Review: #626
Title: Northern Lights
Series: His Dark Materials - 1st book
Author: Philip Pullman
Read Before: no
Comments: Northern Lights takes place in an alternative world, where each human is paired with something called a daemon, an animal that they are bonded with. While still a child, the daeman can shapeshift as much as they want. This is the key crucial element that makes Northern Lights so fascinating. Starring Lyra, a child, she finds herself stumbling into a dark world, where she has to travel North in order to save her childhood friend from unspeakable experiments. The way daemons are incorporated into the everyday life is clever, and there are various subtle changes in this world that keeps the reader engaged. The plot is complex, but still comprehensive and easy to follow. The subtle nature of the complexities slowly creeps up on you until it dawns that there are so many layers that are concurrently happening, that it astounds you. From the very first page, the plot manages to grip you, as you slowly learn about Lyra’s life, then how it changes, then to her escape, and finally to her journey to save her friend. The people she meets along the way are each fascinating on their own, and so once all these elements are combined together, Northern Lights become the type of classical fantasy that you feel you need to read again and again in order to fully appreciate of all that has happened.
Rating: 8/10