Now, I know I have a books category with mabey one post actually about a book and the rest about deciding which book to read but here’s a new “opinion” of a book I read. It’s called “northern Lights” by Phiilip Pullman. Now I know what your thinking “First Harry Potter Now This. Read a grown up book for the sake of all things sane”. Well first of all I enjoy these books, secondly I was recommended these books by many people who I would say are mature.

Basics

Now for the book. This book is yet another fantasy based book that again is based on a child character; “Lyra” a young girl brought up in a college in Oxford who was deprived of her parents, or so she thinks. Lyra along with her deamon “Pan” (her deamon) goes on a quest to save her friend “roger” from the gobblers who are a group of people taking children from there homes for purposes described later in the book.

The world

The world it is set in is close but different to our world in many different ways; the first one being that the people souls are on the outside and take the forms of different types of animals; these are called deamons (spelt differently in the book). In this world there are witches, bears who wear armour and.. other weird things.

The Blurb

When Lyra’s friend Roger disappears, she and her dæmon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. The ensuing quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice and witch-queens fly through the frozen skies- and where a team of scientists is conducting experiments too horrible to be spoken about. Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find something more perilous waiting for her- something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights…

My opinion

I almost gave up on this book at first, it was just too slow but eventually after a hundred pages or so it sped up and became a very interesting book. The variety of different characters ranges from talking bears to witches that for once don’t have broom sticks (though they still fly). The main character I didn’t really feel for or connect with, well at the beginning of the book but after I went through different events with her I began to develop a different opinion of her; which is a sign of good writing. On the quick note about “Atheism” being in the book, that neither added nor subtracted from the experience. Just like the Dumbledore is gay thing; it doesn’t concern me in least. It doesn’t effect the story and if you don’t read anything into it, it’s just another good book. So my verdict on this book is…It is yet another enjoyable and captivating book that fantasy lovers will enjoy and if your new to the fantasy genre; it’s a good book to start with. Well worth the time to read.

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