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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
I'm ashamed that it took me sooo long to finish this book, but at least I did finish it.
You have to be in the right mood to read this book. Philip Pullman is a linguist genius and that shows in his writing - you cannot dive into his work half-present.
When I started reading this book 2 years ago in the middle of summer, I was pulled into it, but the moment Lord Asriel disappeared, it became suuuch a drag for me. Lord Asriel, for all that it's worth, is such an intelligent, magnetic and intimidating character, and I suppose, I'm just naturally drawn to characters like that.
What made me return to this book was the fact that I wanted to watch the new series. So many people told me that it does the book justice, but ofc, me being me, I wanted to read the book first and then be a judge of the series. And James McAvoy is Lord Asriel, who could possibly resist that?!
Towards the end, the book got incredibly intense. I would procrastinate with my studying in order to advance in this book, and I don't do that very lightly - that's how you know I was really into the second half of the book.
The book is mostly a slow burn, I'd say. A lot is happening, but... at the same time, it takes the reader forever to get somewhere. Until the polar bear fight I was confused and bored with everything that was going on. But after that polar bear fight, the plot really took flight for me, and even though this book and I got off on the wrong foot, I'm quite happy I read it, and I'll definitely be moving onto the rest of the trilogy.
You have to be in the right mood to read this book. Philip Pullman is a linguist genius and that shows in his writing - you cannot dive into his work half-present.
When I started reading this book 2 years ago in the middle of summer, I was pulled into it, but the moment Lord Asriel disappeared, it became suuuch a drag for me. Lord Asriel, for all that it's worth, is such an intelligent, magnetic and intimidating character, and I suppose, I'm just naturally drawn to characters like that.
What made me return to this book was the fact that I wanted to watch the new series. So many people told me that it does the book justice, but ofc, me being me, I wanted to read the book first and then be a judge of the series. And James McAvoy is Lord Asriel, who could possibly resist that?!
Towards the end, the book got incredibly intense. I would procrastinate with my studying in order to advance in this book, and I don't do that very lightly - that's how you know I was really into the second half of the book.
The book is mostly a slow burn, I'd say. A lot is happening, but... at the same time, it takes the reader forever to get somewhere. Until the polar bear fight I was confused and bored with everything that was going on. But after that polar bear fight, the plot really took flight for me, and even though this book and I got off on the wrong foot, I'm quite happy I read it, and I'll definitely be moving onto the rest of the trilogy.
Overall 3.4 Stars
Positives: Overall this is a well written novel with moments that grip you as a reader. I enjoyed the concepts explored
Negatives: As much as I wanted to enjoy this it ended up dragging in a few places. All of the good things happen towards the end.
To conclude, I am not sure if the rest of the novels are for me. I think if I was younger I would of really enjoyed this but I would much rather watch the TV series
Positives: Overall this is a well written novel with moments that grip you as a reader. I enjoyed the concepts explored
Negatives: As much as I wanted to enjoy this it ended up dragging in a few places. All of the good things happen towards the end.
To conclude, I am not sure if the rest of the novels are for me. I think if I was younger I would of really enjoyed this but I would much rather watch the TV series
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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
After reading La Belle Sauvage first (and really enjoying it)–I was surprised by how much of an unsentimental jerk Lord Asriel was! Overall, really enjoyed this book and can't wait to finish the rest of the series for my thesis
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love this series - always feels nice to come back to it, beautifully written and easy to read!
The book was slow for the longest time. But honestly, I was able to picture it so easily because I've seen the movie. And the movie adaptation is great and spot on for only the first half of the book. But by then I was hooked and had to keep reading. I can see why the last half of the book didn't really make it into the movie. The fights were very gory, casual talk about killing children, and a kinda sexual scene. All things, not appropriate for a classified "kids" movie. But it made an exceptional book. It was beautiful and heart-wrenching, though confusing at times. I definately understand why it is some people's favorite book!
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this book shortly after it came out, when I was around 7 years old. At the time the grand metaphor escaped me, but I loved the way that Lyra's immediate world was drawn so clearly while the wider details of that society were far more murky. (If I'm honest, I wanted to be half as scrappy and adventurous as Lyra).
As an adult, re-reading it, the tantalising glimpses of complex society interested me more and more and I couldn't help feeling a little sad we were missing out on so much clearly interesting politics as we were limited by Lyra's view. That being said, I could appreciate the metaphor much more and I enjoyed it just as much as I had when I was seven. That speaks to a real gift of a book - to enjoy it in multiple ways over more than a decade and still enjoy it in the same way.
As an adult, re-reading it, the tantalising glimpses of complex society interested me more and more and I couldn't help feeling a little sad we were missing out on so much clearly interesting politics as we were limited by Lyra's view. That being said, I could appreciate the metaphor much more and I enjoyed it just as much as I had when I was seven. That speaks to a real gift of a book - to enjoy it in multiple ways over more than a decade and still enjoy it in the same way.