A review by xavierdragnesi
Serpentine by Philip Pullman

3.0

Serpentine is a nice little bridge between the end of His Dark Materials and The Secret Commonwealth. Not being a frequent reader of short stories, it's a little hard for me to judge this one - as always, I enjoy any opportunity I get to be in Lyra's world, but this was almost so brief that I felt like I wasn't able to immerse myself properly. The colour that this book adds to Lyra and Pan's relationship is rewarding and meaningful especially for a dedicated fan, and it's also a testament to Pullman's engagement with this world that he has crafted that he could write this short story even before he had any plans to write The Book of Dust, yet have this fit so naturally between the series. Ultimately though, it scratched an itch for me but didn't blow me away.