Once Upon a Time in the North / Lyra's Oxford / Serpentine

His Dark Materials #0.5+3.5+3.6

by Philip Pullman

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.

Reviews

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reviewing the entire series, rather than each book individually
I must say, I loved the series - richly imagined worlds, philosophical depth, emotional reach, and the people of each world. The author done amazingly well on building a multiverse where worlds exist alongside our own, each with it's own rules. We, of course, can not forget the dæmons.

I love the balance of adventure and ideas. We have danger, mystery, unexpected twists, and heartbreak.

My favourite in the series will always be The Amber Spyglass, closely following by the preceding book - The Subtle Knife.