Once Upon a Time in the North

A fun companion book

Much like Lyra's Oxford, this is a book that is wonderful as a companion novel, but wouldn't stand well on its own. It is a fun, quick read with some action and drama peppered throughout, but mostly it's a 'guilty pleasure' of sorts for fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy to get more about the world and the characters that Pullman so deftly created. Also, one of the best aspects to this book is the binding and that it comes with a cool little card game that Pullman invented. It's truly more of a collector's item that just a book, which makes it cool to own.

-Lindsey Miller, lindseyslibrary

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Phillip Pullman is Genius

This prequel is great; nowhere near as good as the His Dark Majesty series, but it fits in and reveals some more about some of the characters Pullman already makes life-like. Beautifully written, as expected from Pullman-pulls the heartstrings.
Overall great way to spend some off-time, not something you get into very seriously. But highly recommended for fans of His Dark Materials.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A good novella, but not extroadinary

A wonderful, if short, prequel to the His Dark Materials we all know and love. It was as tasteful as always, filled with details of Scoresby's balloon, the land, and a trifle bit of insight into Scoresby's character. The dialogue between Scoresby and his daemon Hester appealed to me most. We do get to see a small glimpse of what Iorek Byrnison was like at a younger age and half that into what the armored bears do for their armor and some tradition. I found it slightly lacking however, since Pullman merely offered a taste than what I felt could have been a whole meal. Other than that, it was a pleasant reading that one can finish in a single sitting. Very much recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another part of His Dark Materials

This is a short but nice addition to Pullman's series His Dark Materials. The fast-paced adventure of Lee Scoresby, a real Texan, is true to Pullman's animated style of bringing unusual characters to live and having them be, well, characters. I good read for any who love His Dark Materials

Interesting sequel to The Golden Compass, but NOT EVEN CLOSE AT ALL to Golden Compass.

Okay, this book was a sequel to the Golden Compass (which I also like), but this book was NOTHING LIKE the Golden Compass! The characters were different--there was not even Lyra! I guess this is what happened after Lee Scoresby had his children. Also, this book had repetitive swearing-- enough to make me fairly annoyed.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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