Not what I expected., 03 Dec 2008
I only gave this book 4 stars as I was expecting the usual side-splitting TP novel. It wasn't. It was still funny but not laugh-out-loud (except perhaps the shark story) and it didn't have the twisting and turning plots of his other novels. It was also fairly obvious where the story was going but what made it magical was the way in which the story was told. It's basically a story of growing up and the responsibility that brings but TP has such a creative way of explaining things that you won't be disappointed even if you did buy it like me expecting hours of hilarity. It's been a few weeks now since I read the book but I'm continually finding myself thinking about it. A book that makes you think about things is a good book. I'm glad I read it. Thank you TP. Can we have a Granny & Nanny one next though? We all need a bit of cheering up. xx

Pratchett at his most thoughtful, 02 Dec 2008
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.

Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) and wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totally destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship and a pale-skinned young woman who initially tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, and Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...

Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Small Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book and acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism and morality. It is slower and more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger and more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here and there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter and epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, and it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).

Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it really isn't. It's depiction of tragedy and death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, and occasional moments of blood and cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty and not something I see young children really getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting and thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas and questions, whilst remaining entertaining and well-characterised.

Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2008
As a great Pratchett fan I found this book bitterly disappointing. It drops everything that Pratchett is good at. There were no intricate plot, no strong characters and didn't have the magic that we have come to expect from such a great writer. I actually had trouble motivating myself to finish this book.

Island of Hope? , 11 Nov 2008
Pratchett's books for young people have a tendency to reach beyond the intended age group and are just as enjoyable and relevant for adults. His latest novel, "Nation", is no exception. Anybody who has read his Tiffany Aching books will also know that Pratchett also has a fondness for headstrong young girls, delighting in exemplifying how they grow more or less smoothly into maturity. In this delightful novel Daphne, or Ermintrude as she was named by her family, is another example. Just for the pleasure of meeting her, the book would be worth reading... but there is so much more to explore here.

Thirteen-year-old Daphne is pretty, smart and well-educated, and loved by her aristocratic father. After the death of her mother, she was brought up by her strict grandmother, who instils in her a sense of values and responsibility but also, unintentionally, inquisitiveness and independence of mind. She is the counter part to Mau, also thirteen, and the actual hero of the story. His Nation, a small island in the South Pelagic Ocean is a traditional, pre-industrial society where gods reign and the spirits of the grandfathers maintain the ritualistic order by communicating their instructions to the selected few. While on "Boy's island", where he had been preparing for the rites of passage into manhood ceremony, Mau was oblivious to the tsunami of unheard of proportion that swept over lands and islands. The village had assembled on the beach for his return and celebration when the wave swept them away, leaving a trail of destruction. He reaches Nation in the aftermath of the disaster and discovers that he is all alone. Well, not quite... The ship that was to bring Daphne to her father in Port Mercia stranded on Mau's island leaving her with only a talkative parrot for company.

The story follows the two young people from worlds apart - without a common language and even gestures - who have to overcome their mutual suspicion and distrust and grow individually and together to become the centre of a new community as survivors from surrounding islands and from further afield seeking refuge with them. With great sensitivity and imagination, Pratchett explores the coming of age process in both. He exquisitely tackles the conflicts in Mau's mind between his old society steeped in mythology and hierarchy and the new reality where beliefs and rituals have to be questioned and new codes of morality be established. Daphne also has to develop a new understanding of society where class and privilege have no meaning. There are any number of challenges the young people have to face, starting with finding food and milk for a baby. There are pirates and renegades to deal with and much more... Can they, together with the diverse collections of refugees build a better and more hopeful Nation?

Pratchett's style is as always fluid and smooth, his imagery perceptive and innovative. His sense of humour, mostly subtle, shines through many sections. There are a few slow sections that a young person might skim over searching for the action on the next page. For adults the novel has many layers of narrative, food for thought on our perceptions of cultures, traditions and communication. [Friederike Knabe]


The new Terry Pratchett, 10 Nov 2008
This new book is definetly not Diskworld it seems that Terry has moved away from his usual writing and produced yet another great book with his talent,
This book follows a tale of devistation from what seems to be a tsumai on an island a boy arrives back to his island after being away to find everything he has known wiped out and sets out on building his island up again.. without giving away the plot and ultimatly the end this book is a bit morish , Has what I think chapters that tend to be far too long at times, and a very tear jerking end to the story BUT could of done without the very end chapter which makes me think this book was made to be made into a film (Though if it was then this book if acted by very good actors would make a very good film)

If your reading this Mr Pratchett

Well done Terry I enjoyed it!!

Not what I expected., 03 Dec 2008
I only gave this book 4 stars as I was expecting the usual side-splitting TP novel. It wasn't. It was still funny but not laugh-out-loud (except perhaps the shark story) and it didn't have the twisting and turning plots of his other novels. It was also fairly obvious where the story was going but what made it magical was the way in which the story was told. It's basically a story of growing up and the responsibility that brings but TP has such a creative way of explaining things that you won't be disappointed even if you did buy it like me expecting hours of hilarity. It's been a few weeks now since I read the book but I'm continually finding myself thinking about it. A book that makes you think about things is a good book. I'm glad I read it. Thank you TP. Can we have a Granny & Nanny one next though? We all need a bit of cheering up. xx

Pratchett at his most thoughtful, 02 Dec 2008
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.

Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) and wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totally destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship and a pale-skinned young woman who initially tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, and Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...

Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Small Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book and acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism and morality. It is slower and more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger and more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here and there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter and epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, and it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).

Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it really isn't. It's depiction of tragedy and death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, and occasional moments of blood and cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty and not something I see young children really getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting and thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas and questions, whilst remaining entertaining and well-characterised.

Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2008
As a great Pratchett fan I found this book bitterly disappointing. It drops everything that Pratchett is good at. There were no intricate plot, no strong characters and didn't have the magic that we have come to expect from such a great writer. I actually had trouble motivating myself to finish this book.

Island of Hope? , 11 Nov 2008
Pratchett's books for young people have a tendency to reach beyond the intended age group and are just as enjoyable and relevant for adults. His latest novel, "Nation", is no exception. Anybody who has read his Tiffany Aching books will also know that Pratchett also has a fondness for headstrong young girls, delighting in exemplifying how they grow more or less smoothly into maturity. In this delightful novel Daphne, or Ermintrude as she was named by her family, is another example. Just for the pleasure of meeting her, the book would be worth reading... but there is so much more to explore here.

Thirteen-year-old Daphne is pretty, smart and well-educated, and loved by her aristocratic father. After the death of her mother, she was brought up by her strict grandmother, who instils in her a sense of values and responsibility but also, unintentionally, inquisitiveness and independence of mind. She is the counter part to Mau, also thirteen, and the actual hero of the story. His Nation, a small island in the South Pelagic Ocean is a traditional, pre-industrial society where gods reign and the spirits of the grandfathers maintain the ritualistic order by communicating their instructions to the selected few. While on "Boy's island", where he had been preparing for the rites of passage into manhood ceremony, Mau was oblivious to the tsunami of unheard of proportion that swept over lands and islands. The village had assembled on the beach for his return and celebration when the wave swept them away, leaving a trail of destruction. He reaches Nation in the aftermath of the disaster and discovers that he is all alone. Well, not quite... The ship that was to bring Daphne to her father in Port Mercia stranded on Mau's island leaving her with only a talkative parrot for company.

The story follows the two young people from worlds apart - without a common language and even gestures - who have to overcome their mutual suspicion and distrust and grow individually and together to become the centre of a new community as survivors from surrounding islands and from further afield seeking refuge with them. With great sensitivity and imagination, Pratchett explores the coming of age process in both. He exquisitely tackles the conflicts in Mau's mind between his old society steeped in mythology and hierarchy and the new reality where beliefs and rituals have to be questioned and new codes of morality be established. Daphne also has to develop a new understanding of society where class and privilege have no meaning. There are any number of challenges the young people have to face, starting with finding food and milk for a baby. There are pirates and renegades to deal with and much more... Can they, together with the diverse collections of refugees build a better and more hopeful Nation?

Pratchett's style is as always fluid and smooth, his imagery perceptive and innovative. His sense of humour, mostly subtle, shines through many sections. There are a few slow sections that a young person might skim over searching for the action on the next page. For adults the novel has many layers of narrative, food for thought on our perceptions of cultures, traditions and communication. [Friederike Knabe]


The new Terry Pratchett, 10 Nov 2008
This new book is definetly not Diskworld it seems that Terry has moved away from his usual writing and produced yet another great book with his talent,
This book follows a tale of devistation from what seems to be a tsumai on an island a boy arrives back to his island after being away to find everything he has known wiped out and sets out on building his island up again.. without giving away the plot and ultimatly the end this book is a bit morish , Has what I think chapters that tend to be far too long at times, and a very tear jerking end to the story BUT could of done without the very end chapter which makes me think this book was made to be made into a film (Though if it was then this book if acted by very good actors would make a very good film)

If your reading this Mr Pratchett

Well done Terry I enjoyed it!!

Disappointing and disjointed, 27 Nov 2008
Jacqueline Wilson's stories deal with some very sensitive topics and they're fun to read, too, which is why I read 'Cookie' within a few days of its publication. As a teacher, I was hoping to use it as the basis for a classroom discussion with a group of Year 6s on some of the issues that the book brings up.

In the end I couldn't use it. The book seems to be aimed at much younger children, and the story doesn't fit together properly. When Beauty Cookson's mum realises that Beauty is being bullied over her appearance by her classmates, as well as by her vicious dad, she decides that she will teach Beauty how to bake cookies so that she can share them at school and subtly persuade the bullies to give her a new nickname - Cookie instead of Ugly. This just isn't realistic. Beauty's own method of comforting herself is even less so - she religiously watches a toddlers' programme about a man and his rabbit, and imagines them saying kind things to her. Her conversations with the television are represented as a real dialogue. When Beauty begins to panic about her looks, Sam says to her, "We think you look stunning in your dress and pinafore and special boots." When she complains to him about her name, he 'says' back, "I think Beauty's the most special name in all the world."

A child with low self-esteem just would not imagine those things, as one of the problems that come with low self-esteem is an inability to believe that anyone sees you in a positive light. The story takes a few more bizarre twists and turns - Beauty finally makes a friend, who vanishes halfway through the book and doesn't reappear; she and her mum run away to live in a little guest house by the beach, and the bullying dad is tidily sorted out of the picture; and Beauty's cookie-baking becomes famous so that she gets to go on TV with her hero Sam and his rabbit Lily.

None of it fits together. I read the novel in one sitting and felt very confused by the muddled plot and the unrealistic scenarios that kept cropping up. I can't recommend this one.

P.S. Have any other readers noticed how often Jacqueline Wilson employs the word 'special'? It seems to be her favourite adjective. This is only a minor thing, but it started to grate on me in 'Cookie'.

Not her best., 23 Nov 2008
Im a fifteen year old who's been reading Jacqueline Wilson since I was eight, and I think this is definitly one of Jacquelines worst books, along with Kiss. Reading the inside cover of the book, it sounded pretty good and I thought it wouldnt be too young for me to read.
It turns out to be for nobody older than twelve in my opinion. its extremely babyish, just how all of jacquelines books seem to be nowdays. its about an unfortunatly ugly girl called Beauty who gets bullied blah blah blah... In other words, the same sort of sad, pathetic babyish character in most of her books. The storyline seems to be a mix of 'sleepovers' (because of the whole thing with wanting to be friends with your worst enemys best friend thing)'love lessons' ( the nasty dad, although this one is much worse) and every other book that has a low on self confidence annoying girl as the narrator, which is virtually every book she's written. Thats the thing with this book.Everything is far too recognisable from other books.As Ive already said, the 'narrator' of the story is a whining, babyish girl whos good at art, theres the mean dad, the kind mum, and theres the group of girls at school where one of thems nice and the rest are nasty.A lot of the things the characters say or the way they speak are exactly the same as other characters in other books.The characters need sayings of their own to set them apart from the rest but a lot of the things they say and they way they speak is exactly the same as characters in her other books, which makes them just like clones.Another thing thats wrong is that theres good description, but too much of it. I skipped parts of the book a lot because of its description that just seems to ramble on. Theres also a weired programme on TV that Beauty likes to watch. Its for 3 year olds but its Beauty fav. programme, even though shes about twelve. Its about a quite frankly, freaky man and his creepy pet rabbit. I also skipped about twenty pages of the book due to the saddo dialogue from this man.
If youre under twelve, I wouldnt buy it. rent it from a library or something. if youre over twelve and an experianced reader who has read a lot of jacqueline wilson, i wouldnt advise it.

Not her best., 16 Nov 2008
Yeah, I love Jaqueline Wilson, I've read all her books! She's a great author. But this, I have to say, was one of her worst books. It was just too childish, and uninteresting. If your an amature reader, with an average imagination then this book will be good for you, but for someone like me, an experienced reader, who likes a challenge to read, then this book might not be the best idea. It is very hard to get into, and far too basic. Also, something I found quite boring, Jaqueline Wilson is doing the kind of same book, for eg. Lola Rose, which is along the same lines, just a MUCH better book! I do recommend that one by the way. Just, 'Cookie' is a bit of a disappointment. :D Hope this helped

Boring doom and gloom, 14 Nov 2008
I found this book very boring as all it goes on about is bullying angry dad bullying angry dad and normal life with that lot in. It is sad in places and I don't recomend it as I think you will be waisting your money. Still read it though as you will never know until you have read it and this is my personal opinion. I recomend you to borrow it out of your local library and then buy it if you like it.

FAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 06 Nov 2008
Its a great book that i've given 5 stars. Fantastic and fun JW has done a nother fab book i look forward to what she will do next. I say you get it as soon as you can i know you'll enjoy this fab book. I do hope you enjoy this totaly fab book.

Not what I expected., 03 Dec 2008
I only gave this book 4 stars as I was expecting the usual side-splitting TP novel. It wasn't. It was still funny but not laugh-out-loud (except perhaps the shark story) and it didn't have the twisting and turning plots of his other novels. It was also fairly obvious where the story was going but what made it magical was the way in which the story was told. It's basically a story of growing up and the responsibility that brings but TP has such a creative way of explaining things that you won't be disappointed even if you did buy it like me expecting hours of hilarity. It's been a few weeks now since I read the book but I'm continually finding myself thinking about it. A book that makes you think about things is a good book. I'm glad I read it. Thank you TP. Can we have a Granny & Nanny one next though? We all need a bit of cheering up. xx

Pratchett at his most thoughtful, 02 Dec 2008
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.

Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) and wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totally destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship and a pale-skinned young woman who initially tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, and Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...

Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Small Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book and acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism and morality. It is slower and more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger and more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here and there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter and epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, and it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).

Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it really isn't. It's depiction of tragedy and death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, and occasional moments of blood and cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty and not something I see young children really getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting and thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas and questions, whilst remaining entertaining and well-characterised.

Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2008
As a great Pratchett fan I found this book bitterly disappointing. It drops everything that Pratchett is good at. There were no intricate plot, no strong characters and didn't have the magic that we have come to expect from such a great writer. I actually had trouble motivating myself to finish this book.

Island of Hope? , 11 Nov 2008
Pratchett's books for young people have a tendency to reach beyond the intended age group and are just as enjoyable and relevant for adults. His latest novel, "Nation", is no exception. Anybody who has read his Tiffany Aching books will also know that Pratchett also has a fondness for headstrong young girls, delighting in exemplifying how they grow more or less smoothly into maturity. In this delightful novel Daphne, or Ermintrude as she was named by her family, is another example. Just for the pleasure of meeting her, the book would be worth reading... but there is so much more to explore here.

Thirteen-year-old Daphne is pretty, smart and well-educated, and loved by her aristocratic father. After the death of her mother, she was brought up by her strict grandmother, who instils in her a sense of values and responsibility but also, unintentionally, inquisitiveness and independence of mind. She is the counter part to Mau, also thirteen, and the actual hero of the story. His Nation, a small island in the South Pelagic Ocean is a traditional, pre-industrial society where gods reign and the spirits of the grandfathers maintain the ritualistic order by communicating their instructions to the selected few. While on "Boy's island", where he had been preparing for the rites of passage into manhood ceremony, Mau was oblivious to the tsunami of unheard of proportion that swept over lands and islands. The village had assembled on the beach for his return and celebration when the wave swept them away, leaving a trail of destruction. He reaches Nation in the aftermath of the disaster and discovers that he is all alone. Well, not quite... The ship that was to bring Daphne to her father in Port Mercia stranded on Mau's island leaving her with only a talkative parrot for company.

The story follows the two young people from worlds apart - without a common language and even gestures - who have to overcome their mutual suspicion and distrust and grow individually and together to become the centre of a new community as survivors from surrounding islands and from further afield seeking refuge with them. With great sensitivity and imagination, Pratchett explores the coming of age process in both. He exquisitely tackles the conflicts in Mau's mind between his old society steeped in mythology and hierarchy and the new reality where beliefs and rituals have to be questioned and new codes of morality be established. Daphne also has to develop a new understanding of society where class and privilege have no meaning. There are any number of challenges the young people have to face, starting with finding food and milk for a baby. There are pirates and renegades to deal with and much more... Can they, together with the diverse collections of refugees build a better and more hopeful Nation?

Pratchett's style is as always fluid and smooth, his imagery perceptive and innovative. His sense of humour, mostly subtle, shines through many sections. There are a few slow sections that a young person might skim over searching for the action on the next page. For adults the novel has many layers of narrative, food for thought on our perceptions of cultures, traditions and communication. [Friederike Knabe]


The new Terry Pratchett, 10 Nov 2008
This new book is definetly not Diskworld it seems that Terry has moved away from his usual writing and produced yet another great book with his talent,
This book follows a tale of devistation from what seems to be a tsumai on an island a boy arrives back to his island after being away to find everything he has known wiped out and sets out on building his island up again.. without giving away the plot and ultimatly the end this book is a bit morish , Has what I think chapters that tend to be far too long at times, and a very tear jerking end to the story BUT could of done without the very end chapter which makes me think this book was made to be made into a film (Though if it was then this book if acted by very good actors would make a very good film)

If your reading this Mr Pratchett

Well done Terry I enjoyed it!!

Disappointing and disjointed, 27 Nov 2008
Jacqueline Wilson's stories deal with some very sensitive topics and they're fun to read, too, which is why I read 'Cookie' within a few days of its publication. As a teacher, I was hoping to use it as the basis for a classroom discussion with a group of Year 6s on some of the issues that the book brings up.

In the end I couldn't use it. The book seems to be aimed at much younger children, and the story doesn't fit together properly. When Beauty Cookson's mum realises that Beauty is being bullied over her appearance by her classmates, as well as by her vicious dad, she decides that she will teach Beauty how to bake cookies so that she can share them at school and subtly persuade the bullies to give her a new nickname - Cookie instead of Ugly. This just isn't realistic. Beauty's own method of comforting herself is even less so - she religiously watches a toddlers' programme about a man and his rabbit, and imagines them saying kind things to her. Her conversations with the television are represented as a real dialogue. When Beauty begins to panic about her looks, Sam says to her, "We think you look stunning in your dress and pinafore and special boots." When she complains to him about her name, he 'says' back, "I think Beauty's the most special name in all the world."

A child with low self-esteem just would not imagine those things, as one of the problems that come with low self-esteem is an inability to believe that anyone sees you in a positive light. The story takes a few more bizarre twists and turns - Beauty finally makes a friend, who vanishes halfway through the book and doesn't reappear; she and her mum run away to live in a little guest house by the beach, and the bullying dad is tidily sorted out of the picture; and Beauty's cookie-baking becomes famous so that she gets to go on TV with her hero Sam and his rabbit Lily.

None of it fits together. I read the novel in one sitting and felt very confused by the muddled plot and the unrealistic scenarios that kept cropping up. I can't recommend this one.

P.S. Have any other readers noticed how often Jacqueline Wilson employs the word 'special'? It seems to be her favourite adjective. This is only a minor thing, but it started to grate on me in 'Cookie'.

Not her best., 23 Nov 2008
Im a fifteen year old who's been reading Jacqueline Wilson since I was eight, and I think this is definitly one of Jacquelines worst books, along with Kiss. Reading the inside cover of the book, it sounded pretty good and I thought it wouldnt be too young for me to read.
It turns out to be for nobody older than twelve in my opinion. its extremely babyish, just how all of jacquelines books seem to be nowdays. its about an unfortunatly ugly girl called Beauty who gets bullied blah blah blah... In other words, the same sort of sad, pathetic babyish character in most of her books. The storyline seems to be a mix of 'sleepovers' (because of the whole thing with wanting to be friends with your worst enemys best friend thing)'love lessons' ( the nasty dad, although this one is much worse) and every other book that has a low on self confidence annoying girl as the narrator, which is virtually every book she's written. Thats the thing with this book.Everything is far too recognisable from other books.As Ive already said, the 'narrator' of the story is a whining, babyish girl whos good at art, theres the mean dad, the kind mum, and theres the group of girls at school where one of thems nice and the rest are nasty.A lot of the things the characters say or the way they speak are exactly the same as other characters in other books.The characters need sayings of their own to set them apart from the rest but a lot of the things they say and they way they speak is exactly the same as characters in her other books, which makes them just like clones.Another thing thats wrong is that theres good description, but too much of it. I skipped parts of the book a lot because of its description that just seems to ramble on. Theres also a weired programme on TV that Beauty likes to watch. Its for 3 year olds but its Beauty fav. programme, even though shes about twelve. Its about a quite frankly, freaky man and his creepy pet rabbit. I also skipped about twenty pages of the book due to the saddo dialogue from this man.
If youre under twelve, I wouldnt buy it. rent it from a library or something. if youre over twelve and an experianced reader who has read a lot of jacqueline wilson, i wouldnt advise it.

Not her best., 16 Nov 2008
Yeah, I love Jaqueline Wilson, I've read all her books! She's a great author. But this, I have to say, was one of her worst books. It was just too childish, and uninteresting. If your an amature reader, with an average imagination then this book will be good for you, but for someone like me, an experienced reader, who likes a challenge to read, then this book might not be the best idea. It is very hard to get into, and far too basic. Also, something I found quite boring, Jaqueline Wilson is doing the kind of same book, for eg. Lola Rose, which is along the same lines, just a MUCH better book! I do recommend that one by the way. Just, 'Cookie' is a bit of a disappointment. :D Hope this helped

Boring doom and gloom, 14 Nov 2008
I found this book very boring as all it goes on about is bullying angry dad bullying angry dad and normal life with that lot in. It is sad in places and I don't recomend it as I think you will be waisting your money. Still read it though as you will never know until you have read it and this is my personal opinion. I recomend you to borrow it out of your local library and then buy it if you like it.

FAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 06 Nov 2008
Its a great book that i've given 5 stars. Fantastic and fun JW has done a nother fab book i look forward to what she will do next. I say you get it as soon as you can i know you'll enjoy this fab book. I do hope you enjoy this totaly fab book.

With warts and all... bold, yes, but then there's those warts., 06 Nov 2008
First, the good stuff: this is a bold, honest, naked and funny tome about the writing process for one of television's most acclaimed comebacks. The reader follows Russell T. Davies through the agony and the ectasy of the entire writing process and, goaded along by Benjamin Cook, who acts as much as a muse as an enabler, the cigarette-fuelled revelations are so personal that one can get a contact high from being so ensconced in this man's head.

The pictures (including many beautiful stills during production as well as Davies' insanely brilliant cartoons) are to be cherished as much as the raw scripts that litter the hysterically titled email exchanges between Davies and Cook.

The ugly bits, for me, come from Davies' approach to writing Season 4 of 'Doctor Who.' Davies admits that his writing style is to wait until the last minute to commence drafting - and then waits some more. This sounds very maverick and daring, and for most series it is. Unfortunately, the ambitious arc of the season called for meticulous attention and, like many viewers for Season 4, the reader can gradually feel Season 4 slip away from its creator. While genius is evident in many places (his accounting of the development of 'Midnight' as the anti-'Voyage of the Damned' is stunning), the fact is that the plan to bring back so many characters for the big finale was terribly under-managed. Davies actively struggles with the second coming and going of the Rose Taylor character, but still gives her a sendoff that diminishes Season 2's exit - and taking Donna Noble's potentially heartbreaking departure with it. The reason is, the reader learns, is Davies' wait-til-it's-too-late approach.

The other niggle I have is that there is a tendency for icons (the Beatles, Monty Python) to avoid constructing an actual book by simply having extended monologues that can be read like a script. While this may be considered edgy or original in some circles, this book, moreso than the Beatle or Python books constructed the same, needs some sort of centering mechanism, like an impartial summary or prologue to each chapter written by Benjamin Cook.

Like all honesty from an artist of this magnitude, there will be things that will make the reader wonder to him/herself what's he's on about, or simply what he's on.

Having ranted all that, however, this book is still honest and bold and I'm pleased to have it in my collection.

"Hooray!", 09 Oct 2008
A fascinating insight into the mind of a TV writer. I hadn't realised that RTD worked so hard - heavily rewriting almost everyone's scripts (apart from Steven Moffat's) including the much lauded Human Nature/Family of Blood.

What I also found interesting about this collection of emails between RTD and Benjamin Cook is that it could almost be said that RTD was using the exchange as therapy - who could have thought that the talking head crying "Marvelous!" and "Hooray!" during Doctor Who Confidential was so wracked with self doubt and self criticism during the creative process? Whatever you may personally think about the episodes he wrote, reading this will give you massive respect for the man.

Despite Russell's disclaimers in the text, in my opinion this book would be useful for *all* budding writers, even if they have no interest in Doctor Who...

Probably the ultimate window into the frantic world of Doctor Who, 01 Oct 2008
There's no shortage of glossy "Doctor Who" books on the shelves but this is by far the most revealing. It digs deep and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the exhaustion, exhileration and relentless hard slog that goes into the flagship show. Read it, even if you don't care for DW, if you want to know the truth about a writer's life. It's very warts-and-all, at times very funny, and always comes over as being honest. You won't get closer than this to finding out why things turned out the way they did. In particular, RTD's thoughts on "Journey's End", the S4 finale, are intriguing and reveal how he copes with the inevitable gulf between his first concept of how a story should end and the version that reaches the screen, subject to the limitations of budget, time, actor availability and overall tone.

Like the Doctor himself, RTD clearly feels under pressure as the man everyone looks to for answers, he finds it almost impossible to relinquish control of his beloved show, yet a part of him longs for a break from the constant creative demands on his energies, preferably before the stress kills him.

There are certainly a few dark nights of the soul here, but also complete versions of the scripts of "Voyage of the Damned", "Partners in Crime" and the explosive two-parter finale, including the early drafts and absorbing explanations for the way things changed later. An extra bonus is a plethora of photographs, some from deleted scenes, and RTD's unexpectedly witty and professional cartoons of cast and characters.

Well worth reading, 29 Sep 2008
Predictably witty and honest, this is a book that will be enjoyed by Doctor Who fans and aspiring writers alike. What really comes across is that Davies is passionate about the show he resurrected and is often tortured by his perceived shortcomings as a writer. I can well understand why he's had enough, although I suspect he won't in fact be able to stay away for long.
The e-mail format and excerpts from Doctor Who scripts mean this is a book you can 'dip into' quite easily rather than reading from cover to cover and the writer's own cartoon illustrations are an unexpected bonus - is there anything this man can't do? This would make a fantastic Christmas present for those of us who don't know how we'll make it through 2009 without a Dr Who series.
Of course everybody knows that Swansea produces the best writers in the world, but it's nice to have a bit more proof.

Fantastic!, 28 Sep 2008
An astonishingly enjoyable read. If you've ever even toyed with the idea of writing, this gives you huge insights into the sheer grind and self doubt that goes into trying to get a script out, and it's a fascinating read. The email exchange structure gives a frankness that any other style would probably skirt around and you get a feeling of a genuine professional friendship between the authors. Some of the content might be a little too frank if you were thinking of buying a "Doctor Who" book for the kiddies, because it's not really a "Doctor Who" book - it's a book about writing, and the writing happens to be "Doctor Who". You do end up worrying if Russell EVER sleeps and whether this writing lark is good for his health, you do wonder how anyone finds the time to do that job, and you do get to see another side to the cheery upbeat soul who appears on TV, but that just makes it all the more intriguing. And on top of all his other work, Russell's found time to provide a large number of very inventive cartoons to illustrate the text - you'd have to hate the guy if he wasn't so good at it. The book looks fantastic, too, beautifully laid out. All in all, a big fat Hooray!!

Not what I expected., 03 Dec 2008
I only gave this book 4 stars as I was expecting the usual side-splitting TP novel. It wasn't. It was still funny but not laugh-out-loud (except perhaps the shark story) and it didn't have the twisting and turning plots of his other novels. It was also fairly obvious where the story was going but what made it magical was the way in which the story was told. It's basically a story of growing up and the responsibility that brings but TP has such a creative way of explaining things that you won't be disappointed even if you did buy it like me expecting hours of hilarity. It's been a few weeks now since I read the book but I'm continually finding myself thinking about it. A book that makes you think about things is a good book. I'm glad I read it. Thank you TP. Can we have a Granny & Nanny one next though? We all need a bit of cheering up. xx

Pratchett at his most thoughtful, 02 Dec 2008
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.

Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) and wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totally destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship and a pale-skinned young woman who initially tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, and Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...

Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Small Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book and acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism and morality. It is slower and more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger and more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here and there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter and epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, and it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).

Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it really isn't. It's depiction of tragedy and death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, and occasional moments of blood and cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty and not something I see young children really getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting and thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas and questions, whilst remaining entertaining and well-characterised.

Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2008
As a great Pratchett fan I found this book bitterly disappointing. It drops everything that Pratchett is good at. There were no intricate plot, no strong characters and didn't have the magic that we have come to expect from such a great writer. I actually had trouble motivating myself to finish this book.

Island of Hope? , 11 Nov 2008
Pratchett's books for young people have a tendency to reach beyond the intended age group and are just as enjoyable and relevant for adults. His latest novel, "Nation", is no exception. Anybody who has read his Tiffany Aching books will also know that Pratchett also has a fondness for headstrong young girls, delighting in exemplifying how they grow more or less smoothly into maturity. In this delightful novel Daphne, or Ermintrude as she was named by her family, is another example. Just for the pleasure of meeting her, the book would be worth reading... but there is so much more to explore here.

Thirteen-year-old Daphne is pretty, smart and well-educated, and loved by her aristocratic father. After the death of her mother, she was brought up by her strict grandmother, who instils in her a sense of values and responsibility but also, unintentionally, inquisitiveness and independence of mind. She is the counter part to Mau, also thirteen, and the actual hero of the story. His Nation, a small island in the South Pelagic Ocean is a traditional, pre-industrial society where gods reign and the spirits of the grandfathers maintain the ritualistic order by communicating their instructions to the selected few. While on "Boy's island", where he had been preparing for the rites of passage into manhood ceremony, Mau was oblivious to the tsunami of unheard of proportion that swept over lands and islands. The village had assembled on the beach for his return and celebration when the wave swept them away, leaving a trail of destruction. He reaches Nation in the aftermath of the disaster and discovers that he is all alone. Well, not quite... The ship that was to bring Daphne to her father in Port Mercia stranded on Mau's island leaving her with only a talkative parrot for company.

The story follows the two young people from worlds apart - without a common language and even gestures - who have to overcome their mutual suspicion and distrust and grow individually and together to become the centre of a new community as survivors from surrounding islands and from further afield seeking refuge with them. With great sensitivity and imagination, Pratchett explores the coming of age process in both. He exquisitely tackles the conflicts in Mau's mind between his old society steeped in mythology and hierarchy and the new reality where beliefs and rituals have to be questioned and new codes of morality be established. Daphne also has to develop a new understanding of society where class and privilege have no meaning. There are any number of challenges the young people have to face, starting with finding food and milk for a baby. There are pirates and renegades to deal with and much more... Can they, together with the diverse collections of refugees build a better and more hopeful Nation?

Pratchett's style is as always fluid and smooth, his imagery perceptive and innovative. His sense of humour, mostly subtle, shines through many sections. There are a few slow sections that a young person might skim over searching for the action on the next page. For adults the novel has many layers of narrative, food for thought on our perceptions of cultures, traditions and communication. [Friederike Knabe]


The new Terry Pratchett, 10 Nov 2008
This new book is definetly not Diskworld it seems that Terry has moved away from his usual writing and produced yet another great book with his talent,
This book follows a tale of devistation from what seems to be a tsumai on an island a boy arrives back to his island after being away to find everything he has known wiped out and sets out on building his island up again.. without giving away the plot and ultimatly the end this book is a bit morish , Has what I think chapters that tend to be far too long at times, and a very tear jerking end to the story BUT could of done without the very end chapter which makes me think this book was made to be made into a film (Though if it was then this book if acted by very good actors would make a very good film)

If your reading this Mr Pratchett

Well done Terry I enjoyed it!!

Disappointing and disjointed, 27 Nov 2008
Jacqueline Wilson's stories deal with some very sensitive topics and they're fun to read, too, which is why I read 'Cookie' within a few days of its publication. As a teacher, I was hoping to use it as the basis for a classroom discussion with a group of Year 6s on some of the issues that the book brings up.

In the end I couldn't use it. The book seems to be aimed at much younger children, and the story doesn't fit together properly. When Beauty Cookson's mum realises that Beauty is being bullied over her appearance by her classmates, as well as by her vicious dad, she decides that she will teach Beauty how to bake cookies so that she can share them at school and subtly persuade the bullies to give her a new nickname - Cookie instead of Ugly. This just isn't realistic. Beauty's own method of comforting herself is even less so - she religiously watches a toddlers' programme about a man and his rabbit, and imagines them saying kind things to her. Her conversations with the television are represented as a real dialogue. When Beauty begins to panic about her looks, Sam says to her, "We think you look stunning in your dress and pinafore and special boots." When she complains to him about her name, he 'says' back, "I think Beauty's the most special name in all the world."

A child with low self-esteem just would not imagine those things, as one of the problems that come with low self-esteem is an inability to believe that anyone sees you in a positive light. The story takes a few more bizarre twists and turns - Beauty finally makes a friend, who vanishes halfway through the book and doesn't reappear; she and her mum run away to live in a little guest house by the beach, and the bullying dad is tidily sorted out of the picture; and Beauty's cookie-baking becomes famous so that she gets to go on TV with her hero Sam and his rabbit Lily.

None of it fits together. I read the novel in one sitting and felt very confused by the muddled plot and the unrealistic scenarios that kept cropping up. I can't recommend this one.

P.S. Have any other readers noticed how often Jacqueline Wilson employs the word 'special'? It seems to be her favourite adjective. This is only a minor thing, but it started to grate on me in 'Cookie'.

Not her best., 23 Nov 2008
Im a fifteen year old who's been reading Jacqueline Wilson since I was eight, and I think this is definitly one of Jacquelines worst books, along with Kiss. Reading the inside cover of the book, it sounded pretty good and I thought it wouldnt be too young for me to read.
It turns out to be for nobody older than twelve in my opinion. its extremely babyish, just how all of jacquelines books seem to be nowdays. its about an unfortunatly ugly girl called Beauty who gets bullied blah blah blah... In other words, the same sort of sad, pathetic babyish character in most of her books. The storyline seems to be a mix of 'sleepovers' (because of the whole thing with wanting to be friends with your worst enemys best friend thing)'love lessons' ( the nasty dad, although this one is much worse) and every other book that has a low on self confidence annoying girl as the narrator, which is virtually every book she's written. Thats the thing with this book.Everything is far too recognisable from other books.As Ive already said, the 'narrator' of the story is a whining, babyish girl whos good at art, theres the mean dad, the kind mum, and theres the group of girls at school where one of thems nice and the rest are nasty.A lot of the things the characters say or the way they speak are exactly the same as other characters in other books.The characters need sayings of their own to set them apart from the rest but a lot of the things they say and they way they speak is exactly the same as characters in her other books, which makes them just like clones.Another thing thats wrong is that theres good description, but too much of it. I skipped parts of the book a lot because of its description that just seems to ramble on. Theres also a weired programme on TV that Beauty likes to watch. Its for 3 year olds but its Beauty fav. programme, even though shes about twelve. Its about a quite frankly, freaky man and his creepy pet rabbit. I also skipped about twenty pages of the book due to the saddo dialogue from this man.
If youre under twelve, I wouldnt buy it. rent it from a library or something. if youre over twelve and an experianced reader who has read a lot of jacqueline wilson, i wouldnt advise it.

Not her best., 16 Nov 2008
Yeah, I love Jaqueline Wilson, I've read all her books! She's a great author. But this, I have to say, was one of her worst books. It was just too childish, and uninteresting. If your an amature reader, with an average imagination then this book will be good for you, but for someone like me, an experienced reader, who likes a challenge to read, then this book might not be the best idea. It is very hard to get into, and far too basic. Also, something I found quite boring, Jaqueline Wilson is doing the kind of same book, for eg. Lola Rose, which is along the same lines, just a MUCH better book! I do recommend that one by the way. Just, 'Cookie' is a bit of a disappointment. :D Hope this helped

Boring doom and gloom, 14 Nov 2008
I found this book very boring as all it goes on about is bullying angry dad bullying angry dad and normal life with that lot in. It is sad in places and I don't recomend it as I think you will be waisting your money. Still read it though as you will never know until you have read it and this is my personal opinion. I recomend you to borrow it out of your local library and then buy it if you like it.

FAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 06 Nov 2008
Its a great book that i've given 5 stars. Fantastic and fun JW has done a nother fab book i look forward to what she will do next. I say you get it as soon as you can i know you'll enjoy this fab book. I do hope you enjoy this totaly fab book.

With warts and all... bold, yes, but then there's those warts., 06 Nov 2008
First, the good stuff: this is a bold, honest, naked and funny tome about the writing process for one of television's most acclaimed comebacks. The reader follows Russell T. Davies through the agony and the ectasy of the entire writing process and, goaded along by Benjamin Cook, who acts as much as a muse as an enabler, the cigarette-fuelled revelations are so personal that one can get a contact high from being so ensconced in this man's head.

The pictures (including many beautiful stills during production as well as Davies' insanely brilliant cartoons) are to be cherished as much as the raw scripts that litter the hysterically titled email exchanges between Davies and Cook.

The ugly bits, for me, come from Davies' approach to writing Season 4 of 'Doctor Who.' Davies admits that his writing style is to wait until the last minute to commence drafting - and then waits some more. This sounds very maverick and daring, and for most series it is. Unfortunately, the ambitious arc of the season called for meticulous attention and, like many viewers for Season 4, the reader can gradually feel Season 4 slip away from its creator. While genius is evident in many places (his accounting of the development of 'Midnight' as the anti-'Voyage of the Damned' is stunning), the fact is that the plan to bring back so many characters for the big finale was terribly under-managed. Davies actively struggles with the second coming and going of the Rose Taylor character, but still gives her a sendoff that diminishes Season 2's exit - and taking Donna Noble's potentially heartbreaking departure with it. The reason is, the reader learns, is Davies' wait-til-it's-too-late approach.

The other niggle I have is that there is a tendency for icons (the Beatles, Monty Python) to avoid constructing an actual book by simply having extended monologues that can be read like a script. While this may be considered edgy or original in some circles, this book, moreso than the Beatle or Python books constructed the same, needs some sort of centering mechanism, like an impartial summary or prologue to each chapter written by Benjamin Cook.

Like all honesty from an artist of this magnitude, there will be things that will make the reader wonder to him/herself what's he's on about, or simply what he's on.

Having ranted all that, however, this book is still honest and bold and I'm pleased to have it in my collection.

"Hooray!", 09 Oct 2008
A fascinating insight into the mind of a TV writer. I hadn't realised that RTD worked so hard - heavily rewriting almost everyone's scripts (apart from Steven Moffat's) including the much lauded Human Nature/Family of Blood.

What I also found interesting about this collection of emails between RTD and Benjamin Cook is that it could almost be said that RTD was using the exchange as therapy - who could have thought that the talking head crying "Marvelous!" and "Hooray!" during Doctor Who Confidential was so wracked with self doubt and self criticism during the creative process? Whatever you may personally think about the episodes he wrote, reading this will give you massive respect for the man.

Despite Russell's disclaimers in the text, in my opinion this book would be useful for *all* budding writers, even if they have no interest in Doctor Who...

Probably the ultimate window into the frantic world of Doctor Who, 01 Oct 2008
There's no shortage of glossy "Doctor Who" books on the shelves but this is by far the most revealing. It digs deep and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the exhaustion, exhileration and relentless hard slog that goes into the flagship show. Read it, even if you don't care for DW, if you want to know the truth about a writer's life. It's very warts-and-all, at times very funny, and always comes over as being honest. You won't get closer than this to finding out why things turned out the way they did. In particular, RTD's thoughts on "Journey's End", the S4 finale, are intriguing and reveal how he copes with the inevitable gulf between his first concept of how a story should end and the version that reaches the screen, subject to the limitations of budget, time, actor availability and overall tone.

Like the Doctor himself, RTD clearly feels under pressure as the man everyone looks to for answers, he finds it almost impossible to relinquish control of his beloved show, yet a part of him longs for a break from the constant creative demands on his energies, preferably before the stress kills him.

There are certainly a few dark nights of the soul here, but also complete versions of the scripts of "Voyage of the Damned", "Partners in Crime" and the explosive two-parter finale, including the early drafts and absorbing explanations for the way things changed later. An extra bonus is a plethora of photographs, some from deleted scenes, and RTD's unexpectedly witty and professional cartoons of cast and characters.

Well worth reading, 29 Sep 2008
Predictably witty and honest, this is a book that will be enjoyed by Doctor Who fans and aspiring writers alike. What really comes across is that Davies is passionate about the show he resurrected and is often tortured by his perceived shortcomings as a writer. I can well understand why he's had enough, although I suspect he won't in fact be able to stay away for long.
The e-mail format and excerpts from Doctor Who scripts mean this is a book you can 'dip into' quite easily rather than reading from cover to cover and the writer's own cartoon illustrations are an unexpected bonus - is there anything this man can't do? This would make a fantastic Christmas present for those of us who don't know how we'll make it through 2009 without a Dr Who series.
Of course everybody knows that Swansea produces the best writers in the world, but it's nice to have a bit more proof.

Fantastic!, 28 Sep 2008
An astonishingly enjoyable read. If you've ever even toyed with the idea of writing, this gives you huge insights into the sheer grind and self doubt that goes into trying to get a script out, and it's a fascinating read. The email exchange structure gives a frankness that any other style would probably skirt around and you get a feeling of a genuine professional friendship between the authors. Some of the content might be a little too frank if you were thinking of buying a "Doctor Who" book for the kiddies, because it's not really a "Doctor Who" book - it's a book about writing, and the writing happens to be "Doctor Who". You do end up worrying if Russell EVER sleeps and whether this writing lark is good for his health, you do wonder how anyone finds the time to do that job, and you do get to see another side to the cheery upbeat soul who appears on TV, but that just makes it all the more intriguing. And on top of all his other work, Russell's found time to provide a large number of very inventive cartoons to illustrate the text - you'd have to hate the guy if he wasn't so good at it. The book looks fantastic, too, beautifully laid out. All in all, a big fat Hooray!!

Northern Lights is the best book I've ever read, 10 Nov 2008
"Northern Lights" is a fantastic novel by Philip Pullman. It is the first book in a trilogy called "His Dark Materials". This book, is about a girl called Lyra, who lives in a universe like ours, but very different in lots of things. Lyra used to attend Oxford College until she finds out about "dust". When her friend Roger disappears, Lyra sets off to the North to find him with help of her "daemon" and an "alethiometer" given to her by the master of Oxford College. This book is one of those books in which someone cannot stop reading. It is perfectly written, exciting, and sometimes even scary. I not only recommend this book to children, but to every person that just needs something to be excited about.

wonderful, 09 Sep 2008
This trilogy is excellent. Took me a while to get into book one but once the story really got going I couldn't put it down. Lyra grows into a young adult throughout the trilogy and its wonderful to follow her through her trials and tribulations.

Armoured bears, witches, deamons, god, angels, heaven and hell-all and more are wonderfully thoguht up by Pullman and I recommend these to anyone.

Goes out with a whimper, 17 May 2008
Northern Lights is brilliant in almost every respect; fast-moving, well-written, imaginative. The Subtle Knife is almost as good, but begins to be diffuse. The Amber Spyglass is, frankly, rubbish. In order to understand what is going on here, you have to have read an obscure essay by a second-rank German author (Heinrich v. Kleist) that Pullman is always going on about. By a logic that defeats me, it concludes that a re-temptation of Eve will undo the disaster that came from the first temptation. Hence Lyra (she's the new Eve, we're told) goes all tingly when she's kissed (only kissed, mind you). This saves the world (don't ask me how). Pullman's cosmogony/theology is even wackier than the Christian version to which he's so hostile. Nor does The Amber Spyglass have a very tight plot -- is the realm of the dead another parallel universe, or what? The Father Gomez episode is totally gratuitous church-baiting, and should have been edited out (along with a few other repetitious bits). It is fairly obvious that Pullman had no idea how to end this trilogy, which accounts for the long delay in publication between parts 2 and 3. But the ending, when it comes, is possibly the most banal I have ever read. One might have thought that having opened the gates of hell, having quite literally witnessed the death of God (and incidentally having saved humankind with a kiss) Lyra and Will deserved some sort of apotheosis. But the ending is like the ending to a children's party: right now kiddies, pack up your things, time to go home.

Recommended, 16 Apr 2008
His Dark Materials is a fantastic series of books. Plenty has already been said in these reviews about the subject matter and writing brilliance. However many people have referred to these as "children's" books, which I slightly disagree with. Young children (8+) will enjoy these if they are read to them - although the subject and language is likely to require further explanation at this age. For sole readers an age of 12+ is more suitable; plus many, many adults (including myself) have enjoyed reading these too.

From my personal experience I didn't enjoy the second book in the series as much as either the first or third as I felt it wasn't as fast-paced and intricate. That said I do not mean that I `didn't enjoy it at all' just that I `preferred' the others.

Other reviews have mentioned that the religious/church bashing may offend, which is perhaps true for deeply/strictly religious folk. However for non-believers I think the books may have the opposite effect, i.e. it may open their minds to the possibility there may be more to life than what we see, in a kind of spiritual sense.

However, a word of warning. After reading this series I purchased Lyra's Oxford which was a big mistake. It adds nothing to this story and took no longer than 15 minutes to read. In fact it left me rather miffed with the author that my feel-good factor from reading the trilogy was then tainted by feeling I'd been ripped off with LO.

In short - the trilogy is a very good buy but give the subsequent books based on this same story a big miss.


His Dark Materials Boxed Set, 13 Mar 2008
What excellent books! i could not put them down. Phillip Pullman has a wonderful imagination and i would recommend this book to adults and older children as i feel children under ten year's maybe a little scared! Can't wait to read his next book.

Not what I expected., 03 Dec 2008
I only gave this book 4 stars as I was expecting the usual side-splitting TP novel. It wasn't. It was still funny but not laugh-out-loud (except perhaps the shark story) and it didn't have the twisting and turning plots of his other novels. It was also fairly obvious where the story was going but what made it magical was the way in which the story was told. It's basically a story of growing up and the responsibility that brings but TP has such a creative way of explaining things that you won't be disappointed even if you did buy it like me expecting hours of hilarity. It's been a few weeks now since I read the book but I'm continually finding myself thinking about it. A book that makes you think about things is a good book. I'm glad I read it. Thank you TP. Can we have a Granny & Nanny one next though? We all need a bit of cheering up. xx

Pratchett at his most thoughtful, 02 Dec 2008
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.

Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) and wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totally destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship and a pale-skinned young woman who initially tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, and Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...

Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Small Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book and acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism and morality. It is slower and more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger and more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here and there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter and epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, and it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).

Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it really isn't. It's depiction of tragedy and death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, and occasional moments of blood and cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty and not something I see young children really getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting and thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas and questions, whilst remaining entertaining and well-characterised.

Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2008
As a great Pratchett fan I found this book bitterly disappointing. It drops everything that Pratchett is good at. There were no intricate plot, no strong characters and didn't have the magic that we have come to expect from such a great writer. I actually had trouble motivating myself to finish this book.

Island of Hope? , 11 Nov 2008
Pratchett's books for young people have a tendency to reach beyond the intended age group and are just as enjoyable and relevant for adults. His latest novel, "Nation", is no exception. Anybody who has read his Tiffany Aching books will also know that Pratchett also has a fondness for headstrong young girls, delighting in exemplifying how they grow more or less smoothly into maturity. In this delightful novel Daphne, or Ermintrude as she was named by her family, is another example. Just for the pleasure of meeting her, the book would be worth reading... but there is so much more to explore here.

Thirteen-year-old Daphne is pretty, smart and well-educated, and loved by her aristocratic father. After the death of her mother, she was brought up by her strict grandmother, who instils in her a sense of values and responsibility but also, unintentionally, inquisitiveness and independence of mind. She is the counter part to Mau, also thirteen, and the actual hero of the story. His Nation, a small island in the South Pelagic Ocean is a traditional, pre-industrial society where gods reign and the spirits of the grandfathers maintain the ritualistic order by communicating their instructions to the selected few. While on "Boy's island", where he had been preparing for the rites of passage into manhood ceremony, Mau was oblivious to the tsunami of unheard of proportion that swept over lands and islands. The village had assembled on the beach for his return and celebration when the wave swept them away, leaving a trail of destruction. He reaches Nation in the aftermath of the disaster and discovers that he is all alone. Well, not quite... The ship that was to bring Daphne to her father in Port Mercia stranded on Mau's island leaving her with only a talkative parrot for company.

The story follows the two young people from worlds apart - without a common language and even gestures - who have to overcome their mutual suspicion and distrust and grow individually and together to become the centre of a new community as survivors from surrounding islands and from further afield seeking refuge with them. With great sensitivity and imagination, Pratchett explores the coming of age process in both. He exquisitely tackles the conflicts in Mau's mind between his old society steeped in mythology and hierarchy and the new reality where beliefs and rituals have to be questioned and new codes of morality be established. Daphne also has to develop a new understanding of society where class and privilege have no meaning. There are any number of challenges the young people have to face, starting with finding food and milk for a baby. There are pirates and renegades to deal with and much more... Can they, together with the diverse collections of refugees build a better and more hopeful Nation?

Pratchett's style is as always fluid and smooth, his imagery perceptive and innovative. His sense of humour, mostly subtle, shines through many sections. There are a few slow sections that a young person might skim over searching for the action on the next page. For adults the novel has many layers of narrative, food for thought on our perceptions of cultures, traditions and communication. [Friederike Knabe]


The new Terry Pratchett, 10 Nov 2008
This new book is definetly not Diskworld it seems that Terry has moved away from his usual writing and produced yet another great book with his talent,
This book follows a tale of devistation from what seems to be a tsumai on an island a boy arrives back to his island after being away to find everything he has known wiped out and sets out on building his island up again.. without giving away the plot and ultimatly the end this book is a bit morish , Has what I think chapters that tend to be far too long at times, and a very tear jerking end to the story BUT could of done without the very end chapter which makes me think this book was made to be made into a film (Though if it was then this book if acted by very good actors would make a very good film)

If your reading this Mr Pratchett

Well done Terry I enjoyed it!!

Disappointing and disjointed, 27 Nov 2008
Jacqueline Wilson's stories deal with some very sensitive topics and they're fun to read, too, which is why I read 'Cookie' within a few days of its publication. As a teacher, I was hoping to use it as the basis for a classroom discussion with a group of Year 6s on some of the issues that the book brings up.

In the end I couldn't use it. The book seems to be aimed at much younger children, and the story doesn't fit together properly. When Beauty Cookson's mum realises that Beauty is being bullied over her appearance by her classmates, as well as by her vicious dad, she decides that she will teach Beauty how to bake cookies so that she can share them at school and subtly persuade the bullies to give her a new nickname - Cookie instead of Ugly. This just isn't realistic. Beauty's own method of comforting herself is even less so - she religiously watches a toddlers' programme about a man and his rabbit, and imagines them saying kind things to her. Her conversations with the television are represented as a real dialogue. When Beauty begins to panic about her looks, Sam says to her, "We think you look stunning in your dress and pinafore and special boots." When she complains to him about her name, he 'says' back, "I think Beauty's the most special name in all the world."

A child with low self-esteem just would not imagine those things, as one of the problems that come with low self-esteem is an inability to believe that anyone sees you in a positive light. The story takes a few more bizarre twists and turns - Beauty finally makes a friend, who vanishes halfway through the book and doesn't reappear; she and her mum run away to live in a little guest house by the beach, and the bullying dad is tidily sorted out of the picture; and Beauty's cookie-baking becomes famous so that she gets to go on TV with her hero Sam and his rabbit Lily.

None of it fits together. I read the novel in one sitting and felt very confused by the muddled plot and the unrealistic scenarios that kept cropping up. I can't recommend this one.

P.S. Have any other readers noticed how often Jacqueline Wilson employs the word 'special'? It seems to be her favourite adjective. This is only a minor thing, but it started to grate on me in 'Cookie'.

Not her best., 23 Nov 2008
Im a fifteen year old who's been reading Jacqueline Wilson since I was eight, and I think this is definitly one of Jacquelines worst books, along with Kiss. Reading the inside cover of the book, it sounded pretty good and I thought it wouldnt be too young for me to read.
It turns out to be for nobody older than twelve in my opinion. its extremely babyish, just how all of jacquelines books seem to be nowdays. its about an unfortunatly ugly girl called Beauty who gets bullied blah blah blah... In other words, the same sort of sad, pathetic babyish character in most of her books. The storyline seems to be a mix of 'sleepovers' (because of the whole thing with wanting to be friends with your worst enemys best friend thing)'love lessons' ( the nasty dad, although this one is much worse) and every other book that has a low on self confidence annoying girl as the narrator, which is virtually every book she's written. Thats the thing with this book.Everything is far too recognisable from other books.As Ive already said, the 'narrator' of the story is a whining, babyish girl whos good at art, theres the mean dad, the kind mum, and theres the group of girls at school where one of thems nice and the rest are nasty.A lot of the things the characters say or the way they speak are exactly the same as other characters in other books.The characters need sayings of their own to set them apart from the rest but a lot of the things they say and they way they speak is exactly the same as characters in her other books, which makes them just like clones.Another thing thats wrong is that theres good description, but too much of it. I skipped parts of the book a lot because of its description that just seems to ramble on. Theres also a weired programme on TV that Beauty likes to watch. Its for 3 year olds but its Beauty fav. programme, even though shes about twelve. Its about a quite frankly, freaky man and his creepy pet rabbit. I also skipped about twenty pages of the book due to the saddo dialogue from this man.
If youre under twelve, I wouldnt buy it. rent it from a library or something. if youre over twelve and an experianced reader who has read a lot of jacqueline wilson, i wouldnt advise it.

Not her best., 16 Nov 2008
Yeah, I love Jaqueline Wilson, I've read all her books! She's a great author. But this, I have to say, was one of her worst books. It was just too childish, and uninteresting. If your an amature reader, with an average imagination then this book will be good for you, but for someone like me, an experienced reader, who likes a challenge to read, then this book might not be the best idea. It is very hard to get into, and far too basic. Also, something I found quite boring, Jaqueline Wilson is doing the kind of same book, for eg. Lola Rose, which is along the same lines, just a MUCH better book! I do recommend that one by the way. Just, 'Cookie' is a bit of a disappointment. :D Hope this helped

Boring doom and gloom, 14 Nov 2008
I found this book very boring as all it goes on about is bullying angry dad bullying angry dad and normal life with that lot in. It is sad in places and I don't recomend it as I think you will be waisting your money. Still read it though as you will never know until you have read it and this is my personal opinion. I recomend you to borrow it out of your local library and then buy it if you like it.

FAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 06 Nov 2008
Its a great book that i've given 5 stars. Fantastic and fun JW has done a nother fab book i look forward to what she will do next. I say you get it as soon as you can i know you'll enjoy this fab book. I do hope you enjoy this totaly fab book.

With warts and all... bold, yes, but then there's those warts., 06 Nov 2008
First, the good stuff: this is a bold, honest, naked and funny tome about the writing process for one of television's most acclaimed comebacks. The reader follows Russell T. Davies through the agony and the ectasy of the entire writing process and, goaded along by Benjamin Cook, who acts as much as a muse as an enabler, the cigarette-fuelled revelations are so personal that one can get a contact high from being so ensconced in this man's head.

The pictures (including many beautiful stills during production as well as Davies' insanely brilliant cartoons) are to be cherished as much as the raw scripts that litter the hysterically titled email exchanges between Davies and Cook.

The ugly bits, for me, come from Davies' approach to writing Season 4 of 'Doctor Who.' Davies admits that his writing style is to wait until the last minute to commence drafting - and then waits some more. This sounds very maverick and daring, and for most series it is. Unfortunately, the ambitious arc of the season called for meticulous attention and, like many viewers for Season 4, the reader can gradually feel Season 4 slip away from its creator. While genius is evident in many places (his accounting of the development of 'Midnight' as the anti-'Voyage of the Damned' is stunning), the fact is that the plan to bring back so many characters for the big finale was terribly under-managed. Davies actively struggles with the second coming and going of the Rose Taylor character, but still gives her a sendoff that diminishes Season 2's exit - and taking Donna Noble's potentially heartbreaking departure with it. The reason is, the reader learns, is Davies' wait-til-it's-too-late approach.

The other niggle I have is that there is a tendency for icons (the Beatles, Monty Python) to avoid constructing an actual book by simply having extended monologues that can be read like a script. While this may be considered edgy or original in some circles, this book, moreso than the Beatle or Python books constructed the same, needs some sort of centering mechanism, like an impartial summary or prologue to each chapter written by Benjamin Cook.

Like all honesty from an artist of this magnitude, there will be things that will make the reader wonder to him/herself what's he's on about, or simply what he's on.

Having ranted all that, however, this book is still honest and bold and I'm pleased to have it in my collection.

"Hooray!", 09 Oct 2008
A fascinating insight into the mind of a TV writer. I hadn't realised that RTD worked so hard - heavily rewriting almost everyone's scripts (apart from Steven Moffat's) including the much lauded Human Nature/Family of Blood.

What I also found interesting about this collection of emails between RTD and Benjamin Cook is that it could almost be said that RTD was using the exchange as therapy - who could have thought that the talking head crying "Marvelous!" and "Hooray!" during Doctor Who Confidential was so wracked with self doubt and self criticism during the creative process? Whatever you may personally think about the episodes he wrote, reading this will give you massive respect for the man.

Despite Russell's disclaimers in the text, in my opinion this book would be useful for *all* budding writers, even if they have no interest in Doctor Who...

Probably the ultimate window into the frantic world of Doctor Who, 01 Oct 2008
There's no shortage of glossy "Doctor Who" books on the shelves but this is by far the most revealing. It digs deep and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the exhaustion, exhileration and relentless hard slog that goes into the flagship show. Read it, even if you don't care for DW, if you want to know the truth about a writer's life. It's very warts-and-all, at times very funny, and always comes over as being honest. You won't get closer than this to finding out why things turned out the way they did. In particular, RTD's thoughts on "Journey's End", the S4 finale, are intriguing and reveal how he copes with the inevitable gulf between his first concept of how a story should end and the version that reaches the screen, subject to the limitations of budget, time, actor availability and overall tone.

Like the Doctor himself, RTD clearly feels under pressure as the man everyone looks to for answers, he finds it almost impossible to relinquish control of his beloved show, yet a part of him longs for a break from the constant creative demands on his energies, preferably before the stress kills him.

There are certainly a few dark nights of the soul here, but also complete versions of the scripts of "Voyage of the Damned", "Partners in Crime" and the explosive two-parter finale, including the early drafts and absorbing explanations for the way things changed later. An extra bonus is a plethora of photographs, some from deleted scenes, and RTD's unexpectedly witty and professional cartoons of cast and characters.

Well worth reading, 29 Sep 2008
Predictably witty and honest, this is a book that will be enjoyed by Doctor Who fans and aspiring writers alike. What really comes across is that Davies is passionate about the show he resurrected and is often tortured by his perceived shortcomings as a writer. I can well understand why he's had enough, although I suspect he won't in fact be able to stay away for long.
The e-mail format and excerpts from Doctor Who scripts mean this is a book you can 'dip into' quite easily rather than reading from cover to cover and the writer's own cartoon illustrations are an unexpected bonus - is there anything this man can't do? This would make a fantastic Christmas present for those of us who don't know how we'll make it through 2009 without a Dr Who series.
Of course everybody knows that Swansea produces the best writers in the world, but it's nice to have a bit more proof.

Fantastic!, 28 Sep 2008
An astonishingly enjoyable read. If you've ever even toyed with the idea of writing, this gives you huge insights into the sheer grind and self doubt that goes into trying to get a script out, and it's a fascinating read. The email exchange structure gives a frankness that any other style would probably skirt around and you get a feeling of a genuine professional friendship between the authors. Some of the content might be a little too frank if you were thinking of buying a "Doctor Who" book for the kiddies, because it's not really a "Doctor Who" book - it's a book about writing, and the writing happens to be "Doctor Who". You do end up worrying if Russell EVER sleeps and whether this writing lark is good for his health, you do wonder how anyone finds the time to do that job, and you do get to see another side to the cheery upbeat soul who appears on TV, but that just makes it all the more intriguing. And on top of all his other work, Russell's found time to provide a large number of very inventive cartoons to illustrate the text - you'd have to hate the guy if he wasn't so good at it. The book looks fantastic, too, beautifully laid out. All in all, a big fat Hooray!!

Northern Lights is the best book I've ever read, 10 Nov 2008
"Northern Lights" is a fantastic novel by Philip Pullman. It is the first book in a trilogy called "His Dark Materials". This book, is about a girl called Lyra, who lives in a universe like ours, but very different in lots of things. Lyra used to attend Oxford College until she finds out about "dust". When her friend Roger disappears, Lyra sets off to the North to find him with help of her "daemon" and an "alethiometer" given to her by the master of Oxford College. This book is one of those books in which someone cannot stop reading. It is perfectly written, exciting, and sometimes even scary. I not only recommend this book to children, but to every person that just needs something to be excited about.

wonderful, 09 Sep 2008
This trilogy is excellent. Took me a while to get into book one but once the story really got going I couldn't put it down. Lyra grows into a young adult throughout the trilogy and its wonderful to follow her through her trials and tribulations.

Armoured bears, witches, deamons, god, angels, heaven and hell-all and more are wonderfully thoguht up by Pullman and I recommend these to anyone.

Goes out with a whimper, 17 May 2008
Northern Lights is brilliant in almost every respect; fast-moving, well-written, imaginative. The Subtle Knife is almost as good, but begins to be diffuse. The Amber Spyglass is, frankly, rubbish. In order to understand what is going on here, you have to have read an obscure essay by a second-rank German author (Heinrich v. Kleist) that Pullman is always going on about. By a logic that defeats me, it concludes that a re-temptation of Eve will undo the disaster that came from the first temptation. Hence Lyra (she's the new Eve, we're told) goes all tingly when she's kissed (only kissed, mind you). This saves the world (don't ask me how). Pullman's cosmogony/theology is even wackier than the Christian version to which he's so hostile. Nor does The Amber Spyglass have a very tight plot -- is the realm of the dead another parallel universe, or what? The Father Gomez episode is totally gratuitous church-baiting, and should have been edited out (along with a few other repetitious bits). It is fairly obvious that Pullman had no idea how to end this trilogy, which accounts for the long delay in publication between parts 2 and 3. But the ending, when it comes, is possibly the most banal I have ever read. One might have thought that having opened the gates of hell, having quite literally witnessed the death of God (and incidentally having saved humankind with a kiss) Lyra and Will deserved some sort of apotheosis. But the ending is like the ending to a children's party: right now kiddies, pack up your things, time to go home.

Recommended, 16 Apr 2008
His Dark Materials is a fantastic series of books. Plenty has already been said in these reviews about the subject matter and writing brilliance. However many people have referred to these as "children's" books, which I slightly disagree with. Young children (8+) will enjoy these if they are read to them - although the subject and language is likely to require further explanation at this age. For sole readers an age of 12+ is more suitable; plus many, many adults (including myself) have enjoyed reading these too.

From my personal experience I didn't enjoy the second book in the series as much as either the first or third as I felt it wasn't as fast-paced and intricate. That said I do not mean that I `didn't enjoy it at all' just that I `preferred' the others.

Other reviews have mentioned that the religious/church bashing may offend, which is perhaps true for deeply/strictly religious folk. However for non-believers I think the books may have the opposite effect, i.e. it may open their minds to the possibility there may be more to life than what we see, in a kind of spiritual sense.

However, a word of warning. After reading this series I purchased Lyra's Oxford which was a big mistake. It adds nothing to this story and took no longer than 15 minutes to read. In fact it left me rather miffed with the author that my feel-good factor from reading the trilogy was then tainted by feeling I'd been ripped off with LO.

In short - the trilogy is a very good buy but give the subsequent books based on this same story a big miss.


His Dark Materials Boxed Set, 13 Mar 2008
What excellent books! i could not put them down. Phillip Pullman has a wonderful imagination and i would recommend this book to adults and older children as i feel children under ten year's maybe a little scared! Can't wait to read his next book.

Inspiring, 05 Nov 2008
This book is a very influential read and lives up to it's purpose.
Mary-Kate and Ashley have done a great job interviewing the featured people and the books design is very nice. The book has a lot of interesting quotes and it was nice to get an insight into the lives of how the true "originals" grew up and got started in their fields (Karl Largerfeld, Lauren Hutton and Diana von Frustenberg to name a few).
A couple of not so good things: the book is very repetitive, but i guess i was expecting that.
___
This book would make a great gift to anyone interested in the "Olsen twins" but it also could cater to a much broader audience weather your a 40 year old woman or a 19 year old boy. It would also make a great coffee table book.

Not what I expected., 03 Dec 2008
I only gave this book 4 stars as I was expecting the usual side-splitting TP novel. It wasn't. It was still funny but not laugh-out-loud (except perhaps the shark story) and it didn't have the twisting and turning plots of his other novels. It was also fairly obvious where the story was going but what made it magical was the way in which the story was told. It's basically a story of growing up and the responsibility that brings but TP has such a creative way of explaining things that you won't be disappointed even if you did buy it like me expecting hours of hilarity. It's been a few weeks now since I read the book but I'm continually finding myself thinking about it. A book that makes you think about things is a good book. I'm glad I read it. Thank you TP. Can we have a Granny & Nanny one next though? We all need a bit of cheering up. xx

Pratchett at his most thoughtful, 02 Dec 2008
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.