Philip Pullman's Northern Lights
9 of 9 Ciao Users found the following review helpful
Advantages Exciting story, told by an obviously imaginative author
Disadvantages Kids book, so maybe a little restrictive on content in places
Much has been made of Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy. In 2005 it was voted the Cilip Awards best ever book(s). It is a critically acclaimed series, and the focus has come to the fore again with the emergence of 'The Golden Compass', the film adaption of 'Northern Lights', the first in the trilogy.
Upon starting the book, I was aware of the criticism of anti-religion Pullman has received for the trilogy. Howev er, this is a work of fiction, and this must not be read into too much. I found that, with letting go and just trusting the author, I found it an extremely good book. The theories are incredibly imaginative, as are the characters and the plot.The book starts with the main character, a 12 year old girl named Lyra Belacqua, hiding in a room forbidden to her. What she overhears and sees then shapes the course of the book, as she embarks on a mission to save a load of children from 'Gobblers'. She lives in a world where everyone has a daemon, a creature that is essentially part of the person but existing in animal form. Daemons must accompany their human counterparts everywhere - this is one of the restrictions that Pullman has cleverly placed on an invisible link between human and daemon.
The adventurous Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle, Mrs Coulter and her golden monkey daemon, her best friend Roger, aeronaut Lee Scoresby and the bear Iorek Byrnison are some of the characters she encounters on her adventures, which take her, as the title of the book would suggest, to Lapland, and the Northern Lights, where this chapter of the tale ends with an almighty finale that makes you hunt for the second in the trilogy, 'The Subtle Knife'.This may seem rather vague, but I fear to reveal secrets in the book that I know I would have been annoyed by seeing in a review. It is a very good book, and I am now halfway through the third in the trilogy, and it just keeps getting better. Definitely a book to have on your shelf. And a word of advice: ignore any claims of heresy and blasphemy. This is fiction, and high quality imaginative fiction at that. Take this attitude with you in reading the book, and you will love it.
Detailed Rating
| Would you read it again? | |
|---|---|
| Story | |
| Characters | |
| Readability | |
| How does it compare to similar books? | |
| How does it compare to other works by the same author? |
User rating
The Author
Author's newest reviews
|
19/05/2013
|
|---|
|
19/05/2013
|
|---|
Attention, this is the first review from this author
Instead of giving a negative rating, consider:
Help this member by giving your advice
Report fraud (for example plagiarism) or other issue with the review to the Ciao support team
Add your comment
Page 1 of 2
| 1 - 5 out of 9 comments
Badger_Boy 10/01/2008 20:52
Essexgirl2006 09/01/2008 20:14
Soho_Black 09/01/2008 19:32
matty0501 09/01/2008 18:07
Page 1 of 2
| 1 - 5 out of 9 comments
|
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials) - Philip Pullman 'Without this child, we shall all die'. Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford... |
amazon marketplace books
|
Shipping: £2.80 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days |
|
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials) - Philip Pullman This is the first volume in Philip Pullman's internationally best-selling "His Dark Materials" trilogy, now filmed as "The Golden Compass"... |
amazon marketplace books
|
Shipping: £2.80 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days |
|
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials) - Philip Pullman When Lyra's friend Roger disappears, she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, set out to find him. They travel to the ice kingdoms of the North, where... |
amazon marketplace books
|
Shipping: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days |
|
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials) - Philip Pullman Good: A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if... |
amazon marketplace books
|
Shipping: £2.80 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days |
|
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials) - Philip Pullman Belongs to the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. |
amazon marketplace books
|
Shipping: £2.80 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days |
An absorbing trilogy of books - I loved them. Maureen x