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A review by soinavoice
La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
4.0
Seems Philip Pullman is working his way through the classics of Early Modern English literature--not content with writing a trilogy based on Paradise Lost, he's written a prequel based (appropriately enough) on the Faerie Queene. And I guess my issues with this book are similar to my issues with the Faerie Queene: namely, this book is all over the place.
I mean, it's wonderful, don't get me wrong. Incredibly engaging--Pullman's characters and world building are good as ever. It's just that halfway through, the book changes from a kind of historical thriller--the protagonist is an eleven year old boy who gets caught up in the world of intrigue between the church and the secret organization opposing it--to a bizarre, Spenserian Odyssey, almost without warning. Which, don't get me wrong, both parts were great, but what I'm left with at the end of this novel is... wtf just happened? It was as if Pullman spent the first half of the book diligently setting up the backstory to His Dark Materials and then decided, 'eh, enough of that, I'm going to do what I want,' and what he wanted was, apparently, The Faerie Queene.
That's why this is a four star novel rather than a five, for me. Too many strings left untied, and while I recognize that was probably a deliberate choice, I'm left feeling unsatisfied, and in a way I'm not sure the next books in the series will help.
But you should definitely read it anyway. I know I'll be coming back to it.
I mean, it's wonderful, don't get me wrong. Incredibly engaging--Pullman's characters and world building are good as ever. It's just that halfway through, the book changes from a kind of historical thriller--the protagonist is an eleven year old boy who gets caught up in the world of intrigue between the church and the secret organization opposing it--to a bizarre, Spenserian Odyssey, almost without warning. Which, don't get me wrong, both parts were great, but what I'm left with at the end of this novel is... wtf just happened? It was as if Pullman spent the first half of the book diligently setting up the backstory to His Dark Materials and then decided, 'eh, enough of that, I'm going to do what I want,' and what he wanted was, apparently, The Faerie Queene.
That's why this is a four star novel rather than a five, for me. Too many strings left untied, and while I recognize that was probably a deliberate choice, I'm left feeling unsatisfied, and in a way I'm not sure the next books in the series will help.
But you should definitely read it anyway. I know I'll be coming back to it.