized or too typical. I love stories with legitimately different (and often extremely dangerous) adjacent character groups; they keep the story moving in unexpected directions, because their actions don't have to be believable from human motivations.
The dragons of Earthsea are my favorite example, but the armored bears here are a close second, and the witches are great as well.
Typically I don't like audiobooks with multiple voice actors. For a single narrator to maintain multiple voices, they need overly dramatic, almost cartoony aspects to keep each voice distinct. Using a cast of actors removes that need, and the result often feels more like watching a movie with your eyes closed than being read a story. This cast kept the storytime in their voices, despite mostly being one character per actor, and I loved it all the more for it. Iorek Byrnison is a top-5 all time character voice.
This book is a great example of one clearly written as the first in a series while not feeling underdone. It has every element a story needs, it just doesn't have a satisfying ending - that's what propels me into the next book.