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aeturnum's review against another edition
4.0
Real star rating: 3.5
Pullman is so good at writing children in all of their fierce desire to fully experience the world and the impossibly of them being prepared for it. He continues to play to his strength in Belle Sauvage by centering the story around a young boy and a slightly older girl who are pressed by events into protecting and transporting a young Lyra Belacqua.
The core relationships and writing of our heroes is very good and makes the book worthwhile all on its own. Our heroes struggle mightily to overcome unfavorable odds and it'a fun to read about and doubt about.
But the problems in this book, for me, start with a lack of doubt. This is set in the world of the northern lights trilogy and many of the events in this book involve prominent or background characters from that series. It's nice, but in many ways it completely drains the tension out of the story. If you have read that series *you know how this book ends*. The conclusion is known from the start.
On the flip side - if you have not read those books, there is little wind in this books' sails. Is this a child of destiny or some mistake? The book includes signs and portents (giving it the character of an infancy gospel) but no certainty for our heroes (or a reader fresh to this world).
I also thought a strength of the northern lights books were their complex and human villains. Pullman has always attacked religious fascism in his books - but the main villains were not ghoulish characters of brutes, but motivated and human people who cast aside morals to seek what they wanted. We care enough about them to see what their sacrifice of decency costs them and what awaits those who use people in that way. Without saying too much there is none of that subtlety here - our villains are faceless thugs and madmen. There is nothing to understand. It's boring.
Finally, thought it's a minor complaint, much of the book feels like filler. The first section where we meet our characters is excellent, but eventually we get to a long journey and most of what happens in that journey feels of uncertainty importance. Our characters are constantly progressing through a Gulliver's Travels style of strange and frightening encounters. Unlike the northern lights we encounter many things whose nature is unclear - which only serve as backdrop for a journey our characters do not want to take. After the northern lights it feels weirdly ungrounded.
Pullman is so good at writing children in all of their fierce desire to fully experience the world and the impossibly of them being prepared for it. He continues to play to his strength in Belle Sauvage by centering the story around a young boy and a slightly older girl who are pressed by events into protecting and transporting a young Lyra Belacqua.
The core relationships and writing of our heroes is very good and makes the book worthwhile all on its own. Our heroes struggle mightily to overcome unfavorable odds and it'a fun to read about and doubt about.
But the problems in this book, for me, start with a lack of doubt. This is set in the world of the northern lights trilogy and many of the events in this book involve prominent or background characters from that series. It's nice, but in many ways it completely drains the tension out of the story. If you have read that series *you know how this book ends*. The conclusion is known from the start.
On the flip side - if you have not read those books, there is little wind in this books' sails. Is this a child of destiny or some mistake? The book includes signs and portents (giving it the character of an infancy gospel) but no certainty for our heroes (or a reader fresh to this world).
I also thought a strength of the northern lights books were their complex and human villains. Pullman has always attacked religious fascism in his books - but the main villains were not ghoulish characters of brutes, but motivated and human people who cast aside morals to seek what they wanted. We care enough about them to see what their sacrifice of decency costs them and what awaits those who use people in that way. Without saying too much there is none of that subtlety here - our villains are faceless thugs and madmen. There is nothing to understand. It's boring.
Finally, thought it's a minor complaint, much of the book feels like filler. The first section where we meet our characters is excellent, but eventually we get to a long journey and most of what happens in that journey feels of uncertainty importance. Our characters are constantly progressing through a Gulliver's Travels style of strange and frightening encounters. Unlike the northern lights we encounter many things whose nature is unclear - which only serve as backdrop for a journey our characters do not want to take. After the northern lights it feels weirdly ungrounded.
caroline88cici's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jenltarg's review against another edition
5.0
Such beautifully written. Captured my imagination from start to finish.
yarn_chicken's review against another edition
4.0
I'd give the book itself 3.5 stars, but I listened to it and Michael Sheen's performance was truly wonderful.
peggy1993's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Philip Pullmans books are so full of imagination and inspiration and I felt that it was slightly more slow paced than his other books
dianami's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
socialamoebaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Not what I was expecting for the next installment in the His Dark Materials world. It was interesting to jump back in time and get some background but I didn't really start caring about most of these characters a lot until later in the series. On it's own I'm not sure how it would hold up as just a prequel but because of the later books I do like this one a lot more later. If you like the world, you'll likely enjoy this novel and enjoy the ones that follow. Recommended as a set but not individually unless you're a huge fan of this world.
themadtink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
The end is a bit rush, as in every Pullman book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
sushizhan's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it. I’m probably being generous here with 4 stars but I really enjoyed the story, so...
It has a similar feel to the rest of Mr Pullman’s Dark Materials books - kids doing amazing things.. against odds that probably should’ve gotten them killed. The first half takes a lot of world building, but the second half of the book went by faster because of the events that happened.
It has a similar feel to the rest of Mr Pullman’s Dark Materials books - kids doing amazing things.. against odds that probably should’ve gotten them killed. The first half takes a lot of world building, but the second half of the book went by faster because of the events that happened.