Customer Reviews

Lyra's Oxford

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This short story (only 64 pages) shows Lyra a couple of years older than at the end of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and a couple of years more mature. Her daemon has (as it did in "Amber Spyglass) settled on a form, she's at an Oxford school for girls, and Will seems more a source of inspiration than sadness. The story begins (I won't give away very much) when a witch's daemon arrives and demands help finding a person unknown to Lyra . . .

Well written, and well done within its boundaries. The "artifacts" (a map, a postcard from Mary Malone (showing, incidently, Oxford sites some of which are significant in Pullman's works), a cruise brochure) are interesting, and contain some inside jokes, such as adverts for books written by characters we met or heard of in the trilogy. The map is of course most useful in tracing Lyra's footsteps across Oxford in this short story.

I am a little preturbed (and withhold a fifth star) about the fact that such a short story bears a rather high price. At about fifteen cents a page, it is only worth it because of the quality of Pullman's works. And if the other artifacts (there's an annotation on the cruise brochure which might be significant) play a part in "The Dust" (the forthcoming, longer book), I really, really hope that the artifacts are republished with that book.

Recommended. But you might want to think about sitting down in Barnes and Noble or Chapters and spending an hour reading this one, rather than buying it.

Considering how good Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy was, and considering how much I loved those books, I had high expectations for anything that would be published as part of that universe. I was excited to find out that Pullman was publishing a little story featuring Lyra. The book weighed in at about 60 pages, so I knew it wasn't going to be epic, but the expectations were there.

I was disappointed. The story is that Lyra is back at Oxford several years after the events of His Dark Materials. She, and her daemon, see a daemon bird flying in being chased by a huge flock of birds. She rescues the daemon who tells Lyra that she needs to help the daemon find a professor, one who can help the daemon's witch. It is a very short story, and while there is a wee sense of adventure, this slim volume has none of the charm and wonder of His Dark Materials. Other than our familiarity with Lyra, we are given no reason to care about anything that happens.

This book feels like a teaser. In the introduction, Pullman writes that the extras (there is a map, a post card and sundry extra information besides the story) may be from a different world, may be from stories already told, and may even be for a story yet to be told. He is teasing us with a larger story, a grander tale than Lyra's Oxford. It raises my expectations that Pullman will deliver a story large in scope, reminiscent of His Dark Materials. But, even that hint of something to come only deepens my disappointment with this book. Simply put, there is nothing there. As a story, it is weak. As an continuation of His Dark Materials, it does not live up to the past greatness. All this book does is serve to remind me how good the main series is, and how much I would love to see a new series. Skip this book.

Three kinds of people will enjoy this book. First, those who after the three-course feast of HDM are anxious for any crumbs (or should one say coffee & liqueurs) that Pullman has to offer. They will find a precious glimpse of Lyra and Pan at 14, and feel encouraged that their story is far from over.
Second, the book will delight anyone who knows, loves, or has visited Oxford. With its absence of cars and urban sprawl, Lyra's city has much to recommend it over ours. It is what the imaginative may still sense on a Sunday morning in the Botanic Garden.
Third, the book will charm the bibliophile and connoisseur of literary curiosities. Beside the story, there are wonderful pages from a Baedeker's Guide, and advertisements in the quaint style of Lyra's world. The wood engravings by John Lawrence are in the best early 20th-century tradition. He and Pullman must have had fun putting this together.

Well yes, this book may be expensive, but if you are a fan of the series, I would reccommend it to you.

The story, 'Lyra and the Birds', is quite short and will only take about 15 minutes to read, but it is the curious little extras that will grab your attention if you are familiar with the books.

There are clues leading to the next book in the series, The Book Of Dust, such as a strange postcard from Dr Mary Malone.

I do advise, though, that you read this book VERY carefully, otherwise you will miss the clues I was talking about.

For example, look at the dates on the SS. Zenobia schedule.

You may notice something odd about the dates for Famagusta and Latakia. But that's all I'll say!

All in all, quite a good book, and worth the price if you use it properly. Happy Reading!

As much as I knew from my obsessive searching on the internet that this would be a short story, I was initially disappointed in the actual size and length of Lyra's Oxford.

First, the story:

I enjoyed this short story about one incident in Lyra's life. I have been curious to see how Lyra adjusts to life after the BIG EVENT at the end of the first trilogy. It was nice to have a little story instead of an entire novel in which to do this. My burning question was how Lyra adjusted to the loss of her relationship with Will and it was answered quietly and succinctly in just a few sentences. Will is only mentioned a few times in this short story, which is perhaps as it should be. How would Lyra get any work done or really live at all if he was more often foremost in her thoughts?

I know from some of the things I've read elsewhere that the materials in this piece of work are supposed to connect to others to be published later on. I am eager to see how they do connect. We now have artifacts such as a map of Oxford and a postcard from Mary Malone to add to this new installment in Lyra's life, in a way that reminded me a bit of Nick Bantok's Griffin and Sabine series. If you are going to put out short little books with interconnected clues, however, they need to have publishing dates close together. I gave up on the Griffin and Sabine books when too much time between them made me loose momentum. I doubt this would happen with Pullman's work as I am more dedicated as a fan to this material, but I could see too little published too far apart turning off potential new fans.

I have read Philip Pullman's HDM trilogy, and they are the most gorgeous books I have ever come across. Lyra's oxford I love too, but for a whole different reason. It's not so much the story I cherish, but the actual book. I brought it to school with me for the first day of high school, clutching it protectively to me. It was like having every single page of HDM with me. And that was the most enormous comfort I could ever ask for. Even though I'm not superstitious in the least, I must say, it's grown to be my talisman. I refuse to sleep without it in my room.

I love HDM to itty bits, and I was thrilled with the story 'Lyra and The Birds'. It's a fantastic story, a little picture of Lyra's life, encompassing an idea very much connected with the trilogy, and raising about a dozen questions to add to the hordes we already have.

There were some things I disliked about The Amber Spyglass which were improved in this story. For instance, I got annoyed with how much Lyra admired Will all the time, and I felt it was more balanced here: in her most frightened moment, the memory of Will helps her to be strong, but she doesn't harp on about him.

The reason I gave three stars has nothing to do with the story, but the package it came in. It was very dissapointing. The main feature - the map - was nice, but a little lacking. Half the important points of the story are indicated with arrows pointing outside the map. The adverts were sort of pointless - they didn't say anything about Lyra's world; they could have come from a point in THIS world's history, and they lacked imagination. Apart from that, you didn't get much for your money. Couldn't all this have waited until The Book of Dust? Was it all just a cynical publisher's cash-in?

"Lyras Oxford" is not what I had expected from Philip Pullman, one of the main reasons being it's length. The book is only about fifty pages long, which gives you no chance to become reaquainted with Lyra and Pan and actually care too much about what is going to happen next. This book has a lot of potential, but compared to the other works of Philip Pullman, it definately didn't reach it.

Lyra never really seems to have any of that fiesty personality that was uniquely hers in the other "His Dark Materials" books, she seems like any other young teenager. However the reason for that may be because[SPOILER for people who have not finished the Amber Spyglass] of the great loss that happend when she had to leave Will and know that she would never see him again. I can imagine that that would have an effect on her personality and outlook on life, perhaps making her loose some of that fiestiness that pulled readers in in the first place. Whatever the case, this book never really gives you a chance to find out. It does, however, have the atmosphere of a teaser for more books with Lyra and Pan. Dare we fans hope for anymore books to join the Dark Materials saga?

First and foremost, I recommend this book strongly to fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Not only is it an excellent collectible, but it also brings the reader back to the thought-provoking, imaginative world Pullman crafted in the trilogy.

To those readers unfamiliar with the trilogy, I suggest you read the trilogy before attempting this short story. You won't regret reading Pullman's work, and it will make this little volume much more enjoyable. Besides, this book may spoil the ending to the trilogy for some. If you feel incredibly compelled to tackle "Lyra's Oxford" first, however, I imagine you would find it both an interesting and intriguing read.

Indeed, it is a short story. I was disappointed to see it come so swiftly to a conclusion, as are most readers, I'm sure. However, we must not forget that it is just that--a short story. And as such, it does an excellent job. Typical of Pullman, the story can be read on several levels. First and foremost, it's a good story and a quick read.

Deeper than that, however, is Pullman's flair for sparking thought in the reader. Between the story itself, the added artifacts, and Pullman's introduction, one could spend days dissecting the full meaning of this tiny book (a task that I fully intend to undertake). It especially feels like this episode is merely an opening chapter to a greater epic, which for now must be imagined by the reader. A quick reader can digest the story in under an hour. A creative romantic could draw it out and savor the full story and beyond through several reads. A dedicated scholar could conceivably turn it into a lecture circuit. So to those who feel it's too short, or that the artifacts are irrelevant, perhaps you need to try reading it more closely. A hint to ponder: try to find some time paradoxes between the present and history given in the book. That's where I'm starting my investigation.

To conclude, this is a juicy little red book. With a tantalizing story, scratching the surface of a much larger meaning, peppered with intriguing artifacts and wonderful artistry, it is a necessary companion to past, present, and future His Dark Materials fans.

I don't know...I would say that I am one of the number 1 fans of philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials"...I have read all three books 5 times each and listened to them twice...They are amazing. Maybe I was just expecting another Golden Compass out of this short story about Lyra and The Birds. I expected vivid details, to be able to see what was happening. Maybe It is really hard to get that in a short story, or maybe Pullman is just not a short story writer...but either way, this story is disappointing. It is boring and has no detail. Lyra and Pan just seem like boring charecters and don't react to things the same as they used to...(maybe that is due to the time between TAS and this story) I don't know if Pullman just lost his passion, or if maybe when The Book of Dust comes out, it will all make sense and I will be relieved...but either way, I wish it could have been better

NOW don't get me wrong...I still absolutely Love HIS DARK MATERIALS and Philip Pullman...but it just wasn't what I was hoping for.