Questions About Shadow Magic (Lyra, #1)

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Answered Questions (2)

I wonder if the people leaving bad reviews understand this was Wrede 's first book, published in 1982? They complain about the storyline being overdone. I don't believe that was true 35 years ago. Perspective people.

Ashley Lambert-Maberly I think that's fair, though. We're not trying to make an assessment of how ground-breaking something may have been at the time, like historians might-…moreI think that's fair, though. We're not trying to make an assessment of how ground-breaking something may have been at the time, like historians might--we're reacting to how much we enjoyed reading it now (or whenever we did read it).

Those of us with a rich sense of historical perspective might mention such things in our reviews of certain books--I generally give a bit of a pass to mild sexism or racism of the kind that would have seemed unremarkable to the original audience, though (esp. if it's frequent) I may mention it to warn current readers.

But otherwise I read a book, and I judge it on how it works for me, here and now. I have definitely read several books that would clearly have been more enjoyable upon original publication.

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Are the Lyra books clean enough for a sheltered young teen?

Lianne Burwell Sheltered teen? I would say probably. Certainly, while there was some romance, there is nothing beyond a kiss (and barely) as I remember, but there is…moreSheltered teen? I would say probably. Certainly, while there was some romance, there is nothing beyond a kiss (and barely) as I remember, but there is some violence. But it's clean enough that it almost counts as middle-grade these days. My absolute favourites, though, are Caught in Crystal and The Raven Ring.(less)

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Unanswered Questions (1)

Can anyone tell me if the Open Road Media edition is the original version of the novel or the rewritten version from the Tor omnibus? Personally, I prefer the original Ace edition version.

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