Customer Reviews

The Tin Princess: A Sally Lockhart Mystery

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"The Tin Princess" is the forth book in the Sally Lockhart series - though it doesn't actually star Sally herself. Perhaps a better description of this book would be to call it a spin-off, as it is has several characters from the previous Sally books as its protagonists, and solves a mystery that has been brewing since book one. In the first book "The Ruby in the Smoke," a young street waif named Adelaide Bevan disappeared into the streets of London, and only now has she been found. Readers who may be unwilling to continue with this series due to the absence of Sally are instead rather forced to - it's the only way to find out what happened to that young girl.

Jim Taylor, the amateur detective (among other things) has finally managed to track her down, following the trail of young Rebecca Winter who has been employed in the service of a nobleman to teach a young woman in his household how to read and write. The two collide almost immediately, and soon it becomes apparent that the young woman in question is none other than Adelaide herself. But her situation has greatly changed - she is married to Prince Rudolf of Razkavia, making her a princess of that small country squished between Austria and Germany. Rebecca is appalled at the unlikelihood of the match, especially since she herself is a native of Razkavia.

And now things are about to heat up. With the assassination of Rudolf's older brother, Adelaide and her husband now find themselves heir to the thrones of Razkavia - but whoever was behind the conspiracy to topple the royal family is not going to stop till they control the country. Now with Becky as her translator and Jim as her bodyguard, Adelaide is travelling with her husband to the country she now rules - a country watched over by the Red Eagle flag. Legend says that so long as the Eagle flies over the Rock of Eschtenburg, Razkavia will always be free. Now in a strange land, with strange customs, and a plot against them, Adelaide, Jim and Becky must juggle politics, public relations, personal safety, betrayal within the court, assassination attempts and a mysterious missing member of the royal family. Needless to say (of any of Philip Pullman's books), it's a very exciting ride.

Pullman beautifully creates an entire country with vivid realness - its customs, economy, language, history, all of it comes across with perfect realism, but also a sense of intrigue that he can invoke so well: "The streets are so crooked and narrow that they have no names...the Devil went there once, and couldn't find his way out. Which means of course, that he's still there." Likewise, the characters are vivid and immensely likeable, and his themes of power and corruption (which appear in all of his books in one way or another) are in place. Of our main characters, only Becky is initially unfamiliar to readers of the Lockhart books, but she soon becomes an interesting figure, who wields her own type of power in being Adelaide's translator (often stating her straightforward opinions to Princess Adelaide in the course of conversations, or rewording Adelaide's informal slang to the listener).

But it's Jim and Adelaide that really take centre stage in the course of this story - passionate, strong, out of their league, star-crossed and determined, I have to say that I think they are Pullman's best romantic couple (disagree with me if you must, but that includes Sally/Fred and even Lyra/Will). Adelaide definitely foreshadows Lyra for the "His Dark Materials" trilogy - willful, spoilt, cunning and yet with a strange sense of innocence about her. Glancing at some of the other reviews, it's unfortunate to see she's rather unpopular - I thought she was a wonderful character, and every inch a queen.

Of those that are disappointed at the lack of Sally, there's no reason to completely despair. She is present at both the beginning and end of the story (as is Goldberg, her husband - sadly, no Harriet or Trembler) and is mentioned throughout by several characters. And in her own way, she plays a very big part in the course of the story - just watch how useful the knitted jersey she makes for Jim turns out!

Although this is not my favourite book in the series (that would be "The Tiger in the Well") it is the most re-readable, the most intriguing and the most poetic - the final passage in particular is beautifully written. I won't give it away, but I often find myself picking up the book just to read it again, and the images that Pullman invokes, especially in the escape from the old palace through the snow, are just beautiful. There is a certain amount of cynicism, but the barest touches of hope in the conclusion of the story. But whether you like it or not (because it *is* rather different from the first three books, and not just in the shift in characters) it is a necessary part of the series, to complete Adelaide and Jim's story.

At the end of "Tiger in the Well," one could tell that Phillip Pullman was becoming less interested in Sally Lockhart and more interested in her crew. With "The Tin Princess," Mrs. Goldberg disappears almost altogether, and Jim takes the stage along with the long lost Adelaide and newcomer Becky.

Set in a minor European kingdom, the action of this story takes place both in the palace and the bar. Jim travels in the seedy underbelly, while Queen Adelaide takes on the court. Intrigue, plots, romance and history are all present in droves, as one has come to expect from Pullmans Lockhart books.

A few of the plot points seem more convenient than natural. Jim's sudden overwhelming love for Adelaide does not suit the Jim that I am familiar with. It does, however, work for the story once it has been accepted. It is nice to reunite with Adelaide, although I always enjoyed her disappearance at the end of "Ruby in the Smoke." I saw it as Mr. Pullman's way of saying that not everything turns out well, and not all mysteries are solved. But her she is.

"The Tin Princess" is not the strongest book to come out of Phillip Pullman, but the nostalgia for the characters and his enjoyable writing is enough to make it a good book, and one worth reading.

Having read all three of the original Sally Lockhart novels, I was thrilled to find a sequel of sorts on the shelves of my local bookshop. Pullman takes a brave shot at writing a traditional swashbuckling adventure story, and succeeds wonderfully on many (though not all) levels.

The basic plot is thus: Adelaide Bevan, the penniless waif of The Ruby In The Smoke, has resurfaced after having gone missing for ten years. And she appears with a bang: she's married to a European prince of a small country called Razkavia. The problem? Adelaide is illiterate and has no idea how to be a princess, someone is assassinating the royal family of Razkavia one by one, and the great European powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary are itching to take over the tiny country at a moment's notice. It's left to Jim Taylor (the roguish friend of Sally Lockhart from the previous novels) and new character Becky Winter to try and keep everyone safe whilst trying to prop up the future of Razkavia and its people.

Implausible maybe, but Pullman infuses a nice feeling of reality into the proceedings with plenty of historical reference and accuracy. The story isn't perfect: Pullman's love of detail and an excess of rich and varied characters clutter it up, and the plot has more twists than a plate of spaghetti, but the overall story is so delightful, adventurous and well-written that this can be easily overlooked.

Pullman's real strength lies in his brilliant characterisation for his three or four main characters and the interaction between them. Adelaide and Becky are appealing, likeable and strong heroines, the Germans and a number of Razkavians make wonderful villains, but the star of the book is undoubtedly the delightfully clever, crafty, courageous and somewhat dangerous Jim Taylor, who steps into the limelight in place of Sally Lockhart and never gives it back.

This book is definitely worth a read if you're a Sally Lockhart fan - it's interesting to see how the characters from the original trilogy develop away from the London backdrop. Even if you're not a fan, read it - it's brilliant escapism, excellently written and well worth wading through the detail for.

I didn't like this book as much as I did all the Sally Lockhart books. The plot was pretty interesting. I loved Jim and I wished there were more of his points of view. I wish there was also more Sally in the book. I also would have loved to see a scene with both Sally and Dan together to see how they're getting along. One of the things I loved best about the Sally series was the wonderful relationship between her and Jim. The scene that moved me the most was when Sally showed up near the end of the book to see Jim. I really liked Becky as well. She was such a spirited and interesting character. If only her character was expanded a little more. The one character I could not like was Adelaide. I understand that she had a tough childhood and everything, but I just couldn't get used to the fact that she was queen and all that. I didn't like her attitude or her personality. I found it unbelievable that Jim would be in love with her forever, because the last time he was in real contact with her was when she was about 9 and he was about 13 or 14. Who falls in love that young and only knowing each other for a few days? But I liked the whole Razkavia thing and I loved the parts with Sally in it. So if you want to continue on with some beloved characters it's worth reading.

Yep, as always, Pullman has been what very few other writers will never be:Brave. Sure, some of the writing in this book was a little formulaic and outlandish, but it's a book, if you can't get a little escapism in a book then where can you? Philip Pullman has never been afraid to kill off beloved characters or, as in the case of this book, write an ending that made me scream, until I saw the liitle footnote with the family tree. Clever guy. For all those moaning about the absence of Sally, I say that the author has forseen that she was close to exhaustion as a character (His fault!) and decided to let the other characters breathe a bit. Becky was not the greatest character, but the scenes between Jim and Adelaide where powerful without being slushy. I finished The Tin Princess two days ago and I am gagging for more Pullman. I don't care what. Although I don't agree with his political leanings or his views on the church (And his CS Lewis-bashing), or the way that he shamelessly advertises both in his writings, but he's so good that I just don't care. The Sally Lockhart Triliogy was far better than His Dark Materials, of which the last disappointed me greatly (Will and Lyra was a little bit vomit-inducing), and if he doesn't get another installment rattled up soon then I'm going to blow up his shed. Top marks, the sereis has made me laugh, cry, and yell out loud. (One problem, why do some publishers insist on selling this series as a type of Mills and Boon? Some of the Blurbs and cover art are dreadful (Esp. on Versions of 'Tiger)

I had a hard time believing that this was the same author who had crafted my beloved Sally Lockhart and His Dark Materials trilogies. Description - too much description. And no characterization whatsoever. Becky was a weak character and I couldn't relate to her at all. And the fact that a London "fancy lady" could become the Queen of a small German/Austrian duchy was too unrealistic for me. (Yes, I know that miracles *can* happen, but this one was too far out there.) The only reason I stuck around was to see if Sally would appear again in the end, as she did.

I was also very dissappionted with the ending. Adelaide wanted Sally's approval so much - in the end, couldn't Pullman have just included Sally telling her that no one could have done better than she did? That was the biggest hole, was that we never saw Sally praise Adelaide at last, which seemed really out of character for her.

I suppose you should read this if you're looking for a quick (but drab) read, but my advice would be that if you don't want to spoil the spell that the Sally Lockhart trilogy cast on you, then don't.

Adelaide is no normal cockney teen, she's the princess of Razkavia, a small country not far from England. After marrying the prince of Razkavia he wants her to learn how to read and write and speak German. This is when she meets 16-year-old Becky, a native born Razkavian who has lived in England for nearly all her life. But when their tutoring session is cut short buy a bomb, an assassination attempt on the Prince. Their lives are turned upside down. They meet Jim, a private detective and close friend of Sally Lockheart, who has been looking for Adelaide for the past 10 years. Suddenly they are off to Razkavia where the three Londoners will face the complicated world of royal politics and Razkavian customs. When the prince is assassinated, Razkavia suddenly has themselves a cockney queen. What will they do?

The Tin Princess, a sequel book to Philip Pullman's award winning Sally Lockheart Trilogy, manages to answer most of the questions readers might have such as: What happened to Adelaide? Did Sally and Dan Goldberg ever get married? Did Sally manage to put her life back together after the horrible situations of The Tiger in the Well? Unfortunately The Tin Princess doesn't have the flair we last saw in the Sally Lockheart book. The only problem I have with Pullman's style of writing is the fact that he seems to introduce far too many characters that the book becomes confusing and most of the characters you want to learn about remain underdeveloped. He manages to get away with it in his Trilogies (Sally Lockheart, His Dark Materials) but it has a much different result in this specific solo novel. Other than that this book is great. It's faced paced and filled with exciting situations. I recommend it to fans of the Sally Lockheart trilogy.

Much though I am the first to admit to being a Pullman fan, this was the one that didn't quite make the grade for me. First of all, Pullman's passion for detail got in the way of his story; there were too many names and places and unnecessary plot twists for readers to keep track of properly. I guess, too, that having Sally Lockhart make a couple of cameo appearances led me to expect a Sally Lockhart book (trilogy plus one?) and so I kept waiting for her to play an active part that never happened. When she was mentioned, she was sitting at home smoking a pipe, knitting a jumper and growing radishes... not your Sally Lockhart of trilogy fame. Better to have left her out of this story altogether.

And what was Jim thinking of, falling for Adelaide? Who would have expected the brave little Adelaide from The Ruby In The Smoke to turn into the lazy spoilt brat she is depicted as at the begining of The Tin Princess? (though she improves during the course of the story and redeems herself by the end). And then there's Becky; the heroine who doesn't get half the recognition she deserves.

But when Pullman zeros in on his main characters, the story takes off, and it's their complex relationships that hold the readers' attention. Fans of Pullman's writing may have to stretch a bit in trading Victorian ambience for Germanic saber rattling, but there's enough here to enjoy even if it's not Pullman at his sparkling best.

The Tin Princess wasn't all that I expected it to be. Philip Pullman did not exactly follow up The Sally Lockhart Trilogy beautifully. The beginning was good and got me into it, but, by the end, I felt as if Pullman had left me hanging. If Jim hadn't been in it, I probably would have ended up hating it more. By the way, did any other Lockhart fans notice the pattern of the two main characters making love, and right after, a tragedy happening? I sort of saw a pattern! Well, over all, it was a good book, but it can not nearly compare to the Sally Lockhart trilogy!

The politics in TheTin Princess were absolutly magnificent. They were intriguing and twisted. The first few chapters had me hooked. As the book moved along, I could see the relitionship developing between Jim and Adelaide which was extremely similar to the one between Will and Lyra in The Amber Spyglass. These things set aside, it was a very good book.