Lyra's Oxford

The following reviews have been sent in by fans as they read the new book by Philip Pullman. We will add to the reviews if we receive more; if you would like to send a review, please e-mail your review to webmaster@bridgetothestars.net. We look forward to hearing what you think! You may also find it interesting to read what (many of the same) fans had to say on the first announcement of Lyra's Oxford: see the initial reactions.

Staff Reviews:

Merlyn writes:

I too looked forward to the release of Lyra's Oxford, ever since I first read the press release in April that announced it's publication. The story of Lyra and the Birds is well told, and Pullman certainly hasn't lost any of his strength as a storyteller since The Amber Spyglass. Yet, I think Lyra's Oxford was a bit of a disappointment. Not because of the writing, but because there was so little of it. The story itself comes in at just 49 pages long, and takes place over the course of a single day. I spent more time prying the map out (I know it's not supposed to come out, but it was so much easier to look at if it wasn't glued in the middle of the book) than I did reading the actual story.

I loved HDM for it's epic scale; for the way it told a massive and powerful story that could be read on many levels at once and appreciated for many different things and from many different viewpoints. I hardly see the scope, or the aim for something as ambitious as the Republic of Heaven, in this tiny volume. It's just a short story, well told, but short nonetheless. Too short, I think, to really satisfy the more dedicated fans of the trilogy. The ending of The Amber Spyglass left many of us deeply moved, yet also satisfied (however unfair it might have seemed)... I hate to ask it, but was a short story tacked on at the end really necessary?

The length of the story (and the motives behind writing it) aside, what about the much-advertised extras? The Press Release said: "In Lyra's Oxford the reader will share the excitement of discovering a small bundle of material that has somehow slipped between Lyra's universe and our own. It will include as well as the story fully illustrated intricate maps and other ephemera from Lyra's universe. The text will be illustrated throughout in beautiful black and white wood-blocks together with specially printed three-colour pull out maps of Lyra's Oxford. No expense has been spared to make a publication which could 'perhaps' have come from a parallel universe." Really? Many of the extras that 'perhaps' came from a parallel universe are simply extra pages in the book with a different font and a few images here and there. Sure, it's all interesting to read, and there's plenty of little clues fans of HDM will pick up on, but where's the 'bundle' that they're talking about? I certainly wouldn't believe it's from another world... the map would come the closest, except that it was glued onto one of the pages halfway through. The illustrations are all very nice, but they're few and far between... I was expecting a little more.

In recent interviews, Pullman has said that Lyra's Oxford is meant to lay the scene for a much longer story in The Book of Dust. It certainly does pose new questions and set up possible stories for the future - which is about all that it does. It asks far more questions than it answers. I can only hope that The Book of Dust will be a more complete story, and bring back some of the power of the trilogy itself.

Will writes:

Potential Unfufilled
Like many others, I received my copy of Lyra's Oxford with great anticipation and reverentially unfolded the signed, bubble-wrapped book. It's a lovely little thing, material covered to give it a nice feel and the whole outside just feels a little more special than a normal publication. Naturally, I delved straight it to the main story and began devouring the contents, pouring over the illustrations and the map. Already though, the doubts were starting to enter my mind. A small niggle first, the map was enclosed in the book - in my copy, this made it slightly difficult to view properly and it was a struggle not to bend the edges of it when I folded it back up and tried to turn the page. Next up, what on earth had happened to the cloth aspect of the map? Am I alone in having a copy with this in conspicious absence, left as I am with a mere paper item? The much vaunted wood-block illustrations, whilst certainly quite nice, filled nothing more than about an A5 sheet of paper and on the whole the map felt a little sparse.

Onto the story itself, there's obviously nothing wrong here as Pullman is in full flow again, but I couldn't help feeling as if things were a tad rushed somehow. This leads me on the main thrust of this review, the length. Clocking in at under 50 pages, I read it in 20 minutes. And yes, I scrutinised the other items in that time too. For me, this is simply unexceptable. Look what happens in the story - Lyra helps a witch's dæmon, finds out he's been lying and then a swan kills the witch in question. Compared to the epic sweep of the main HDM trilogy, this is light-weight. However well it's written and even at the cut-price of £5, this is still a frightfully short book. Of course, this wouldn't be any issue if it was just any book series I was talking about, but this HDM - something very close to my heart indeed. You can't help but think that a faint whiff of money-making enters into the equation. I put it to you that many HDM fans would prefer something more like a hundred page story, with no other items at all.

There are flashes of brilliance in LO though and that's what makes it all the more heartbreaking to have it all be over so quickly. A closer look at some of the items included in the package reveals great depth there, see the books listed for the shop - 'A Prisoner of the Bears', by a one Professor Jotham D. Santelia. These small inside 'jokes', if you will, are very nice to see and the nods to the fans are neither patronising nor heavy-handed, as they might have turned out to be in other hands.

Ultimately though, I feel that the entire package, taking into consideration the price and length, is lacking. There's the outline of something better there but it falls down simply because of the, I'll say it again, the length. I can't leave this point alone! There are so many unanswered questions - the alethiometer only got a brief mention. Lyra was the only character present that we know, Will was mentioned only for the very briefest time. However, I do feel that it actually bodes fairly well for The Book of Dust. If that can focus perhaps more on content and get on with the stories we love so much, it could fill that Sraf shaped hole which has been in all our lives since TAS came to its tragic conclusion.

Fan Reviews

J writes:

When I first took the little book Lyra's Oxford a little after reading the HDM Trilogy, which I must say is the greatest series I've ever read ( I mean, I can't stop thinking about them!) I knew that it would be a quick but satisfieing read, because I like many other fans was dying to find out if there was more to come from the HDM series.

And I think I was right. I thought it was great. I really enjoyed how it was short yet gripping and very well writting by the genius Philiop Pullman. But I have to say that I was a little disapointed when it ended because it was so short. Also, it didn't mention Will very much, and i thought because Lyra and him were so in love and attached that I thought it would.

I think that I'm going to have to go against what Fraklin said in his review because I thought there were many loose ends at the end of TAS. What will the Republic of Heaven be like? Will Lyra somehow meet Will again there or somewhere else?

I am exited that the Book of Dust is coming out, but i think that Philip Pullman should right a final book to tie up the loose ends and give it a happier ending then TAS, because I think that it was very sad how Will and Lyra left each other at the end.

So if Philip Pullman by some chance reads this review, I hope he will give a second thought on not writing a fourth HDM book.

Firstly I must start with saying at first Lyra’s Oxford is a disappointment. I knew it would be short but to make up for that I expected Pullman to pull out all the stops. As for the whole package idea, where did that go? The ‘extras’ are nice, but still a let down and really the map should be separate from the book. (I keep bending mine!) Story-wise Lyra and the birds is simple, nice at points but ultimately a bit pointless. There is no big revelation, no stunning cliffhanger just a sort of vagueness that I must admit I found frustrating. On a brighter note Lyra and the bird was very beautiful at points the illustrations were pretty (though far and few between) and the map is good fun. Also it did clarify something to me, as to why Pan settled as he did. (I wont spoil it for those who haven’t read the trilogy yet) He is described in this story as flowing from place to place; you get the impression that he could fit into any gap, and take any shape just like Lyra.

But wait, I haven’t finished yet, once I had finished the story I thought for a minute put the story down and then immediately had to pick it up again. After re-reading Pullman’s introduction (which I think is fantastic, it sent shivers down my spine!) I realised something; this story is meant to bridge the gap between the old series and something new. The extras are extremely beguiling, there are few nice little bits for those looking for them (hint: read the booklist carefully) but overall most of it was intriguing. This book as I firstly expected is not here to answer your questions, its here to tease you with brand new ones; What does the alchemist do? Is it to do with dust? What is this about spirit’s stored in jars? Who and why is somebody meeting at the café antalya? And what’s this about 3 children found dead inside a roman barge? A lot of these might just be red herrings but they certainly have been playing on my mind. I believe Lyra’s Oxford is making way for something big, something more than the book of dust, I shan’t say too much now, as I could be wrong. But I believe we’ll be hearing a lot more from Lyra very soon…

Suddenly by thinking of Lyra’s Oxford as a sort of appetizer before the main course really increased my enjoyment of it on the whole. Even Pullman says ‘the other things might be connected with the story, or they might not; they might be connected to stories that haven’t appeared yet’. In conclusion Lyras Oxford is short, mostly sweet, and I believe might be (sorry about the pun!) a bridge to the stars.

La Bohemia writes:

When I finally saw Lyra’s Oxford, actually held it in my grasping hands, I was like most sraffies, over joyed. Lyra’s Oxford, finally here! A high holy day to be remembered, and celebrated, and revered! But when I sat in a quiet corner with the slim red volume in my hands, I became apprehensive. Lyra, my own age. How…strange. I traced the letters on the cover, feeling the O and the L and the Y. Took a deep breath, opened the cover, started to read.

The story is good. Not what I expected, but the book, to be quite frank, simply reeks of promise, more good things to come. Lyra has so many more adventures to be told, and I can hardly wait to listen to the stories. But…Lyra, oh, Lyra.

Lyra is bruised.

She is quieter, kinder, more responsible. Her fire is still there, underneath all of her new, adultish-trappings, and it’s still blazing, but a little more carefully. She’s more aware now of how much the world can hurt, and betray.

She isn’t so passionate; she seems almost tired and sore. She is reminiscent of a warrior after a long and hard battle. But is this the same girl who lied through her teeth and without a blind to Iofur Raknison? Is this the same girl who freed the dead, set a God free, commandeered a gyptian boat, fell in love with Will? Yes, she is. For al her new, mature traits, she is still our Lyra. Older, sadder, less comfortable in her own skin, but Lyra nonetheless.

As hoobits says in his review of LO, this is one girl who has been through heaven and hell, and indeed she has. She needs to rest, to learn, to grow, to heal, before her bruises leave and Lyra trusts herself, and the world, again. We can only hope that Pullman will document these travesties and provide us with more charming, beautiful, and poignant stories such as Lyra’s Oxford

Franklin writes:

I haven’t read Lyra’s Oxford yet, so I can’t give a complete review on it, but I’ll share my thoughts anyway based on what I’ve read & heard:

I love the idea of illustrating the book with woodcuts. I’m all about old-school technologies rearing their heads in the modern world.

I’m not quite so fond of the idea of including a map of Oxford with the book. Part of the wonder of reading is envisioning the world(s) in which the characters live in your own mind, based on the author’s descriptions and your own experiences. Including a map with the book cheapens the experience somehow – it limits the creative possibilities for the readers.

As for extending the life of HDM beyond the original trilogy – I’m torn on this. A large part of me was excited when Lyra’s Oxford was announced. I loved HDM, and I wanted to read anything more that I could based on the characters in it. On the other hand, HDM had a very definite end. There really weren’t any loose ends to tie up, so is Lyra’s Oxford really necessary? I guess I won’t know the answer to that question until I read it myself. If it doesn’t really add anything to the story presented in HDM, then (like the map), it cheapens the creative experience for the readers. Part of me would rather imagine than be told what happens to Lyra after the end of TAS.

Leo writes:

I guess I was kind of late in discovering the HDM trilogy. I finished the books in early October 2003 and it left me wanting more. Surfing the internet for information I was ecstatic to read that Philip Pullman had written Lyra's Oxford and it was scheduled to be released in a matter of days!

In my opinion, Mr. Pullman should definitely continue the series with at least one more book, a full novel. The experiences that Will and Lyra shared were so wonderful, important and special it would be a shame to keep them apart forever. How could each really connect with an ordinary person in their own worlds? No one could understand what they went through. Mr. Pullman left the reader with a sense of hope in that Will may learn to use "imagination" to transcend worlds or Lyra could someday use the alethiometer. (Perhaps she would stumble on to something while she's still young and hasn't quite mastered it. After all, Dust seems to like her!)

I haven't read Lyra's Oxford yet because I want to buy the book from my local bookstore rather than Amazon. However, even though it's not a full novel I'm looking forward to reading about Lyra's life back in her own world. The sketches sound like a good idea too. They should help the reader better visualize what her life is like. Hopefully, Mr. Pullman will consider this an "appetizer" until he writes a full novel where Will and Lyra have another adventure.

hoobits writes:

Part 1: The story

At its heart Lyra’s Oxford is a fable: A fable with a simple, yet lovely message.

At the start we find Lyra and Pantalaimon in a familiar place- the roof of Jordan College. It almost feels as if we’ve gone back in time before the events of His Dark materials.

Except things are different- Pan is a Pine-martin, his stable form. And Lyra is reading books: Certainly something new but not unexpected. On that roof the story of Lyra and the birds unfolds. It is one that entertains, enthralls and teases. For it is short and we wish to know more of Lyra and her world. How has it been since the end of the Amber spyglass? What is to come? We don’t get answers to these questions, but we do get hints of what might be, and inklings of the world since the war in heaven.

The story unfolds and takes Lyra and Pan on a journey through parts of Oxford until they reach the chaotic climax in a Jericho street. The title of both the book and the short story has multiple meanings, containing the very message of the Lyra and the birds within in them. She encounters several types of birds in the story as well as a bird daemon. She learns heavily from what these creatures really mean and how they affect her life. Oxford itself is traveled through, but it is also a character, the great protector. That realization for Lyra and Pan is one that delights the reader as we watch these characters learn and grow even in these simpler terms and times.

Part 2: The character

In this story we do not get a direct line that says it has been two years since HDM. We do not get a line that says Lyra is fourteen. As expected we get no description of Lyra whatsoever. Lyra is starting to show her skin as a great literary character. It couldn’t happen before for she was young and innocent and though she is in fact still young no longer innocent.

It is in the growth of her and Pan, the subtle role reversals and sometimes even the very obvious one half of the soul talking bits. These greet the reader to someone they know, and we delight in their progression.

Lyra now talks with an educated tint. She still lies to adult characters but it is in a much more knowing mature way. She is a master after all.

The line that sums up her in this story is: Oh, how stupid she could be when she was being clever!

So here is another portrait of Lyra: One girl who had been through hell and heaven. Great battles, other worlds, peril unbound, true love undone. But in the end… she is still a girl just the same.

Part 3: Closing thoughts

Lyra’s Oxford is a great little read. It holds a lot of promise in the future adventures of Lyra and is a nice little “welcome back” volume.

The design of the book itself is quite quaint. The volume is incredibly small and thin; certainly some pockets could keep this book well.

The extras- A map of Lyra’s Oxford, a list of maps of her world, a catalogs brochure, a list of books, a two page excerpt from a text book about Jericho, a postcard and a pamphlet for a cruise line, all give an other worldly feel to the package. It is here that we get many new tidbits of info on Lyra’s world and possibly clues to further stories. Notice the circled departure time of a steam ship and the message written below it or the type of books listed. All clues? Or fun extras? Both? We’ll just have to wait and see. Then there are those little fun things. For instance the names of two colleges: St Scholastica’s and Queen Philippa’s. The latter a reference to Philip Pullman’s publishing company? The former a jab at his own name?

I was in fact surprised to hear any mention of other characters from the previous story come up. We hear the names of Serafina Pekkala, Lord Asriel. Will multiple times. We also have a brief visit with the porter from Jordan College, Shuter.

However this adds richness to the story, extending the flavor. We also meet a new character, possibly one that may hold some importance in the future.

I, myself, could not help picture him looking similar to Pullman himself. But other than that, I won’t talk of him further. In the end we are tantalized by Pullman’s genius and kindhearted approach to this story of his most realized and beloved character. We certainly want more and are destined to get it. Lyra’s Oxford stands out from the rest of Pullman’s works. It is a similar shade to his other “fairy tale” short stories, but it is a turning point in his writing career for in this quaint tale there is a promise which none of his other books have given before: A promise of one person’s journey through life.

He and Lyra still yet have a long way to travel…

Pan1234 writes:

I'll go ahead and tell you this-Lyra's Oxford is not near as epic as The first three His Dark Materials books. But that's not to say it isn't a great book. It starts off with Lyra and Pan sitting on the roof of Jordon College, and a large flock of birds flys toward them,with a witches dæmon in flight from them. From there everything from Will to Serafina is mentioned, but Lyra and Pan are the only two main people who show up. Lyra's quest to the alchemist's house is to search for a cure to save the strange dæmons witch. There are plenty of twists,but nothing new is really revealed. The only problem is the length. I really, really wish it had been longer, but once you read it, it'll be forgiven.