The Tin Princess

I am a huge Philip Pullman fan and think that he is an exceptional author.
However, I'm not sure if it's because I listened to this story so soon after listening to some of his others but I found that I was not as gripped as I have been in the past. It could be the absence of Sally as a major charactor, although I think that Jim is interesting enough to make up for this, but I think that generally the story was just not quite as good as the earlier ones.
Still very exciting and fun and as always with Pullman's work the characters have good depth and he is not afraid to upset his audience. Anton Lesser does an excellent job narrating.

I absolutely loved this book! I wasn't sure I would as it was a total change from the first three of the series that were set in London. The plot also seemed a bit odd when I read the ad blurb. I found it a bit slow to begin with, but as I got into the book, I became gripped. I really wanted Razkavia to exist with all its interesting and eccentric characters, alas, it's fiction. This doesn't take away from the book at all for me. The characters were wonderful. LIke Sally, Adelaide is another woman that offers young women readers (and old as well) a believable model of a courageous, intelligent woman who's not afraid to speak out and who's bright enough to hold her own in the male domain of that era. I loved the sense of loyalty and tradition that Pullman threaded throughout the book. It was a lovely description of a bygone era--fun to think about. The author's talent for description continues in this tale. His description of the places, weather, sounds and smells are all sensuous in a way that just wraps the reader in that time and place. Anton Lesser again gives the characters reality with his masterful reading. I'll listen to it again someday....it was just that enjoyable.

This is a great series - not as good as Northern Lights but still enjoyable and with that characteristic Pullman style. Narration was good and I downloaded the whole series. 4 stars because it's not as good as some of his other books but enjoyable nonetheless.