Nerdly Book Review:
Lyra’s Oxford
January 12, 2010 by Kyle BradyTags: Book, Fantasy, Lyra's Oxford, Philip Pullman, Review
As required by the FTC, a Full Disclosure is available - this piece adheres to the Code of Ethics
Although not quite the same in depth or scope as Pullman's original Dark Materials works, this short novella is a wonderful dip back into Lyra and Pan's world of Britain-from-another-parallel-universe.
The language, tone, and feel is exactly the same as his three novels about Lyra, Pan, and Will, and Pullman takes great care to believably connect this new work with his others, without it appearing forced: Will does not appear but is mentioned by Lyra, one of the plot-twists involves invoking several other characters, and the world of Jordan College comes back in vivid detail even though her new home is a different location of the college system.
In terms of plot, "Lyra's Oxford" is rather thin, but this is a very short story, not a novel, so Pullman does the best he can in the allotted space. All in all, Pullman has created a wonderful surprise that adds some relevance and emotional memory to a series of epic, timeless proportions.
Kyle can be found on Twitter and MySpace, or reached via email.
