Northern Lights by
Philip Pullman
When Lyra is given the strange and secret alethiometer, she begins an extraordinary journey that will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice pears fight. the destiny that awaits her will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world...
Lyra Belacqua is an amazing character with so much personality! She makes up stories and spins tall tales as she goes...just so she can.
I completely get that. I promise I've never made up stories to you guys. She is really believable and I loved her her dialogues. There is so much life in this little girl that I admired so much! But I found certain things about her a little awkward. Like how she scorned female scholars. It was just so sexist. I understand it's a story that was written a long time ago but yeah.
I loved the Daemons and adored Pan. I liked many of the supporting characters like Serafina Pekkala, John Fa, Roger and a couple more characters. I must say I thoroughly disliked Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter. I found them both quite horrible in their own way.
I see why this is a classic. The plot is brilliant. After reading a couple of reviews, I thought I might find it to be overtly religious and boring but NO! I pretty much liked the plot a lot. It's genius and there are so many twists that readers won't see coming. I liked how many people's stories come together to form the plot. And the ending?? It's a cliffhanger! I can't wait to start the second book in the trilogy!
The writing I thought was slightly old fashioned but fun nevertheless. The story is fast paced and the writing is quite descriptive. I could visualize the various settings in the story without feeling overwhelmed.
- The characters
- The plot
- The writing
- The sexism
I'm glad I read a classic and really liked it! It's a favourite. Do check out this book if you like somewhat old fashioned fantasy interspersed with science.
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So glad you read this book, it's one of our favourites of all time! It's interesting you didn't find the book overtly religious, because there are a lot of religious references, especially as the series progresses. Can't wait for you to read the last book!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! <3
~ Pendragons
I loved it <3 I do think that might be because I'm not as well versed with Christianity that I might be able to truly understand references. I found many religious references in The Chronicles of Narnia though. I might recognize the religious references as I keep reading :)
DeleteThank you <3 :)
We know this is a late reply, but woah! We didn't really find many religious references in The Chronicles of Narnia. We didn't really find religious references in Northern Lights either, it's just because our librarian at school completed her PhD about religion in Northern Lights, so she gave us hints on what to look out for!
Delete~ Pendragons
No worries :) Oh wow! I found religious references in The Chronicles of Narnia when i was rereading it! i could draw parallels to Aslan and The Christ. Later I read an article where it's told that Lewis did model the story of Aslan to be similar to the life of Christ...
DeleteYou've reminded me how much I loved this book. Your'e completely right- It is a complete classic. It feels so enchanting and I loved Pullman's characters. I never read the rest of the series though... I hope I get to them one day :D Great review!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad about that :) I loved the narrative style too! Very absorbing :) i'm yet to read the rest of the series and really excited!! I hope you get to too :) thanks!
DeleteI'll have to move this one up my to-read list! I have to admit, after seeing the ads for the movie I didn't really have any desire to read this book but you've made it sound great! Glad you enjoyed it so much!
ReplyDeleteKate @ Fictional Thoughts
The movie had great effects but the plot wasn't well played out :( I assure you that the book is loads better <3 I hope you love it!! Thank you :)
DeleteGosh, it's been so long since I read this I can't remember any of it! I do have visions of fighting bears but I feel like I definitely need to revisit this series. I also want to watch the movie now!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Hahhaa.. It is quite an awesome book despite it's flaws! While I loved the colours and the graphics in the movie, I'm afraid they didn't do justice to the book :(
Delete