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barb_d's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Certainly action-packed and fast moving. I was surprised at how involved I got, given that I thought the second and third books of the original trilogy dragged. This one dragged in places as well, but was consistently dynamic. Another strange thing is the tone - it reads like a children's book but has a few more mature episodes, some involving more mature language.
shimmery's review against another edition
3.0
A charming, adventurous read about two children who must save a special baby from dark forces to reunite her with her father. When the rains come and don’t stop, the city they live in disappears beneath water and they must escape on the small boat the book is named after.
I’ve never read any Pullman before so wasn’t familiar with the fantasy world but found it wasn’t difficult to fall in to. Though it starts out fairly familiar to the real world with just the daemons (shape shifting creatures that accompany every human and are part of their consciousness, I gathered) marking it as fantasy, as the story progresses we move from spies and convents to fairies and mysterious worlds where the children are invisible.
Like the water that floods it, this story changes shape, shifts over not quite discernible depths, is pulled along by strong currents and has mysteries beneath its surface. There were a lot of things introduced but not fully explored in this book — as this is only the first in a series I’m sure the ideas (namely the dust) will be developed in future instalments.
This was a departure from the kind of thing I normally read but a nice one. I have to say though, if I were Malcolm and Alice I’d be pretty peeved if I’d gone to all that effort to bring a baby back to her father (spoiler alert!) only for him to palm her off on someone else and disappear!
I’ve never read any Pullman before so wasn’t familiar with the fantasy world but found it wasn’t difficult to fall in to. Though it starts out fairly familiar to the real world with just the daemons (shape shifting creatures that accompany every human and are part of their consciousness, I gathered) marking it as fantasy, as the story progresses we move from spies and convents to fairies and mysterious worlds where the children are invisible.
Like the water that floods it, this story changes shape, shifts over not quite discernible depths, is pulled along by strong currents and has mysteries beneath its surface. There were a lot of things introduced but not fully explored in this book — as this is only the first in a series I’m sure the ideas (namely the dust) will be developed in future instalments.
This was a departure from the kind of thing I normally read but a nice one. I have to say though, if I were Malcolm and Alice I’d be pretty peeved if I’d gone to all that effort to bring a baby back to her father (spoiler alert!) only for him to palm her off on someone else and disappear!
bubski_mcboo's review against another edition
4.0
If I return to my five-star reads and find that I have forgotten the story, I drop it down to a four and add it to my re-read shelf. This is one of those five-star reads.
magdie's review against another edition
adventurous
3.25
My main problem was the weird continuty and how the oace and timing was cery weird, especiallyon the river . It felt like an absolutely different book than His dark materials, even though I've read them a few years ago. Not too bad, read pretty quick and I didn't need to walk away from it but wasn't especially capturing and if I didn't have the 2nd part home I'm not sure if I'd read it, but I probably will. The characters were alright and I'm exc ted for Lyra that is able to do something else than cry quietly and poop at convenient times and hopeful she'll make it worth it. Malcolm was fine but I kinda can't believe he's 11, especially since Alice is 15?
Also, why is these so many useless references to sexual violence in this book for kids/young teens???
For slovak translation: sometimes it had incredibly bad sentence structure and felt rushed.
Also, why is these so many useless references to sexual violence in this book for kids/young teens???
For slovak translation: sometimes it had incredibly bad sentence structure and felt rushed.
suzecluez's review against another edition
3.0
In a lot of ways this prequel reminded me of Rogue One for Star Wars fans. It adds background to a world readers know well, you learn a bit about characters you saw in His Dark Materials, but overall pretty unnecessary- we'll see if that changes if I read the next book in Dust series. I liked Malcolm and you see some of Lyra and Will in him.
The last 25% of the book was a bit confusing, random and disappointing to me. The "villain" also didn't make sense to me- it's hard to understand when someone just seems 100% "bad". Anyway, fun for fans of the His Dark Materials world, some adventure. Ending is not great.
Did anyone else note references to Germany pre WWII with League of Alexander?
Edit: upon reading the second book in the series I see why this one is crucial for what's to come.
The last 25% of the book was a bit confusing, random and disappointing to me. The "villain" also didn't make sense to me- it's hard to understand when someone just seems 100% "bad". Anyway, fun for fans of the His Dark Materials world, some adventure. Ending is not great.
Did anyone else note references to Germany pre WWII with League of Alexander?
Edit: upon reading the second book in the series I see why this one is crucial for what's to come.
arranjc's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.25
deluciate's review against another edition
4.0
I devoured this book in a single sitting on vacation today. I was a big fan of His Dark Materials, which I read several times as a child but hadn't revisited in a long time.
These characters are new but made me care about them immediately. This story feels more confusing and less defined than the original, but to be fair, this is only book one of three, and I'm sure the confusion and darkness of the last few hours is exactly how the characters have been feeling, so the author has done a wonderful job bringing us into their world. I'm eager to both read the next book and go back to the first one.
These characters are new but made me care about them immediately. This story feels more confusing and less defined than the original, but to be fair, this is only book one of three, and I'm sure the confusion and darkness of the last few hours is exactly how the characters have been feeling, so the author has done a wonderful job bringing us into their world. I'm eager to both read the next book and go back to the first one.
timinbc's review against another edition
2.0
OK, who wrote this mess really ?
Did a fan find a few scribbled notes and turn them into this steaming pile?
First off, who's the audience for this? We have rape, bludgeoning to death, multiple drownings, and I don't know what else. With an eleven-year-old protagonist.
We start with a long, slow, and dull exposition in which we learn that Malcolm is plucky - I hate plucky heroes - and that The Canoe Is Going To Be Really Important Later.
Then a long, slow and dull section where we see that Bonneville is Really Really Bad, which makes sure we understand that later on we're going to have a moment.
Not to mention the Hitler Youth, oops I mean the League of St. Alexander, which is carefully presented so we know They Are Going To Betray Us At A Critical Moment.
Then the warning about the coming flood. Only one person predicts it, and of course All The Grownups Don"t Believe It. But we know better, don't we, reader? the "gyptians" know all and see all (and indeed one of them is named Coram - a tribute to Johnny Carson's Cormac?) (Coram van Texel, a very gyptian name indeed).
And, here comes the flood. One of the characters Malcolm even asks on our behalf "where did all the water come from" and Pullman tells us "don't you worry your pretty little head about that." We have water as far as the eye can see! Odd, because there's a 165-metre hill just northwest of Botley. And for the record floods of 2014 even the "minimum risk of flooding" zone northwest of Oxford was maybe 2 km wide, per the Oxfordshire County Council Flood Toolkit.
Our characters ride the flood for what seems like days. Odd, because from Wolvercote to the middle of Oxford University, walking a path that meanders about as much as the Thames does, you'd go about 3.2 miles. And when the mighty Fraser River near me floods, it moves at a peak speed of about 0.2 miles a minutes, or a mean speed of 0.1 miles per minute, so that canoe would be well past Oxford pretty damn quick.
Except that it would have tipped in the first minute, based on the illustration. Lookit, I'm a master canoeist and I've paddled in fast water. It takes more skill and strength than you are likely to find in an 11-year-old who doesn't even know enough to carry a spare paddle. And don't get me started on the coal-silk cover with hoops that hardly ever gets in the way while keeping everything dry.
Or the constant searchers, followed by "whew, they're gone, let's build a great big fire because they'll never notice it."
Bah. I will not be reading Book of Dust #2.
Did a fan find a few scribbled notes and turn them into this steaming pile?
First off, who's the audience for this? We have rape, bludgeoning to death, multiple drownings, and I don't know what else. With an eleven-year-old protagonist.
We start with a long, slow, and dull exposition in which we learn that Malcolm is plucky - I hate plucky heroes - and that The Canoe Is Going To Be Really Important Later.
Then a long, slow and dull section where we see that Bonneville is Really Really Bad, which makes sure we understand that later on we're going to have a
Spoiler
He Needed Killin'Not to mention the Hitler Youth, oops I mean the League of St. Alexander, which is carefully presented so we know They Are Going To Betray Us At A Critical Moment.
Then the warning about the coming flood. Only one person predicts it, and of course All The Grownups Don"t Believe It. But we know better, don't we, reader? the "gyptians" know all and see all (and indeed one of them is named Coram - a tribute to Johnny Carson's Cormac?) (Coram van Texel, a very gyptian name indeed).
And, here comes the flood. One of the characters Malcolm even asks on our behalf "where did all the water come from" and Pullman tells us "don't you worry your pretty little head about that." We have water as far as the eye can see! Odd, because there's a 165-metre hill just northwest of Botley. And for the record floods of 2014 even the "minimum risk of flooding" zone northwest of Oxford was maybe 2 km wide, per the Oxfordshire County Council Flood Toolkit.
Our characters ride the flood for what seems like days. Odd, because from Wolvercote to the middle of Oxford University, walking a path that meanders about as much as the Thames does, you'd go about 3.2 miles. And when the mighty Fraser River near me floods, it moves at a peak speed of about 0.2 miles a minutes, or a mean speed of 0.1 miles per minute, so that canoe would be well past Oxford pretty damn quick.
Except that it would have tipped in the first minute, based on the illustration. Lookit, I'm a master canoeist and I've paddled in fast water. It takes more skill and strength than you are likely to find in an 11-year-old who doesn't even know enough to carry a spare paddle. And don't get me started on the coal-silk cover with hoops that hardly ever gets in the way while keeping everything dry.
Or the constant searchers, followed by "whew, they're gone, let's build a great big fire because they'll never notice it."
Bah. I will not be reading Book of Dust #2.