Customer Reviews
Where are they now? - By: Steve Kay, 04 Aug 2008 
If you have read "His Dark Materials Trilogy" & enjoyed them you might be asking yourself the very question my title asks; where are they now?
Well... If you take a chance to read this book you will get some idea.
Here we lookin on Lyra about two years after the end of the book "The Amber Spyglass".
Some people might describe this as a cheap money making ploy, but I think true fans (like myself) that were left at the end of the last book sobbing into their tissues, would enjoy this.
Yes, it might be a bit pricely, let us not forget that this short story is about the same length as a long chapter. But, we get the cool map & other paraphernalia that have fallen out between worlds into ours.
If the trilogy was nothing more than a story to you, you probably won't be all that excited about this, nor will you be very happy at paying a regular book price for a chapter long story. But, if it was more; if you fellin love with Lyra & Pan & all her friends then you should check this book out as it gives you that little bit more of a connection to that world & its magic.
It shows you that even though the trilogy is finished & all's right with the world(s), Lyra may be dealing with the aftermath for years to come!
One for the fans, but better was to come - By: Andromeda Descendent, 02 Jun 2008 
As someone who has recently finished reading His Dark Materials & considers it one of the best series of novels ever written, I eagerly bought both this & Once Upon A Time In The North together from Amazon & - considering them both together - I am glad I did. I love miscellanies & companion books & both of these books are both great for the serious fan, containing snippets of information deliberately out of context - the idea being to make you think & fillin the gaps with your own imagination.
But if you have only read the first book (or seen the film), I would advise buying Once Upon A Time In The North - as that is a great standalone story of reasonable length - & not this one until you have read your way to the end of the His Dark Materials trilogy.
The storyin Lyra's Oxford - Lyra & the Birds - is great if you want to find out more about Lyra Silvertongue's life after the end of The Amber Spyglass, but as a standalone story it is - I have to sadly admit - a bit boring. I think Philip Pullman definitely learned a lesson from this though, because the next short story - Once Upon A Time In The North (out now) - sees him return to form with a genuinely exciting short story that requires no prior knowledge of the series to enjoy.
Not really worth the bother - By: C. B. Baker, 02 Jun 2008 
This was the first of two spin-offs from the superb His Dark Materials trilogy. This is a sequel set some time after the end of The Amber Spyglass. Unfortunately, what passes for action is rather insignificant. As Pullman himself saysin the foreword, the "story" (such as it is at under 50 pages) hints at other things which may happen.
Worse still, this book includes a free map of Lyra's Oxford. I want my intellect stimulated by good writing. I can use my own imagination to create where the story is set.
This is almost like Pullman entered a contest to write the opening chapter to a book, because this is no more than an opening chapter, & the mighty work that put Pullman on the map deserves better.
Rip-off - By: Kellso, 28 May 2008 
A complete money making exercise is all this short story is. You can dress it up all you want with fancy maps & illustrations but I think the loyal fans of His Dark Materials trilogy are being seriously ripped off with this.
Give this a miss - By: Chadwick "MC", 15 Apr 2008 I totally agree with Professor Paradox's review, except that it took me only 15 minutes to read!
I loved the trilogy but somehow this book has altered my view of His Dark Materials. Probably because I feel like I've been ripped off - this book offers nothing to extend the trilogy, rather it annoyed me that it is clearly a quickly-written, no-depth-to-it, money-making venture. Disgraceful!
