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sams84's review against another edition
5.0
This has always been on my to-read-at-some-point list but it is thanks to a friend of mine that I've finally gotten around to getting started on these. And I must say that I was not disappointed. While it is a young adult fantasy it is still dark, disturbing and surprisingly graphic in places, particularly with some of the fights and kidnapping related events. Pullman also don't hold back with his writing using whatever words he feels is necessary to tell his story so the language is not dummed down or simplified. For me this makes this book even better as not only does it hold the interest of adults but it also teaches better language skills than those that are dumbed down for younger readers. Not only that, Pullman draws on so many aspects of fantasy and mythology weaving them with his own imagination, creating worlds that are both strange and familiar and weaving a story that is gripping from start to finish, with a few devastating moments thrown in for good measure.
phyxerion's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
jered's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
4.0
joe_hh98's review against another edition
4.0
‘Northern Lights,’ does a brilliant job introducing the reader to this weird and wonderful universe. Pullman incorporates some enchanting world building into this book; setting the scene beautifully in the two chief settings; Oxford and the Northern Lights. The universe that he creates feels oddly familiar with its expansive history and iconic settings. But at the same time, the mythical additions such as the Pantalonians and of course the althiometer set it vastly apart from the world that we know. It’s a beautiful blend of real and fantasy.
Another strength of the novel is the characters. Lyra is wildly intriguing and likeable protagonist and her journey is truly fascinating. She is supported by an array of strange secondary characters, such as Iorek Byrninson; the excommunicated Polar Bear and Lee Scorsby, the eccentric aeronaut balloonist. Of course, not forgetting Mrs Coulter; the mysterious, albeit suitably contemptable villainess of the series.
Ultimately, by the time this book finishes, it has really hit the ground running. The reader is led straight into a sequel that somehow surpasses the excitement of its already intensely thrilling predecessor
somelittleinfamyreads's review against another edition
5.0
SO GOOD. So much darker than I imagined it would be, for a young adult fantasy thing, but I am so eager to read the next two and see how Lyra's story continues!
heddas_bookgems's review against another edition
4.0
“'Above and ahead of them the Aurora was blazing, with more brilliance and grandeur than she had ever seen. It was all around, or nearly, and they were nearly part of it.”
Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon live untroubled in Oxford at Jordan College. But suddenly Lyra finds herself in the midst of an adventure when children, including her best friend Roger, are disappearing, her uncle is being threatened, she is getting a job as an assistent and gets an mysterious device.
Many years ago I watched the movie, Golden Compass starring Nicole Kidman and wasn’t really blown away by it. This year I discovered the show on HBO and stopped after loving the first episode to give this, magnificent illustrated, book a go.
This book completely swept me off my feet. It started of fast paced and action packed. It didn’t really told much about the worldbuilding or the way daemons work, but it was an interesting world with loads of characteristic personality’s like travelers, scholars, witches and lovely, but frightening, animals.
This story was a perfect example of the good versus the bad and had a lot of resemblance to The Chronicles of Narnia.
Pullman told in a interview that it was meant to be its counterpart. As Narnia resemblance the religious texts this was to supposed to be an exploration of institutionalised religion.
Because of these themes it did make me uncertain what to think of the story. I don’t mind to discuss these topics, but I wasn’t expecting it in what was supposed to be a MG or YA.
Nonetheless it was a very small part and I did enjoy reading this book with all its magic. I can’t wait to see how the story develops further after such a major cliffhanger.
Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon live untroubled in Oxford at Jordan College. But suddenly Lyra finds herself in the midst of an adventure when children, including her best friend Roger, are disappearing, her uncle is being threatened, she is getting a job as an assistent and gets an mysterious device.
Many years ago I watched the movie, Golden Compass starring Nicole Kidman and wasn’t really blown away by it. This year I discovered the show on HBO and stopped after loving the first episode to give this, magnificent illustrated, book a go.
This book completely swept me off my feet. It started of fast paced and action packed. It didn’t really told much about the worldbuilding or the way daemons work, but it was an interesting world with loads of characteristic personality’s like travelers, scholars, witches and lovely, but frightening, animals.
This story was a perfect example of the good versus the bad and had a lot of resemblance to The Chronicles of Narnia.
Pullman told in a interview that it was meant to be its counterpart. As Narnia resemblance the religious texts this was to supposed to be an exploration of institutionalised religion.
Because of these themes it did make me uncertain what to think of the story. I don’t mind to discuss these topics, but I wasn’t expecting it in what was supposed to be a MG or YA.
Nonetheless it was a very small part and I did enjoy reading this book with all its magic. I can’t wait to see how the story develops further after such a major cliffhanger.
sarahhhh__canread's review against another edition
3.0
This book was wacky and kinda blatantly hated on the church also really dark yet it was supposed to be a kids book smh
vievit's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
4.5
heiroffire1989's review against another edition
4.0
“You cannot change what you are, only what you do.”
So this was an overall fun read of the first book in a new to me series (it took me some time to finish because I’ve had a major reading slump in between) but also one that took its time to really get me hooked. Actual rating is 3,5 stars
It took me a while to get a good overview of what this world and story is going to be like and I came across some things that didn’t really make sense to me sometimes; the writing is oftentimes too extended and in depth for what it’s suppose to be: middle grade/ young adult and even though I liked that because it gave you a much better sense of the world and its workings, it also didn’t really match with the setup of the MC’s age. Sometimes it takes a really long time before you get answers and other times you get the information in so much details, like you’re expected to be a professor almost, lol.
But overall, I really do like what I’ve come to know of this world and the spin the author gives the magical system etc. I am really excited to read more and to see what’s going to happen next in THE SUBTLE KNIFE.
The MC herself is one with whom it took quite some time to come to love, because I found her quite annoying at the beginning, lol. Writing wise, I find her somewhat inconsistantly written down because she sometimes acts her age Too much or Too les and talks and acts like an adult all of a sudden, so that wasn’t always believable I guess. But throughout the book she definitely grows in a good way and I’m at a point in which I’m actually quite excited to see what more is in store for her now.
The writing style by the author is in itself really beautiful I think. He has a beautiful way with words and sentence creation. Some of the quotes I’ve come across… Just So beautiful! And his descriptions of what’s to be seen in the world and action scenes etc were really well done - Didn’t expect it to be quite so gruesome and visual sometimes, but I really liked that haha. This author is a true story-teller and I’m excited to read more of his work!
The book has a solid build-up in general and especially towards the end, it took no effort at all to ‘fly’ through the chapters and when I was done I felt like I really wanted to pick up the next book so that was definitely a positive sign. So many questions that need to be answered haha so hopefully I’m able to get my hands on the subtle knife soon.
*This book was part of an annotating group-swap-read and I really liked marking and annotating this book while reading.
“Hope holds you fast like an anchor so you don't give way.”