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Chessie Alberti  

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Philip Pullman

Journal Entry: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 11:01 PM
  • Mood: Llama
  • Reading: The Amber Spyglass -- Philip Pullman (Still)
"Did you read all that today?"
"Yeah."
"Good God, woman."

Today, I read The Ruby in the Smoke by, if you hadn't guessed, Philip Pullman. You know what I don't understand? --I've been reading The Amber Spyglass, also by Philip Pullman, for the past month. I can't get through it. So I decided to pick up the first of his Sally Lockhart books this morning, which I bought the same day as The Amber Spyglass, and I haven't been able to put it down until a few minutes ago--it's 10:30 pm. I did roughly the same thing with his other book, The Golden Compass.

So what is it exactly about The Amber Spyglass that makes it hard to get through? I think it has something to do with the fact that it's the last in the trilogy, and you can tell Pullman's just tired of writing it. It has a distinctly forced feel to it, and makes you think he only wrote it because the story he'd pulled through to a third book wasn't quite finished; he made it too long, too full of angst, and too full of the same sentence structure over and over and over again. You get sick of one sentence paragraphs, you get sick of dramatic wording, you get sick of repetition there only for the sake of emphasis. I'm even sick of the characters; they've lost themselves somewhere along the way, which is startling, because Lyra, the heroine, used to be one of the strongest personalities I've ever encountered in a book. She's still rounded, sure, but she doesn't work well with a sidekick. Or rather, she doesn't work well as a sidekick--her role has been watered down by a second main character, Will, to the point that she becomes almost a background character (which is, perhaps, an exaggeration, but if the plot's going to revolve around her, we need something with a little more focus).

The Ruby in the Smoke, on the other hand, has a ridiculously engaging storyline, but what makes it enjoyable is the writing. It's well written--very well written. I quoted a bit out loud, and was struck by how the sentence held up when spoken. The entire book is almost like poetry. This is what I enjoyed so much about The Golden Compass. Pullman has the ability to use colorful, perfect words... I wonder what went wrong with The Amber Spyglass--maybe it was a bad editor? I don't know. Anyway, what I'm driving at is that the old rule holds: good writing and/or a good story are the two components that make a good book. You don't necessarily have to have both, but either way it has to balance out. The Amber Spyglass is the end of a good story, and there have certainly been amazing parts of the book, but overall, I don't think it holds together well because the story is not good enough to balance out the less-than-awesome writing. (I apologize if this changes toward the end--I haven't made it more than a little over halfway.)

The one thing I found slightly difficult about The Ruby in the Smoke is that each page is so full of information and flows so well that you only absorb about half of it and end up having to reread. On multiple occasions, I found my eyes several paragraphs ahead of my comprehension. It's a very fast paced book, and gripping, and you have to be careful not to miss anything important. Typical Victorian adventure story, with all the best components: Opium, a missing ruby, urchins and Chinamen. Startlingly, about halfway through I realized that it reminded me a great deal of Howl's Moving Castle; if you read them both, you'd understand.

Just wanted to rant; sorry about any lack of language skills, I've been reading all day and my brain's a little out of it. Now I need the next book.

Devious Information

  • Current Age: SEVENTEEN
  • Current Residence: California, USA
  • Interests: Archery, horse back riding, horses in general, fantasy, reading....
  • Favourite movie: The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring
  • Favourite band or musician: The Decemberists
  • Favourite genre of music: Alternative... and METAL.
  • Favourite artist: Arthur Rackham. This changes daily though...
  • Favourite poet or writer: JRR Tolkien; also Ursula K. LeGuin and Neil Gaiman.
  • Favourite style or digital art: The old fairybook kind of style.
  • Favourite game: Zelda... Ocarina of Time.
  • Favourite gaming platform: PS2
  • Favourite cartoon character: Alucard. Heeee.
  • Tools of the Trade: Mechanical pencil, Prismacolor pencils, Photoshop or Painter with a Wacom tablet, and water colors.

deviantART Notice

Devious Comments

*TabbyRox:iconTabbyRox: Apr 1, 2008, 1:30:37 AM
TAG! [link]

--
"Utterly deceptive twaddle speak says I." - Jack Sparrow

my photography account: ~LavenderElegance
*purplecatcreatives:iconpurplecatcreatives: Feb 27, 2008, 8:41:51 AM
*waves* Hi, it's purplecat, also from the forum!! Nice to see you here! Love your drawings!

--
never trust a smiling cat :)
~BladeEdgeRave:iconBladeEdgeRave: Jan 24, 2008, 1:25:21 PM
Thank you very much x3

--
Stupid people scare me.

You know, you have a real knack for stating the obvious.
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Jan 23, 2008, 6:01:28 PM
Wow, thanks! Your gallery is awesome, by the way.

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
~BladeEdgeRave:iconBladeEdgeRave: Jan 18, 2008, 11:15:04 AM
Hello there! You have some awesome art works! I found you via Koishii Kitty. I would love to watch you!

--
Stupid people scare me.

You know, you have a real knack for stating the obvious.
=PaleMajesty:iconPaleMajesty: Sep 29, 2007, 5:16:30 PM
Thank you very much for the watchback :}

--
Don't take away my Devils, because you'll take away my Angels too.

-- =PaleMajesty :heart: *Falassion
~Sturmgeschutz:iconSturmgeschutz: Sep 13, 2007, 9:02:11 PM
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU ARE 17 FINALLY.

--
"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
~Sturmgeschutz:iconSturmgeschutz: Sep 13, 2007, 9:01:25 PM
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! VICTORY!!!

--
"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Sep 12, 2007, 12:51:32 PM
All right, all right... I'll change my bloody age.

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
~Sturmgeschutz:iconSturmgeschutz: Aug 15, 2007, 10:45:52 AM Mood: Love
I find your webcam highly amusing. I know that nose and those lips! Oh, by the way love, you aren't 16 anymore. :glomp: :heart:

--
"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
*Cacodaemonia:iconCacodaemonia: Jan 27, 2007, 5:38:19 PM
Thanks! It was something one of my professors from university once said. :)

--
If you want to live an interesting life, you're going to spend half of it being terrified.
-Mary Hollinshead
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Jan 27, 2007, 12:38:24 PM
Well then... thanks for drawing them so I could enjoy! Hehe. :) You're very welcome.

By the way, I like your signature.

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
*Cacodaemonia:iconCacodaemonia: Jan 26, 2007, 6:39:11 PM
Wow, thank you SO MUCH for featuring two of my pics!!! :love:

--
If you want to live an interesting life, you're going to spend half of it being terrified.
-Mary Hollinshead
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Jan 16, 2007, 5:50:39 PM
Oh... eep! I'm working on something.. um... it will be done someday.

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
~q365:iconq365: Jan 11, 2007, 4:03:13 PM
Grr... Write some more! Your Winged Wolf just demands a follow-up.

--
[link]
The Writing Revolution Begins Here

So, here's the deal. You critique my work and I'll critique yours. If you critique me well, I'll critique a lot of yours. That way, everybody's happy.
~starbones:iconstarbones: Dec 20, 2006, 3:42:59 PM
thanks for the watch :)
~Sturmgeschutz:iconSturmgeschutz: Dec 16, 2006, 2:18:02 PM
:hug: Again, thanks.

--
"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde

"So long as one isn't carrying one's head under one's arm, things aren't too bad." -Erwin Rommel

"One death is a tragedy, one million deaths is a statistic."
-Joseph Stalin
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Dec 15, 2006, 11:39:11 PM
:hug: You're deserving of it!

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
~Sturmgeschutz:iconSturmgeschutz: Dec 13, 2006, 8:54:58 PM
*blushes* Aww, gosh, thanks for the fave!

--
"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde

"So long as one isn't carrying one's head under one's arm, things aren't too bad." -Erwin Rommel

"One death is a tragedy, one million deaths is a statistic."
-Joseph Stalin
~dragonpsyche:icondragonpsyche: Dec 7, 2006, 8:16:03 PM
:sun:--come check out some cool art for sale here: [link]

--
"...that you can petition the Lord, with prayer...petition the Lord, with prayer. YOU CANNOT PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER!!!"
"Can you find me sanctuary?"
-The Doors, Soft Parade
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Nov 22, 2006, 8:03:52 PM
We're doing ok, all things considered. The pang of finding all our stuff gone has receded to a dull ache, I think... *sigh* Luckily I guess I don't care all the much about my sketchbook, I just have to keep myself from running over all the drawings I'll never see again in my mind... I mean, half the stuff that was in there I'll really miss, and the rest.. eh, well, nearly threw that crap away, anyhow. Ah well. Life is life, neh? No news so far as recovering any of it goes, but our house hasn't been broken into yet. That part is good.

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
~MrOozikins:iconMrOozikins: Nov 21, 2006, 6:14:01 PM
Nothing at all.

But about all that, how are you guys doing?? The whole theft thing and all. Any news? If someone stole my sketchbook I'd be in tears, even all the other stuff aside..I mean.. damn.

--
"I'm going to kill somebody. Put on your clothes."
-- Wallace, Sin City
~MoonTiger:iconMoonTiger: Nov 21, 2006, 12:12:38 AM
Hah, awesome! You *should* read this series. It's very very good and well-worth the 800+ pages you have to get through in order to finish a book. Hehe. I'm really bummed that my copy of A Clash of Kings was in my purse that got stolen... D: I haven't been able to read anything for like... three days. *Book withdrawal* Owww.
Ahaha, I LOVE that song... "... this sweet and bitter taste has left me wretched, retching on all fours..." Nothing describes good ol' LA better than that. :D

--
"There needs to be another word for weird."
~Strong Sad
~MrOozikins:iconMrOozikins: Nov 18, 2006, 12:14:04 AM
Well, my best friend's been reading that series and can't convince any of us to read it cause we're lazy. Yes, yes I listen to the Decemberists, but perhaps not as avidly as you-- simply because I am again too lazy to go out and buy the stuff. But I've heard a number enough to make me... like... Love them. A whole lot. Satire... God, and only people who live in LA can truly understand that song... Anyway. Yes. It seems rather amazing we should've met.

--
"I'm going to kill somebody. Put on your clothes."
-- Wallace, Sin City