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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
One more book that I would probably have never read on my own, save for the warm praise of many Goodreaders/bloggers/youtubers. And I would have missed a lot !
Move over, Harry Potter, Lyra is here ! I mean, I like Harry Potter very much, but come on, Lyra is so great ! She's 12, opinionated, awfully brave, awfully curious, awfully clever, awfully eager to act, explore, prank, live ! Self-wallowing ? She doesn't know that exists but she's a practised liar. Of course, she's an orphan. Of course, she's educated by older people in a sort of academy (Oxford, but not the Oxford you know). Of course, she wants to explore the world and its mysteries. And of course, adventure upon adventure will come her eager way. It's supposed to be a children's book but it can be read on many levels, so adults are welcome (try and take a look at the Wikipedia page among other things, it's worth it). On the other hand, you can just enjoy it without looking for more. Your choice.
No, I haven't watched the film (yet) but I doubt it will live up to the book ?... I'll try anyway, just out of curiosity, because I'm curious too.
What can I say that hasn't already been said ?... Nothing. Lyra's character is wonderful, Philip Pullman's writing is wonderful, the images it puts in your head are wonderful, the plot is wonderful, inventive, chilling, surprising : even if you think you know who/what will turn up, you're wrong ! When you've been a reader for many, many years, being surprised is so very welcome.
I have The subtle knife and The amber spyglass on my shelf, I think I'll be reading them quickly but not too quickly, I want to appreciate them :)
Move over, Harry Potter, Lyra is here ! I mean, I like Harry Potter very much, but come on, Lyra is so great ! She's 12, opinionated, awfully brave, awfully curious, awfully clever, awfully eager to act, explore, prank, live ! Self-wallowing ? She doesn't know that exists but she's a practised liar. Of course, she's an orphan. Of course, she's educated by older people in a sort of academy (Oxford, but not the Oxford you know). Of course, she wants to explore the world and its mysteries. And of course, adventure upon adventure will come her eager way. It's supposed to be a children's book but it can be read on many levels, so adults are welcome (try and take a look at the Wikipedia page among other things, it's worth it). On the other hand, you can just enjoy it without looking for more. Your choice.
No, I haven't watched the film (yet) but I doubt it will live up to the book ?... I'll try anyway, just out of curiosity, because I'm curious too.
What can I say that hasn't already been said ?... Nothing. Lyra's character is wonderful, Philip Pullman's writing is wonderful, the images it puts in your head are wonderful, the plot is wonderful, inventive, chilling, surprising : even if you think you know who/what will turn up, you're wrong ! When you've been a reader for many, many years, being surprised is so very welcome.
I have The subtle knife and The amber spyglass on my shelf, I think I'll be reading them quickly but not too quickly, I want to appreciate them :)
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
I am very late to reading these books. I had almost no knowledge about these books going in, other than a very broad concept of daemons and a little but of universe-jumping.
What I liked: Lyra was an awesome child character where she was innocent at times but not stupid. The plot kept up very nicely, just when I felt certain parts were starting to drag they'd pick up again. I really liked the ending, getting glimpses of the grown ups' struggles through Lyra's eyes so I could understand where they're coming from, but not want to side with them even a little bit was very skillfully done. I also think it's super ballsy of Pullman to have written anti-religion into his children's story. I think it's really cool honestly. Encourage children to look behind the curtain. Pullman had great command of tone throughout the book, I found myself feeling tense. He wasn't afraid to get very dark.
What I didn't like: I honestly thought the worldbuilding could've been a little better. I would've liked to live in the world of daemons for a little bit before everything started going wrong. I felt that the daemon concept wasn't used to its fullest potential. Most of the time Pantalaimon wasn't doing much. It was nice that they weren't overused, but let's be real: in a world where you had little animals with you all the time they'd be doing a lot of your daily tasks for/with you.
I felt that for the more fantastic aspects of the world there was a lot of telling and not showing. I don't understand why the taboo exists except to keep the daemons from getting too OP.
Overall rating a 3.5, I'm pretty interested as to where the books will go from here. I know these books have been out but I pretty much cannot guess where the plot will head next.
What I liked: Lyra was an awesome child character where she was innocent at times but not stupid. The plot kept up very nicely, just when I felt certain parts were starting to drag they'd pick up again. I really liked the ending, getting glimpses of the grown ups' struggles through Lyra's eyes so I could understand where they're coming from, but not want to side with them even a little bit was very skillfully done. I also think it's super ballsy of Pullman to have written anti-religion into his children's story. I think it's really cool honestly. Encourage children to look behind the curtain. Pullman had great command of tone throughout the book, I found myself feeling tense. He wasn't afraid to get very dark.
What I didn't like: I honestly thought the worldbuilding could've been a little better. I would've liked to live in the world of daemons for a little bit before everything started going wrong. I felt that the daemon concept wasn't used to its fullest potential. Most of the time Pantalaimon wasn't doing much. It was nice that they weren't overused, but let's be real: in a world where you had little animals with you all the time they'd be doing a lot of your daily tasks for/with you.
I felt that for the more fantastic aspects of the world there was a lot of telling and not showing. I don't understand why the taboo exists except to keep the daemons from getting too OP.
Overall rating a 3.5, I'm pretty interested as to where the books will go from here. I know these books have been out but I pretty much cannot guess where the plot will head next.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
my only critique is that Lyra falls asleep at very inconvenient times, regularly
Very good book! I really enjoyed the way the author built this world that is so similar yet so different from our own. At first, it was hard to follow all these new terms and big words. I found myself constantly pulling out my phone to look up each word and understand what it meant, only to realize that these words were made up and created by the author in order to build this fantasy. So I had to let go of the idea of fully understanding and just read the book. And once I did that, I became fully immersed in the story and all the intricacies of the world started to connect.
Lyra is an eleven year old child who essentially grew up as an orphan. There is not one single adult who is responsible for her. She is raised by a number of scholars in this location called Jordan College and runs wild playing games and running into mischief with other children in the area. However, when her best friend is kidnapped by a group called the Gobblers, she embarks on an adventure to rescue him which throws her into very dangerous scenarios and battles.
I like that although Lyra is a child, the author does not write in a child like manner. The world itself is very complex and the plot was well constructed. It’s been a while since I’ve read a really good fantasy. I’m now a fan and can’t wait to read books two and three!
Lyra is an eleven year old child who essentially grew up as an orphan. There is not one single adult who is responsible for her. She is raised by a number of scholars in this location called Jordan College and runs wild playing games and running into mischief with other children in the area. However, when her best friend is kidnapped by a group called the Gobblers, she embarks on an adventure to rescue him which throws her into very dangerous scenarios and battles.
I like that although Lyra is a child, the author does not write in a child like manner. The world itself is very complex and the plot was well constructed. It’s been a while since I’ve read a really good fantasy. I’m now a fan and can’t wait to read books two and three!