Rating: 
Summary: A work of art: Faust meets Frankenstein meets Pinnochio!
Review: I loved the first two parts of the HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY and found this book to be brilliant in quite a different way. Whereas GOLDEN COMPASS is high fantasy, this is more archetypal; more like a classic, unforgettable folk tale (which is why the characters aren't meant to be "developed" in a certain sense -- they engage our emotions and sympathies as types.) Leonid Gore's pictures are also wonderful -- the package reminds me of Maurice Sendak's collaborations with Randall Jarrall, square, and gorgeous. Collectable. A must-have for Pullman fans.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for any age!
Review: I really enjoyed this book, which was very entertaining. It wasn't too long and the story was intriguing (especially since EVERYTHING was connected!). The descriptions of the clock mechanisms were interesting, as were the characters. I found this story to rank right up there with classics like Frankenstein and Edgar Allen Poe tales. I couldn't put it down!
Rating: 
Summary: Even I was impressed!
Review: I suppose I should have checked the details a little better, because I was thinking this was a 300 page novel for YA readers. In fact, it's quite a small novel, and it's for very young children. Nonetheless, I had a fun time reading it! It was dark and spooky, and the illustrations were brilliant and fit this story perfectly. I would probably read this on a rainy day to my niece and nephew, and have a good fun scare! I would reccommend reading this book, as well as Neil Gaiman's "Coraline"; these two novels are creepy for kiddies and overall fun for children and adults alike!
Rating:
Summary: Clockwork or All Wound Up
Review: I think this is a great book for any age. At first I was reluctant to read it because after reading the back-cover it sounded rather complex. It was the first Pullman-book that I ever read and now I am reading The Golden Compass another Pullman-book. After reading it took a minute to think about but then it all came together like clockwork. It starts out in the White Horse Tavern in a small German town,(personally I think that it takes place in Munich because they have some sort of clocktower)and Herr Ringleman the clock-maker and and his apprentice Karl come in and Karl's friend Fritz teh novelist begins to tell his story about Prince Otto and his mechanical child Prince Florian when he gets to the part about Dr. Kalmenius when the doctor walks in the door. Well everyone leaves except for the apprentice Karl. Dr. Kalmenius is also a the clock-maker who made Prince Florian. Karl is uset because it ia nearing the end of his apprentiship and he was supposed to make new figure for the clocktower when Dr. Kalmenius gives Karl Sir Ironsoul who if someone was to say the word devil will not rest until his sword is in the throat of the person who uttered it. When Karl come back fom preparing a spot in the clocktower for Sir Ironsoul he finds Prince Florian who is turning back into a machine by the minute and has wondered from his sledge into the town and Karl likes him better than the night and puts the prince in the tower. When he comes back he by accident says the word devil and well you know what happens and Gretl the tavernowners daughter who can't sleep and was with the Prince but had gone to get Fritz to fix the story and was coming back when she found Karl who had the key to the tower and she knew just what he had done, she took the key and stayed up there with the prince and when the clock chimed ten the figures came out and there was the two children, two because Prince Florian was not a mechanical toy anymore but a real child because he had been failing because he had no heart and Prince Otto had taken him to Dr. Kalmenius who said the heart had to be given and kept too and that is just what Gretl did.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Short Story, but not Pullman's best
Review: I think this short story is definitely worth the read. I passed it around the office after finishing it, and everyone enjoyed it. It is an enjoyable and spooky short story for all ages. The imagery is fantastic. Pullman definitely knows how to tell a spectacular story. However, after reading the Golden Compass trilogy, I was a little dissapointed. The ending to Clockwork was sudden, and not as developed as his other manuals. But for a short story, I think it was excellent. If you enjoy this short story, definitely read the Golden Compass series. I think it would make an excellent Halloween story for kids, and adults enjoy it also. Clockwork is also good for kids who enjoy telling stories or who are learning about time.
Rating:
Summary: Clockwork or All Wound Up
Review: I thought that this was an exellent book for both young and old. I would not reccomend this book for anyone under 7 years old, not because of the content but because that everything blends to- gether so gracefully they might not understand it. It starts out in a small tavern that is full of the hum of the locals when the clockmaker Herr Ringleman and his young appren- tice Karl comes into the tavern, Herr Ringlman goess to join the other old men of the town and Karl goes to sit be himself in a corner. Fritz the novelist who is nervous because he has not finished the tale he is about to tell and he is even more uncomforable than he was because he has something in common with Karl in two ways; Karl too has not finished the figure that he is supposed to make for the Tower of Klockenheim and he is quite sad and the title of Fritz's book is called 'Clockwork'. I think this was a deliciuously spooky story with every element a good tale must have.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, untill about the last few chapers...
Review: It would have been a great book-but pullman ruined it at the end... well, for me anyway. the book was to short and it seemed like the ending was out of place with the rest of the book... I'm a Pullman fan-but so sorrym it was weak and not at all what I would have expected for Pullman. I still gave it 4 stars because the first part- I couldn't put down, but the end was- crazy, almost laughable for me... *sorry, I know not a lot of people will agree.*
Rating:
Summary: Great Story but...
Review: It's a great srory but it's to short, except for that every thing is great the pictures...Did I say the story was great! ^.^
Rating:
Summary: sweet and scary
Review: like most people who also wrote reviews for this book, i bought this after reading "his dark material" trilogy, trying to fill the gap in my heart after lyra and will went away.
it's by no mean did that, this story's very short, and the charecter are very superficial, as they often do in a story this short, and you can't realy learn to like or care much for them. however, i did find a very interesting and dark tale and a wonderful cinical methaphore for time and death and how life goes round like a story. also it has a wonderfuly happy ending - what more can i ask.however, i can't say that this story's suitble for the age goup amazon desided to put this book in (9-12) i'm 28 and this book gave me chills. i think every parent who gives his kid this book should read it first and chack (you'll have fun i promise). one more thing - i don't know if it was just my copy, but the binding wasn't done very well, too much glue made the pages a bit uneasy to turn and they had unapealing wrinkels and small folds in the inner edge, for me that's a bit of a turn off when it comes to books. i did had 3 really nice day of very light reading with it, it's the kind of book that's great to finish in an evening near the fire around holloween.
Rating:
Summary: Hold your ghost stories and try this!
Review: My nine year old daughter and I stumbled upon this book in a bookstore. Philip Pullman has since become one of our favorite authors, starting with this book. The story is suspenseful, engaging, extremely well written and hard to put down. It's a tiny bit scary (for a nine year old struggling to stay awake so she can savor each line), but perfect to read together with your children. I don't know who enjoyed it more, my daughter or me!
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