Lyra's Oxford

Rating:
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover
Review: I absolutely loved Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series so I was thrilled when I discovered he had created another story in that universe. Lyra's Oxford has a truly beautiful cover of red cloth and a colored woodcut illustration. The book also has many such "goodies" included inside. The actual story inside; however, was extremely disappointing. We learn only the tiniest bit more about Lyra's life after The Amber Spyglass. The plot was not developed or intricate. What did I expect out 49 pages? An enjoyable story, that's what, not a turnabout mystery easily explained at the end like Scooby Doo cartoon. I will read Pullman's works in the future, but I advise other readers not to buy this book before checking it out from your library first.

Rating:
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover
Review: I absolutely loved Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series so I was thrilled when I discovered he had created another story in that universe. Lyra's Oxford has a truly beautiful cover of red cloth and a colored woodcut illustration. The book also has many such "goodies" included inside. The actual story inside; however, was extremely disappointing. We learn only the tiniest bit more about Lyra's life after The Amber Spyglass. The plot was not developed or intricate. What did I expect out 49 pages? An enjoyable story, that's what, not a turnabout mystery easily explained at the end like Scooby Doo cartoon. I will read Pullman's works in the future, but I advise other readers not to buy this book befre checking it out from your library first.

Rating:
Summary: Oxford
Review: I bought this book hoping to see lots of old characters. i absolutely loved the map, the adds, and the postcard but thought that the story was pretty pointless. It didn't seem to do much and I was able to read it within the night. I think I had worked myself up for a much grander companion novel to HDM so was a bit dissapointed. I think that it all could've waited until the book of dust because it didn't really have much to it. I think the part I was most excited about was the travel guides section, and seeing the one by Mrs Coulter. Otherwise I was pretty unimpressed. I think over all although I loved the cover, adn the extras, the story was pretty bad. I have to get over this and re work my self up for the book of dust. Something which I don't think I should've had to of done.

Rating:
Summary: Really disappointing
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Cash-in?
Review: 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?

Rating:
Summary: Not worth the $$$
Review: I went out and bought this book at a local book store. I had been anticipating it's arrival for weeks, being a huge HDM fan. (I've read the trilogy at least 8 times.) I picked it up, and was suprised. I was expecting something much much larger. But I took it home, read it, and promptly took it back. It was awful. It was almost like someone else wrote the book. I think I'll just re-read the trilogy if I get to missing Will and Lyra.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been a lot better
Review: It was alright but so short. After the HDM trilogy, i was expecting something momentous, not this!

Rating:
Summary: A Taste of Things to Come
Review: Lyra's Oxford is an enjoyable read for fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and whets the appetite for the upcoming 'Book of Dust'. The story is entertaining (though maybe too short for the price) but only if you have already read the main trilogy.. it simply won't make sense if you don't already know who these people are, as this is a book definitely for the fans. The extra tidbits were interesting to read through, though I thought the map was disappointing, and none of it met with the publisher's claim that it would look like it had "fallen through from another world". But I won't fault Pullman's storytelling because of that. If you enjoyed HDM and want to go deeper into Pullman's world, buy Lyra's Oxford.

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Rating:
Summary: A favorite Pullman book
Review: Lyra's Oxford is an extension to the trilogy, His Dark Materials. The story makes use of the same characters, and same setting as the trilogy. It is wonderfully written and is a delightful addition to Pullman's writings. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Lyra's tiny book
Review: Much too short. (...) I suggest not buying it. The story is so abbrieviated that not much happens. The best thing about this book is its interesting size and colour. The binding is so thick its gunna last for ages. (...)