The Ruby in the Smoke
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip PullmanEverybody seems to love Philip Pullmans novels. Except me. I adored Northern Lights, but The Subtle Knife was a bit wearisome while The Amber Spyglass was downright silly. But, because I didn't have anything else to read, I tried Mr Pullman again.
Now there's a mistake I won't make again.
The Ruby in the Smoke is pretty ludicrous---drugs, rewards, gangs, and oh yeah, it's set in the 19th century. You know, if these books were published as adults' books, they'd be dismissed as trash and would be right beside the Mills & Boons. But, because they're kids books and by a guy who wrote one good book, they're declared great. Why?
This books seems like some silly thriller that you'd buy for 2.50 while buying some milk. I mean, come on, there's opium, there's smuggling, there's betrayal, there is many other things that make this pulp fiction.
And, for some reason, Mr Pullman gets away with writing it, for some reason gets away with declaring it as some sort of YA adventure story, reviewers are too afraid to say it's bad, because this is, after all, Philip Pullman.
So it should be good, right?
Wrong. Philip Pullman, if you're reading, withdraw your stupid Sally Lockhart books as supposed YA books and start selling them beside the milk where they belong.
posted by FashionWhore @ 2:04 PM
1 Comments:
Why are Sally Lockhart's adventures any less believable than Harry Potter's? They are both full of absurdities. A boy flying a broom? A cloak that makes a person invisible? Living in a parallel universe? There's at least as much to disbelieve in the Harry Potter books as in the Sally Lockhart books.
I think you have a crush on Harry and so are willing to give up your disbelief whilst reading those books but won't give the Sally Lockhart books a chance because she's a girl and you don't think a girl could or would do those things in the 19th century.
Philip, if you are reading this, tell your publisher to publish more copies as I love your books.
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