Previous SFF Author: Natasha Pulley
(1946- )
Philip Pullman is from Norwich England. He was a teacher until he began writing full time in 1996. He has written numerous stand-alone novels and a couple of historical fiction mysteries for children. He won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the most prestigious prize in children’t literature, in 2005. Learn more at Philip Pullman‘s website.
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The Firework-Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman
The Firework-Maker’s Daughter is a short children’s book written by Phillip Pullman and it’s a little gem. Pullman pulls off a perfect recipe of magic, adventure and pure fun in this sparkling little fairy tale.
Lila is the daughter of the talented firework maker Lachland. All Lila wants is to become a true firework maker herself, but to do so she must make the perilous journey to the fire-fiend Razvani and bring back some Royal Sulphur.
Katie Burton´s rating: 4.5 | Philip Pullman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass (or, if you follow the British print-run, Northern Lights) is the first book of Philip Pullman‘s extraordinary, controversial, thought-provoking, fascinating, infuriating, allegorical trilogy His Dark Materials. Followed by The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, the books have a huge range of ideas and meanings; from exploring the bond between the body and soul, to denouncing modern religious practices, to retelling Milton’s Paradise Lost from a completely different point of view.
Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Philip Pullman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife is the second in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, beginning with The Golden Compass and ending with The Amber Spyglass. It is an amazing piece of literature; often more suited for adult readers than for the children/young adults that it’s geared toward, and with a message that — though controversial — is immensely thought provoking and worth pondering. Strangely enough, this second book is actually my favourite installment in the series;
Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Philip Pullman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
At the end of The Subtle Knife, things were dire. Lyra had been kidnapped by her mother Mrs Coulter, whilst Will was left in the company of two angels with the subtle knife (which can create windows between worlds) and the altheiometer (that communicates with the mystery substance known as ‘Dust’). Refusing to accompany them to Lord Asriel, who is on the verge of war with Heaven itself, Will enlists the angels help in tracking down Lyra, and is soon joined by Iorek Byrnison,
Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Philip Pullman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lyra’s Oxford by Philip Pullman
Everything Means Something…
First of all, if you have not read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, then don’t attempt to read this story, as you’ll be utterly baffled. But if you have, you’ll be treated with another glimpse into the parallel Oxford that Pullman so vividly created and explored in Northern Lights/The Golden Compass.
The book itself is beautifully presented, bound in cloth and filled with engravings of the city by John Lawrence,
Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Philip Pullman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman
Lee Scoresby, a young Texan aeronaut, and his dæmon, Hester the rabbit, land their balloon in Novy Odense, a frontier harbor in the North. Lee is all but broke, so he goes into town looking for business. There’s no work for an aeronaut, but there is a lot of trouble waiting for an honorable man. Naturally, Lee and Hester wind up in the middle of it.
It turns out that the Larsen Manganese, a mining company, has allied with Ivan Demitrovich Poliakov,
Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3.5 | Philip Pullman | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Serpentine (2020) is a tiny tale set in between the two trilogies that have defined Philip Pullman‘s writing career. Whilst at a mere seventy pages it may seem, by Pullman’s standards, brief, it plays a vital function in understanding the adventures the future Lyra will embark upon in the THE BOOK OF DUST.
A note from the author explains that the story was originally written 2004,
Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Philip Pullman | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Clockwork: or All Wound Up by Philip Pullman
Clockwork: or All Wound Up (1996) is a very short (about 100 pages) children’s fairytale by Philip Pullman. It stars Karl and Fritz, two young Germans who have not finished a job that they were supposed to do and are worried about what will happen when the townspeople find out. Karl and Fritz meet one snowy evening in the local tavern. Karl, the clockmaker’s apprentice, is brooding because tomorrow is the day when he must unveil the mechanical project he’s supposed to have finished.
Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Philip Pullman | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Scarecrow and his Servant by Philip Pullman
We Might Sometimes Go Hungry, But We Will Never Want for Adventure…
Philip Pullman is best known for his young-adult fantasy series His Dark Materials as well as the Victorian thrillers starring Sally Lockhart, but he also has quite a few children’s books under his belt, all of which are whimsical and comedic in nature. The Scarecrow and His Servant is one such story, highly reminiscent of Lloyd Alexander‘s work and definitely a change of pace from Pullman’s darker,
Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Philip Pullman | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
I always find it a little nerve-wracking when an author returns to a successful series after a long time away. There’s always the fear, for me at least, that one of two things is going to happen: either the author will be nostalgic about the original work to the extent that s/he makes the new book into a fawning tribute without substance, or the author will have changed enough in the time between installments that the magic is just gone. I’m happy to say, though, that Philip Pullman‘s new novel dispels both of those fears.
Tim Scheidler, Ray McKenzie, Katie Burton and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3, 4.5 | Philip Pullman | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (Ray Jana)
With the release of La Belle Sauvage, readers were finally able to return to the universe of Philip Pullman‘s HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy after a seventeen year wait. The story was a prequel to the original trilogy (though Pullman described the new series not as a sequel, but an ‘equel.’) Being only a baby, it was not Lyra who took centre stage in that novel, but a young boy called Malcolm Polstead,
Ray McKenzie, Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3, 4 | Philip Pullman | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Here are some of the stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about. This week we continue focusing on 2015 Nebula-nominated short fiction, along with some other stories that caught our attention.
“Madeleine” by Amal El-Mohtar (2015, free on Lightspeed magazine, Kindle magazine issue), nominated for the 2015 Nebula award (short story)
Madeleine is in therapy after the death of her mother from Alzheimer’s. She and her therapist, Clarice, are discussing the loss of her mother and the odd side-effects from a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug that Madeleine has taken part in.
Previous SFF Author: Natasha Pulley
I guess that is true, Marion. And when it comes to "You Only Live Twice," I saw the movie TWICE…
I absolutely loved this deep dive into Edwige Fenech's giallo films! Her unique blend of allure and mystery truly captivates.…
You managed to work in your two loves; vintage fiction and films!
Yup, Marion, your memory serves you well! Oh...as regards these three recent Bond reviews of mine, as the old saying…
I remember this book for introducing me to poison gardens... and Kobe beef.