The Republic of Heaven

Compared to the trilogy this book was rubbish. I thought it was far to short and did not have the same "feel" as the other books. Just as it got going it finished. I think Mr. Pullman should of stopped writing these when he finished "Amber spyglass". That way the books can go down as something great but if he continues to write more books based along these lines (eagerly awaits book of dust) and they are not up to the same standard as the trilogy then he could end up killing the whole thing. Anyone disagree? If so tell me!

Come on my friend - at least try looking before you post a new thread...it's not like the Lyra's Oxford forum is very big

I totally disagree with you. You're wrong - and if that's your opinion, you've not read it right. Certainly it's not 1000 page masterpiece, but it's a story, and it's what Pullman does best. He's left so many questions, that it's intriguing. And this is before we even discuss the bonus material, like the maps, postcards and so on. I insist you read the book properly before simply dismissing it. Pullman is not a one trilogy author - he was writing for 20 years before HDM and has written for a further 6 since. In those 26 years he has written many other books, almost all of them excellent.

I think people make the mistake of comparing it to HDM, it isn't really a novel but he has complied some fantastic stuff. It makes you think rather than just takes you on a ride like the previous three.

I think if you were expecting LO to knock your socks off then it's understandable to feel disappointed, but that wasn't the aim of the book. It's a bridge between TAS and the book of dust, just a little taster and a clue. As a story, it's not really that strong taken on its own but you have to look at it from the larger perspective, especially when TBOD comes out. I don't think it was badly-written, and I don't think it was crap and I think it showed Lyra realistically getting on with her life without Will.

And as Ian said, you have to look at the extra material which has to be there for some reason and must therefore be suggesting something or other. And also, if PP is going to be one of those authors who writes a #1 and then decides s/he has had enough of it and only really ever had one good idea in the first place *coughRowlingcough* then i'd lose respect for him.

Take a look around the forum and find out more about LO before dismissing it.

I guess I found it a part of a disappointment when I first went through it, in those...few minutes it took me to do so. XD

But the more I looked at it, the more I was like "oh, all these little details!" and it made me realize this book was nothing but a bridge from what came before to whatever may come next. It really is quite intriguing if you take some time and look at the 'random' things that come with it.

All of the little extras in the book really made it interesting. Plus, there are a bunch of little questions you find when reading it a second or third time. I really enjoyed it.

I'm so surprised! After NL, I think LO is my favourite thing from the HDM universe (or at least that part of it that is 'Lyra and the Birds' - the ephemera was a little dissapointing and perplexing to my already add;es senses but I liked the map). For someone whose favourite of the trilofy is the first book, and who feels that TAS was a bit of a only-sporadically-great shambles, Lyra's Oxford looked very much like a return to form.

Firstly, it ges some way towards confirming my suspicions that what PP really needs in TAS is a really good editor to cut the fat. Stick him in the restrictions of a short story and we're back to PP's superb blend of plot, character, scenery and conceit without any superfluous and lengthy diversions.

Secondly, for the first time I liked Will. I never really disliked him, and I know he's barely mentioned in LO, let alone in it, but for the first time I felt comfortable about the way Lyra had been affected by Will.

Thirdly, Lyra's character was perfect. In NL PP proved how well he could show a character growing and changing and maturing, while the reader loved her all the more for it. In TSK and TAS she seemed to just be growing up into a slightly dipsy wuss. In LO I thought Lyra's spirit really reasserted itself and I totally bought this older version of everyone's favourite aristocratic urchin.

Finally, quite apart from all this, the story was in itself a very god short strory which served its dual (and paradoxical) purposes of providing a satisfying read and whetting the appetite for more...

I loved it.

in terms of the story, LO doesn't do it for me the way other pullman stories have but there were so many things that just seemed like gifts for fans: yes, the extra materials of book catologues and maps, etc. but also random clues in the story. what is it about the birds? and the woodcut illustrations were very nice as well. perhaps it was a bit of a "TBOD is going to take a while, i'll give them something to hold them along while waiting for the book and the films." (i wonder whether they'll try to release them together.)

Yes, Lyra and the Birds posed more questions than it answered plot-wise but I enjoyed that and two other things make me love it:

1. It was wonderful to get a snapshot of Lyra at fourteen, particularly for someone who hadn't really felt she'd been fairly written in the previous two books.

2. It was wonderfully self-contained in its theme and 'message'. While not really saying anyhting outright I loved the way th story came full circle with the birds and the little hints that developed Lyra's thinking about what the events meant. It was like a promise that the mystery and magic are still very present in her life and that she hasn't seen all the wonder there is to see in the univers(es) yet!

It was...okay. I found the extra stuff, like the maps and postcards and such, to be somewhat interesting...The idea of Lyra and the Birds, and how Lyra learned a symbol of the alethiometer, is very nice...Comparatively, though, I wasn't all that impressed...*shrugs* It was okay. I think it still would've been fine if he left TAS as the end of it all...

I don't think that. After reading TAS i was sooo happy when i realized there was more.... And there'll be TBOD too! Can't wait!
But LO wasn't that impressing though. It was just nice.

yes, but like everyone is saying that LO is just a bridge, shouldnt TBOD be a lot longer, around ...say 200 or 250 pages? im not saying thats a bad thing at all, but didnt PP suggest something only as long as LO

Not at all, he has been implying all along that it's a big project that will explain many things.

I liked the fact that Lyra hadn't forgoten Will, her trying to think of what he would do keeps him in the story but keeps him out at the same time.

Well, it wasn't great, but it wasn't awful.
I read it in about 30 minutes, so I was looking for a little more story, but as other people have said; Its a "bridge" book, not a story in itself.

I haven't liked many other novels by Pullman. I've found them boring and dull. Infact, the only ones I do like, were HDM, and The Ruby in the Smoke thing.

I'm looking forward to reading TBOD, but I'm unsure of wether Pullman should have stopped. I think he may be trying to hard to stretch out the story, when it should be left. But I'm looking forward to it anyway

I kno it really did reak, I love the his dark materials trilogy and have read them soooooooo many times. And I mean, i was sooo excited when this came out and i read it and was so dissappointed. I was expecting better things, I was so excited to see what had happened to Lyra. This book sucked!

It did not suck. It was a beautifully written short story.

It did exactly what it was supposed to. It made all of the HDM fans go 'Huh?' and want to find out more. As a piece of narrative it was thus perfect.

It wasn't meant to be a follow-up to HDM. It was meant to be a teaser of things to come, to keep people interested in the story and hope for more. And to generate discussions of the kind we're having now.

It was certainly not a disappointment for me, I enjoyed it, and just what the above person says, the book does what it is suppose to.

I bought it and currently finished it. I have to addmit that the others were better, but I enjoy reading everything about Lyra's world. Do you think that PP should make a story about Will's life after TAS?