Rating: 3/5
Living was hateful, and death was no better, and from end to end of the universe this was the first and last and only truth.
This book begins by introducing the new protagonist to the series, Will Parry, who will join Lyra on an eventful voyage that will change their lives forever.
I’ve tried to read this book once before and got stuck about half-way through. When I picked it up again recently, I got stuck at the exact same place, which was a bit disheartening. However, I pushed through and it soon became very interesting again. I think Pullman has some excellent ideas but often doesn’t quite manage to write them down very well—by that I mean that he isn’t the new generation’s Roald Dahl, or Jane Austen, or P.G. Wodehouse. I was also very much annoyed when he tried to shove some political indoctrination into a children’s fantasy novel; namely:-
“I’ve been cold plenty of times,” Lyra said, “but I en’t been this hot, ever. Is it this hot in your world?” “Not where I used to live,” said Will, “not normally. But the climate’s been changing. The summers are hotter than they used to be. They say that people have been interfering with the atmosphere by putting chemicals in it, and the weather’s going out of control.”
So that was a bit disappointing.