Reviews

The Collectors by Philip Pullman

Only show reviews with written explanations

badlydrawnroy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Delightfully creepy little spooky story very possibly vaguely connected to the world of His Dark Materials and Marisa Coulter. A quick read, loved the illustrations.

mrust's review

Go to review page

mysterious medium-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

3.0

sarahlou79's review

Go to review page

dark 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

4.0

Connected or not, it's a tight little 'ghost story'.

I've re-read the original trilogy a few times, and kept up with the subsequent episodes, so thought I should add this one to the collection too. Sounding almost like a Mrs Coulter origin story, it's more a 'coming soon' trailer that for those uninitiated, gives a glimpse into the world of daemons and a mysterious woman.

Only very short, one academic describes to another the seemingly connected painting of a woman and a sculpture of a monkey, how no matter when they might be separated, they seem to reunite sometime after, never being far away from each other.

Half of the book is taken up with black and white illustrations, giving this even more the atmosphere of a Victorian ghost story, Dickensian maybe, or M. R. James, a short, tight tale where you anticipate a sting right around the corner.

This doesn't give anything more of Lyra's world, raises more questions than it answers, but was definitely worth the short time it took to read.

exlibrisphoebe's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jennybpenny's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

"It's important to put it like that: not 'I am a writer,' but rather 'I write stores.' If you put the emphasis on yourself rather than your work, you're in danger of thinking that you're the most important thing. But you're not. The story is what matters, and you're only the servant."

asmallgremlin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

3.75

Short, quick, yet dark and thrilling, and a nice little snapshot in the universe of His Dark Materials.

Content Warnings

radomu's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This is a short story (it took me 20 minutes to finish it) that takes place in the His Dark Materials universe. Very sinister, and those who have read the trilogy will be left wondering about its implications on the wider storyline.