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raquelssilva's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? No
5.0
thunderfaerie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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
4.25
lil_mushroom's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
i enjoyed this book alot, i'm sad it took me so long to finish it T^T. But it was very interesting plot and characters and it was fun to read.
wxllow_x's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
chll_momchil's review
5.0
Oh God.. yeah that'll be so funny in the context of the book. I'm really confused-I really can't diside if reading His Dark Materials 4 years ago - when I was Lyra and Will's age would be better. One thing for sure: this book (not books :D) kicks so much ass. The three parts are completely different from eachother but they flow so well together; the plot is totally bonkers but the amazing characters make it so real and natural also this is the first book i have read with such strong religious themes and it was amazingly handled. Most importantly - His Dark Materials pulled me a Potter -you know when you're still a child and then comes that one story that sweeps you off your feet. There are some weak points but they're overshadowed by the big picture and the marvelous ending. I feel so bittersweet... but that's just one more proof how great Pullman is.
megan_reads_daily's review against another edition
5.0
Such imagination
Great story and excellent writing. This is an inspiring piece of work. Now I need to read “The Book of Dust”!
Great story and excellent writing. This is an inspiring piece of work. Now I need to read “The Book of Dust”!
oxnard_montalvo's review
I already have this series individually, but this compendium is just lovely (and I found it half price, so couldn't resist).
Still a favourite after many many years. Dialogue is a touch clumsier for adult ears perhaps, but the bones of the story still enjoyable. One for the imagination to soak in.
Still a favourite after many many years. Dialogue is a touch clumsier for adult ears perhaps, but the bones of the story still enjoyable. One for the imagination to soak in.
faeonyx's review against another edition
3.0
After having attempted to read this trilogy once before and failing miserably, I finally decided to sit down and finish it. Much of the story left me feeling indifferent to it. This is one of those books that I did not love, but also did not hate. There wasn't a strong draw of emotion until about the last 200 pages or so.
The story follows Lyra and her daemon through different dangerous adventures. First to save the children that are disappearing and then later to discover more about the mysterious Dust. The story, at the heart, was interesting enough with a pull to get to the end, but I found the main character (Lyra) to be fairly unlikable through much of the book. She changes, and improves, as readers move through the entirety of the trilogy, but it was difficult to move beyond the selfish, base characterization of her in the beginning.
What this story did well was to bring the discoveries, theories, and questions of scientific experimentation into the minds of readers, especially younger readers. It deals with fantastical ideas and something that could be considered magic, but gives it a basis in scientific discovery instead of grounding it firmly in unexplained myth and magic. The interesting part about this is that even when scientists are introduced from a world very much like our own, there is still an element of magical wonder to these discoveries. I believe that the story itself explores the importance of experimentation, or even play, in the scientific fields and explains these things in terms that nearly anyone can understand and identify with. Instead of taking place in a laboratory with strict rules and expensive machinery, much of the discovery takes place by the characters interacting with the open world.
His Dark Materials leaves us with an interesting realm in which science and magic exist beside each other, but it also warns against the dangerous power of a hive-mind like religious faith. Many others have claimed that the books are a decisive push against religion altogether, but it seems to comment far less on individual, personal religious faith and pushes against the sort of institutionalized conglomeration of organized, commercialized religion instead. It comments, primarily, on the state of things when the church as an infallible organization, steps in to guide and dictate scientific and philosophical discovery. However, the other themes in the books could suggest that there is a way in which these very different systems can exist peacefully together. After all, there are magical beings such as witches and angels, and even talking bears lurking just around the corner.
Another enjoyable theme in the book seems to be commenting on the fact that it is quite likely that humans as we know them are not existing entirely on their own in the world. In fact, there could be many worlds, which was a theory the church strove to cover up as heresy in Lyra's world specifically. It comments on the advances that can be made when different groups of people, sometimes even from different worlds, set aside these differences and work together for a common goal. The idea is that instead of letting the group be ruled by religious belief and superstition, let the group be ruled by reason and imagination.
Overall, there were parts of the series that evoked strong emotion, but I was left wishing that the intensity of those moments had been carried through the entire book. The use of the Church as the villain became a little tiresome in some places. Just when the story seemed to move in an interesting direction, the reader was always guided back to Church as an organization is bad. There are lessons to be taken away from the series, and I would recommend it in the future, but I was left with few strong feelings about the story and the message in the end. In short, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.
The story follows Lyra and her daemon through different dangerous adventures. First to save the children that are disappearing and then later to discover more about the mysterious Dust. The story, at the heart, was interesting enough with a pull to get to the end, but I found the main character (Lyra) to be fairly unlikable through much of the book. She changes, and improves, as readers move through the entirety of the trilogy, but it was difficult to move beyond the selfish, base characterization of her in the beginning.
What this story did well was to bring the discoveries, theories, and questions of scientific experimentation into the minds of readers, especially younger readers. It deals with fantastical ideas and something that could be considered magic, but gives it a basis in scientific discovery instead of grounding it firmly in unexplained myth and magic. The interesting part about this is that even when scientists are introduced from a world very much like our own, there is still an element of magical wonder to these discoveries. I believe that the story itself explores the importance of experimentation, or even play, in the scientific fields and explains these things in terms that nearly anyone can understand and identify with. Instead of taking place in a laboratory with strict rules and expensive machinery, much of the discovery takes place by the characters interacting with the open world.
His Dark Materials leaves us with an interesting realm in which science and magic exist beside each other, but it also warns against the dangerous power of a hive-mind like religious faith. Many others have claimed that the books are a decisive push against religion altogether, but it seems to comment far less on individual, personal religious faith and pushes against the sort of institutionalized conglomeration of organized, commercialized religion instead. It comments, primarily, on the state of things when the church as an infallible organization, steps in to guide and dictate scientific and philosophical discovery. However, the other themes in the books could suggest that there is a way in which these very different systems can exist peacefully together. After all, there are magical beings such as witches and angels, and even talking bears lurking just around the corner.
Another enjoyable theme in the book seems to be commenting on the fact that it is quite likely that humans as we know them are not existing entirely on their own in the world. In fact, there could be many worlds, which was a theory the church strove to cover up as heresy in Lyra's world specifically. It comments on the advances that can be made when different groups of people, sometimes even from different worlds, set aside these differences and work together for a common goal. The idea is that instead of letting the group be ruled by religious belief and superstition, let the group be ruled by reason and imagination.
Overall, there were parts of the series that evoked strong emotion, but I was left wishing that the intensity of those moments had been carried through the entire book. The use of the Church as the villain became a little tiresome in some places. Just when the story seemed to move in an interesting direction, the reader was always guided back to Church as an organization is bad. There are lessons to be taken away from the series, and I would recommend it in the future, but I was left with few strong feelings about the story and the message in the end. In short, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.
kaynim's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book series that left me stunned for days after finishing it.
Would love to read this again.
Would love to read this again.
jtrogers1992's review
4.0
Ultimately really enjoyed this! Like all “children’s lit” the allegories can be overly directly but much like the chronicles of Narnia that doesn’t mean they don’t work. Glad to have this on my shelf.