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Sally Lockhart #4
The Tin Princess
Sally Lockhart's friend and partner-in-adventure Jim Taylor has just solved a mystery. For years he's been searching for Adelaide, the little girl enslaved by toothless crone Mrs Holland in The Ruby in the Smoke. And now he's found her - just as she's about to become a princess. Crown Princess of Razkavia, to be exact, and a princess in danger. Her future husband is desperate to protect his bride, and employs Jim as their bodyguard - Razkavia's quaint little streets are full of danger.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 1994
About the author
Philip Pullman
275 books24.2k followersAs a passionate believer in the democracy of reading, I don't think it's the task of the author of a book to tell the reader what it means.
The meaning of a story emerges in the meeting between the words on the page and the thoughts in the reader's mind. So when people ask me what I meant by this story, or what was the message I was trying to convey in that one, I have to explain that I'm not going to explain.
Anyway, I'm not in the message business; I'm in the "Once upon a time" business.
Philip Pullman is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. In 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He lives in Oxford, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
April 6, 2009
Possibly my favourite of all the Sally Lockhart books, which is funny since she personally is barely in this one, lol.
I really loved the whole Razkavia set-up, having most of it through young Becky's eyes, and having Jim play such a huge role in it this time round (I think I missed Jim more than I realised throughout most of Tiger in the Well, heh)
I loved how the plot kept you guessing right until the end. And there was hardly a dull moment. Even the ending didn't just sort of fizzle out. It began with action and ended with action. Absolutely great!
I'm so going to miss these characters. I shall no doubt spend time wondering what all the characters wound up doing after the events of this book, as I tend to do with these sorts of books, heh.
But yeah, 4 stars. I would have given it 5 but I'm pretty damn stingy with 5 star ratings, and gave Pullman's The Subtle Knife 5 stars, and that is still by far my favourite of his books that I've read.
I really loved the whole Razkavia set-up, having most of it through young Becky's eyes, and having Jim play such a huge role in it this time round (I think I missed Jim more than I realised throughout most of Tiger in the Well, heh)
I loved how the plot kept you guessing right until the end. And there was hardly a dull moment. Even the ending didn't just sort of fizzle out. It began with action and ended with action. Absolutely great!
I'm so going to miss these characters. I shall no doubt spend time wondering what all the characters wound up doing after the events of this book, as I tend to do with these sorts of books, heh.
But yeah, 4 stars. I would have given it 5 but I'm pretty damn stingy with 5 star ratings, and gave Pullman's The Subtle Knife 5 stars, and that is still by far my favourite of his books that I've read.
December 18, 2019
For my full review, visit me at: https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
I have finally reached the end of this series. Pacing myself by reading one book a month, I am glad to have kept on top of this set of books. Whilst they have not totally led on from one another, I have enjoyed keeping the story fresh in my head. This final book follows the same vein as its predecessors and I think Pullman was right not to continue the series.
For my full review, visit me at: https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
I have finally reached the end of this series. Pacing myself by reading one book a month, I am glad to have kept on top of this set of books. Whilst they have not totally led on from one another, I have enjoyed keeping the story fresh in my head. This final book follows the same vein as its predecessors and I think Pullman was right not to continue the series.
For my full review, visit me at: https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
December 16, 2015
For me The Tin Princess was not as successful as the other books in the Sally Lockhart quartet, probably because it is neither about Sally Lockhart or Victorian London, both of which are the thing that interested me about this YA series in the first place.
Some spoilers...
Instead the plot is about Razkavia a made up Germanic state in middle Europe. Where members of the royal family are being bumped off. Our heroes Jim and Becky fall into this world of royal-intrigue, by way of Adelaide, the little cockney sparrow of the first book, who by the most improbable turn of events has become a member of the Royal Family of Razkavia.
It's a broad exciting adventure well written, just like the first three books, but unlike those stories I didn't think that the starting point of this one, or in fact much that happened along the way, was credible for the characters. Especially for Jim and Adelaide, both London cockney street-kids, who are suddenly versed in enough German and state-craft in the space of a few chapter to out-manouveur a bunch of professional politicians and generals and to care enough to try and save a country to which they have no real attachments. I also didn't feel that they had as much emotional investment in the outcome of their story as Sally had in her adventures. The third main character, Becky seemed to be there to paper over some of these credibility gaps by witnessing how in love the other two were and how brave and how cunning etc. etc. Having said all that, it's still an enjoyable adventure romp, with lots of daring-do and action.
Some spoilers...
Instead the plot is about Razkavia a made up Germanic state in middle Europe. Where members of the royal family are being bumped off. Our heroes Jim and Becky fall into this world of royal-intrigue, by way of Adelaide, the little cockney sparrow of the first book, who by the most improbable turn of events has become a member of the Royal Family of Razkavia.
It's a broad exciting adventure well written, just like the first three books, but unlike those stories I didn't think that the starting point of this one, or in fact much that happened along the way, was credible for the characters. Especially for Jim and Adelaide, both London cockney street-kids, who are suddenly versed in enough German and state-craft in the space of a few chapter to out-manouveur a bunch of professional politicians and generals and to care enough to try and save a country to which they have no real attachments. I also didn't feel that they had as much emotional investment in the outcome of their story as Sally had in her adventures. The third main character, Becky seemed to be there to paper over some of these credibility gaps by witnessing how in love the other two were and how brave and how cunning etc. etc. Having said all that, it's still an enjoyable adventure romp, with lots of daring-do and action.
February 3, 2016
Tin trains, tin ships going down the whirlpool - you know what I am, Becky? I'm a tin princess. Like chess: I come all the way across the board and turned into a queen. Still only tin, though... Want a game of chess?
Un libro muy dulce que me cautivó con su ambiente del 1800, sus personajes carismáticos, el cambio gradual y notorio en la protagonista, y una intérprete de 16 años con ganas de comerse el mundo. No fue tanto por las intrigas políticas que te adelantan en la sinopsis, sino por cómo se fue desarrollando esta princesa de estaño: cómo ella, siendo inglesa, tomó responsabilidad de un trono que no le correspondía, tomó decisiones que no tendría por qué haber tomado y fue aclamada por todo un reino que necesitaba una figura a quien admirar.
LO MEJOR:
Los personajes , que hicieron de esta historia lo que es. En especial Jim y su grupito de estudiantes (más bien, espías/ladrones/luchadores). Adelaide también fue una hermosa sorpresa, porque el principio prometía algo muy diferente. Y Becky... bueno, cómo no quererla.
LO BUENO:
Razkavia , un reino a punto de ser comido por los países circundantes por sus minas de nickel y su tamaño pequeño. La bandera amarilla con el águila roja no puede faltar.
LO MALO:
La falta de emoción que me hizo leer este relativamente corto libro en tres días. Ya para el final no me tenía a la expectativa, y las ganas por conocer cómo terminaba fueron decayendo. Hubieran hecho falta más plot-twists, más traiciones, hechos menos predecibles y un final menos soso.
LO PEOR:
La falta de detalles, que era bastante común en Pullman en otros libros. Acá todo está contado muy a la ligera, si bien sigue teniendo una pluma excepcional. Tal vez se deba a que esta saga de libros fue publicada antes que His Dark Materials y todavía él estaba evolucionando como autor. Pero me costó conectar con la princesa, luego reina, de Razkavia, y con todos los personajes que la rodeaban.
Se sintió como un libro totalmente diferente a la saga de His Dark Materials, tanto por la temática como por la narración, al punto que me sonaban a distintos autores. Sin embargo, no deja de disfrutarse, y lo bueno de este libro en especial es que se puede leer sin haber leído los tres anteriores.
There was love, and there was honor, and when they clashed, it broke your heart.
June 14, 2020
I read the four books in a binge read. I loved them. I loved the strong independent and unusual female characters. They are not of their time but negotiate patriarchy successfully in their own right. The men in their lives are their equals and retain their manly deeds without undermining the women. The girls / women battled their own daring deeds too.
There are themes both explicit and implicit about war, slavery, pogroms, prostitution and corruption to name a few. These are woven into the texts so as to be completely ‘there’ but subtle too.
I think my 12 year old granddaughter would be able to read it and talk through anything she’s unsure of.
There are themes both explicit and implicit about war, slavery, pogroms, prostitution and corruption to name a few. These are woven into the texts so as to be completely ‘there’ but subtle too.
I think my 12 year old granddaughter would be able to read it and talk through anything she’s unsure of.
November 13, 2016
Lost count of how many times I've read this, but I haven't added it to GR before. I absolutely love this book. It's so vivid, and tragic, and the two girls at the centre are wonderful. This is an absolute comfort read for me.
October 24, 2015
As usual, Philip Pullman has written another fabulous story! It was very exciting and I just loved the characters, especially Jim and Adelaide. It was great how we returned to Adelaide, since we've had such a long time to wonder what on earth happened to her. And it was so fun that Jim was one of the main characters. He really needs his own series, actually :)
Now, the story was different from the others in that there was a large element that wasn't historical. The story is based on a fictional country called Razkavia, which is somewhere in Europe. Usually Pullman stays true to the facts, but I don't think this made the story worse; on the contrary, it was even better, because it was a Pullman-created country! It was like a smaller Germany, or a colony of Germany, but still (at the moment) independent. Anyhow, the story was really fun, though it didn't end how I had expected...but I won't give it away!
The only ..meh.. thing I found was that Sally wasn't in it. Instead, the protagonist is a girl named Becky, who does not have the fortitude and same draw of Sally, but is more homely and kind. I liked her, and didn't find that she diminished the book in any sense, but it would have been nice if, say, Jim had been the main POV character. We did have some scenes from his POV, but surprisingly none with Adelaide...I think this was purposeful, however, due to the gap from when we have last seen her (2 books ago). It is a sort of "unspoken" about what happened to Adelaide then, so we are purposefully not let "into" her mind to find out. In any case, it wasn't relevant to much of the story now, though I do think it would have been nice to have her POV too.
I also loved how we got some small scenes with different characters' POVs. They were really beautiful vignettes, though they still tied in well with the story. I especially loved the one with the German baker with the snowglobe...wow, Pullman sure knows how to craft a scene!
I'm so disappointed that this is the end of the Sally Lockhart mysteries! There could definitely be more--many more!
Now, the story was different from the others in that there was a large element that wasn't historical. The story is based on a fictional country called Razkavia, which is somewhere in Europe. Usually Pullman stays true to the facts, but I don't think this made the story worse; on the contrary, it was even better, because it was a Pullman-created country! It was like a smaller Germany, or a colony of Germany, but still (at the moment) independent. Anyhow, the story was really fun, though it didn't end how I had expected...but I won't give it away!
The only ..meh.. thing I found was that Sally wasn't in it. Instead, the protagonist is a girl named Becky, who does not have the fortitude and same draw of Sally, but is more homely and kind. I liked her, and didn't find that she diminished the book in any sense, but it would have been nice if, say, Jim had been the main POV character. We did have some scenes from his POV, but surprisingly none with Adelaide...I think this was purposeful, however, due to the gap from when we have last seen her (2 books ago). It is a sort of "unspoken" about what happened to Adelaide then, so we are purposefully not let "into" her mind to find out. In any case, it wasn't relevant to much of the story now, though I do think it would have been nice to have her POV too.
I also loved how we got some small scenes with different characters' POVs. They were really beautiful vignettes, though they still tied in well with the story. I especially loved the one with the German baker with the snowglobe...wow, Pullman sure knows how to craft a scene!
I'm so disappointed that this is the end of the Sally Lockhart mysteries! There could definitely be more--many more!
April 5, 2015
I haven't read the Tiger in the Well, so I have some mild spoilers for it, but this is brilliant! I absolutely love this style of Ruritanian fantasy/Gothic crime novel thing and I think this might be my favourite out of the three I've read.
September 10, 2020
It were my list favourite in the series. Sally was never in it. And I missed her and her set to solve cases. But I like the history part of the princess family and how much they have happened in real.
It was too read a mystery thriller series with a young female detective instead. I feel sorry for Philip Pullman that this series it' st mention so much as it is for "His dark material".
It was too read a mystery thriller series with a young female detective instead. I feel sorry for Philip Pullman that this series it' st mention so much as it is for "His dark material".
January 10, 2018
What a disappointing end to a quartet. This book starts off with such promise, and the plot and the writing style are brilliant (it's Philip Pullman, so of course they are), but there were a few things that marred my complete enjoyment of this story.
Firstly, there is the relationship between the three main characters, Jim, Adelaide, and Becky: what would have worked best as an amiable trio a la Harry Potter is instead portrayed as a couple and the third wheel. Where I should have felt sympathetic towards the two characters who have figured previously in this series - Jim and Adelaide - I instead felt an almost complete apathy towards them and a rush of sympathy for Becky, the newcomer. This is both because of the romantic relationship between Jim and Adelaide and Becky's unrequited love for Jim as well as for a separate reason: all three characters are equally clever, witty, and skilled in different ways, but it is only Becky who's talents are mostly unacknowledged and unappreciated, even by Pullman himself. Jim and Adelaide are given heaps of praise for their accomplishments whilst I can only remember one instance of recognition directed towards Becky.
I also thought the portrayal of mental illness in this novel was awkwardly handled: it felt as if Pullman didn't really know how to handle the subject or write characters who are mentally ill and relied on stereotypes instead of research. The two mentally ill characters in this novel, Carmen, and Prince Leopold, are portrayed sympathetically but with characterization which for the former is all over the place and for the latter is nonexistent.
My last, brief, issue with this novel is the ending, which felt abrupt and needlessly depressing, especially for the ultimate ending of the series. It's not that the ending wasn't satisfying or plausible, just that whatever hopes the characters had for the future felt unconvincing and more like a pretense than anything else.
Firstly, there is the relationship between the three main characters, Jim, Adelaide, and Becky: what would have worked best as an amiable trio a la Harry Potter is instead portrayed as a couple and the third wheel. Where I should have felt sympathetic towards the two characters who have figured previously in this series - Jim and Adelaide - I instead felt an almost complete apathy towards them and a rush of sympathy for Becky, the newcomer. This is both because of the romantic relationship between Jim and Adelaide and Becky's unrequited love for Jim as well as for a separate reason: all three characters are equally clever, witty, and skilled in different ways, but it is only Becky who's talents are mostly unacknowledged and unappreciated, even by Pullman himself. Jim and Adelaide are given heaps of praise for their accomplishments whilst I can only remember one instance of recognition directed towards Becky.
I also thought the portrayal of mental illness in this novel was awkwardly handled: it felt as if Pullman didn't really know how to handle the subject or write characters who are mentally ill and relied on stereotypes instead of research. The two mentally ill characters in this novel, Carmen, and Prince Leopold, are portrayed sympathetically but with characterization which for the former is all over the place and for the latter is nonexistent.
My last, brief, issue with this novel is the ending, which felt abrupt and needlessly depressing, especially for the ultimate ending of the series. It's not that the ending wasn't satisfying or plausible, just that whatever hopes the characters had for the future felt unconvincing and more like a pretense than anything else.
May 19, 2014
Despite how quickly I devoured the three first Sally Lockhart books, I took my time getting around the the fourth because, well, it's not about Sally. She only appears in the book very briefly. I shouldn't have waited so long.
The Tin Princess is a fast-paced, engrossing Victorian pulp, told with the keen eye for imperial politics and business that Pullman has brought to all the books in this series. Although I didn't remember Adelaide very well from the first time I met her, I quickly grew very attached to her, and Jim, and Becky. (It doesn't hurt that Jim Taylor was played in the BBC movie by Matt Smith, the newest Doctor.)
The book starts with Becky, a young expatriate living in London, with her mother, with a facility for languages and a thirst for adventure - in theory, anyway. Becky is engaged to teach German to Prince Rudolf of Razkavia's new bride, the aforementioned Adelaide, still half the street urchin we knew her as, but with the wit and ability to appear as gracious and anyone. A few assassination attempts later, and Adelaide, Becky and Jim are off to Razkavia, where they struggle to keep the country free from the imperial designs of Austria and Germany.
All four of these books are great reads for young adults, but also bring a keen eye to the troubles of Victorian England (how many young adult books do you know that go into great detail about the complicity of the British Empire in the opium trade, for instance? Or the legal position of unwed mothers in Victorian England? Or (in this one), the blind eye England turns to everything that is going on.)
The Tin Princess is a fast-paced, engrossing Victorian pulp, told with the keen eye for imperial politics and business that Pullman has brought to all the books in this series. Although I didn't remember Adelaide very well from the first time I met her, I quickly grew very attached to her, and Jim, and Becky. (It doesn't hurt that Jim Taylor was played in the BBC movie by Matt Smith, the newest Doctor.)
The book starts with Becky, a young expatriate living in London, with her mother, with a facility for languages and a thirst for adventure - in theory, anyway. Becky is engaged to teach German to Prince Rudolf of Razkavia's new bride, the aforementioned Adelaide, still half the street urchin we knew her as, but with the wit and ability to appear as gracious and anyone. A few assassination attempts later, and Adelaide, Becky and Jim are off to Razkavia, where they struggle to keep the country free from the imperial designs of Austria and Germany.
All four of these books are great reads for young adults, but also bring a keen eye to the troubles of Victorian England (how many young adult books do you know that go into great detail about the complicity of the British Empire in the opium trade, for instance? Or the legal position of unwed mothers in Victorian England? Or (in this one), the blind eye England turns to everything that is going on.)
January 19, 2014
Goodreads needs a "re-read" shelf for books like this one. It was as fun the second time as the first. This is one of my favorite Pullman books, right up there with the Dark Materials trilogy, though not as intense. You don't need to know anything about the Sally Lockhart books to read this one because it's a complete side story.
October 14, 2021
After His Dark Materials we need Sally Lockhart. If you have already completed the trilogy and want to continue reading Pullman, it is certainly pleasant although less stimulating than the previous ones. Be careful reading will be more difficult for slang and pale typical of another era (1800) that will often require you to resort to vocabulary. A not clean and didactic English, which requires a good level of language mastery to be enjoyable.
Want to read
November 22, 2023Found this at the library discard shop. I haven't read the others. Does anyone know if reading them out of order works?
May 13, 2018
First of all, I want to clear something up: this is not a Sally Lockhart book. While Sally is a side character, and it references past adventures, Sally is little more than referenced in passing. She's there at the very beginning and the very end of the book, but she's not by any means a significant character in The Tin Princess.
Now, I will get to my actual review of The Tin Princess itself.
I wasn't prepared to love The Tin Princess. Somehow, I expected it to be either a medieval or a fake Middle Eastern fantasy, which I really can't stand. So I was surprised when it was absolutely unputdownable, (although I had to read a chapter per night because school and life got in the way). It reads much more like a historical fiction than a fantasy, and in fact the only thing that seems to be made up is the country itself, aside from the characters, of course. From what I know about European power structures in the nineteenth century, it seems to be perfectly on par. All of the conspiracies match my understanding exactly of what the Europe was like. I haven't read a captivating historical fiction in a long time, so I was very happy to find this to be one.
One thing that often happens in novels where there is more than one speaker is that there is often at least one useless point of view. The main voices were Jim and Becky, and they were both so intriguing. Jim's dealt with all of the adventure and stealth of the novel, while Becky's was mostly through the view of best friend to the princess. I feel like if Adelaide had had chapters in her point of view, then maybe she would have been the useless point of view, but at the same time, Philip Pullman really knows how to make his characters and his story come alive.
I also loved how much of a feminist novel this was, considering the setting and the fact that it was written by a man. Both Adelaide and Becky absolutely step into their roles once in Razkavia, and while others question if they're doing as a woman should, neither of them ever do. Jim also doesn't, and the students he befriends believe in Adelaide's power just as much. It really shows women as stepping up to a challenge, even when it was never intended to be their role. I absolutely loved it.
The one reason why I am giving this a four star review instead of five is for the structure. There was a lot I didn't like about the way the story was set up. It took at least five chapters to get to the point where they were even in Razkavia, and then quite a few more until the action really started. Then, there were some really slow points and some points where everything was happening too fast and I just had no idea what was going on. This is especially true at the end of the novel, where I just wasn't sure who was dead and who was alive. Pullman was very ambiguous about the way everything played out, and it wasn't the best way to read the novel.
All in all, I loved the novel and it is definitely something I will pick up again (although my secondhand copy is so used and worn that the cover has completely fallen off). I also think I definitely need to read the Sally Lockhart Quartet to be able to get more out of the story.
Now, I will get to my actual review of The Tin Princess itself.
I wasn't prepared to love The Tin Princess. Somehow, I expected it to be either a medieval or a fake Middle Eastern fantasy, which I really can't stand. So I was surprised when it was absolutely unputdownable, (although I had to read a chapter per night because school and life got in the way). It reads much more like a historical fiction than a fantasy, and in fact the only thing that seems to be made up is the country itself, aside from the characters, of course. From what I know about European power structures in the nineteenth century, it seems to be perfectly on par. All of the conspiracies match my understanding exactly of what the Europe was like. I haven't read a captivating historical fiction in a long time, so I was very happy to find this to be one.
One thing that often happens in novels where there is more than one speaker is that there is often at least one useless point of view. The main voices were Jim and Becky, and they were both so intriguing. Jim's dealt with all of the adventure and stealth of the novel, while Becky's was mostly through the view of best friend to the princess. I feel like if Adelaide had had chapters in her point of view, then maybe she would have been the useless point of view, but at the same time, Philip Pullman really knows how to make his characters and his story come alive.
I also loved how much of a feminist novel this was, considering the setting and the fact that it was written by a man. Both Adelaide and Becky absolutely step into their roles once in Razkavia, and while others question if they're doing as a woman should, neither of them ever do. Jim also doesn't, and the students he befriends believe in Adelaide's power just as much. It really shows women as stepping up to a challenge, even when it was never intended to be their role. I absolutely loved it.
The one reason why I am giving this a four star review instead of five is for the structure. There was a lot I didn't like about the way the story was set up. It took at least five chapters to get to the point where they were even in Razkavia, and then quite a few more until the action really started. Then, there were some really slow points and some points where everything was happening too fast and I just had no idea what was going on. This is especially true at the end of the novel, where I just wasn't sure who was dead and who was alive. Pullman was very ambiguous about the way everything played out, and it wasn't the best way to read the novel.
All in all, I loved the novel and it is definitely something I will pick up again (although my secondhand copy is so used and worn that the cover has completely fallen off). I also think I definitely need to read the Sally Lockhart Quartet to be able to get more out of the story.
September 30, 2012
This was the second book I ever read in the Sally Lockhart series and I honestly really liked it apart from one thing, which make me hate the book more and more as I re-read it:
Adelaide.
Boy, isn't she just annoying?! Every chapter contains at least a paragraph of praise and I guess what's supposed to be a awe-inspiring descriptions of how Adelaide's beauty and 'charming-psychopath' personality mesmerizes everyone around her. Yes, Pullman we get it: everybody loves her bossy, unpleasant personality, could you please stop mentioning it EVERY single time she is introduced to a new character? In the end, Adelaide really comes across as a Mary Sue!
There is plenty of praise for the unpleasant and ill-tempered Adelaide but none for her kindhearted, plain interpreter Becky, whom Adelaide tells of at any given opportunity. Pullman should realize that it is such characters people find interesting, and wish a happy ending for! Instead of balancing the happy ending out, Adelaide ends up with the guy, the good looks and, if we are to believe she takes up Becky's suggestion that she might become an actress, a bright looking future. Becky's beau(whom she get two, semi romantic moments with) ends up leaving to an uncertain future and Becky herself under a shelf.
You can tell that Pullman tried to create 'another Sally' in Adelaide: tried to give her many dimensions(her ruthlessness vs. princess qualities) but she just comes out as flat. He puts so much effort into making the reader love Adelaide that all the other characters just get to stand around as theater props, which creates too many loose ends.
It's a pity, really: I find Pullman choice of setting for the novel(1880's Europe) exciting and refreshing and the plot wonderful but his characters are too two dimensional! You have a kingdom on the brink of abyss; Bismarck and a German invasion; a swashbuckling flight; bombs; gun fights; mystery yet the tale ends up feeling flat. A pity.
Adelaide.
Boy, isn't she just annoying?! Every chapter contains at least a paragraph of praise and I guess what's supposed to be a awe-inspiring descriptions of how Adelaide's beauty and 'charming-psychopath' personality mesmerizes everyone around her. Yes, Pullman we get it: everybody loves her bossy, unpleasant personality, could you please stop mentioning it EVERY single time she is introduced to a new character? In the end, Adelaide really comes across as a Mary Sue!
There is plenty of praise for the unpleasant and ill-tempered Adelaide but none for her kindhearted, plain interpreter Becky, whom Adelaide tells of at any given opportunity. Pullman should realize that it is such characters people find interesting, and wish a happy ending for! Instead of balancing the happy ending out, Adelaide ends up with the guy, the good looks and, if we are to believe she takes up Becky's suggestion that she might become an actress, a bright looking future. Becky's beau(whom she get two, semi romantic moments with) ends up leaving to an uncertain future and Becky herself under a shelf.
You can tell that Pullman tried to create 'another Sally' in Adelaide: tried to give her many dimensions(her ruthlessness vs. princess qualities) but she just comes out as flat. He puts so much effort into making the reader love Adelaide that all the other characters just get to stand around as theater props, which creates too many loose ends.
It's a pity, really: I find Pullman choice of setting for the novel(1880's Europe) exciting and refreshing and the plot wonderful but his characters are too two dimensional! You have a kingdom on the brink of abyss; Bismarck and a German invasion; a swashbuckling flight; bombs; gun fights; mystery yet the tale ends up feeling flat. A pity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2010
Maybe the weakest of Pullman's Victorian era novels, The Tin Princess borrows heavily (and intentionally) from late 19th century adventure novels and comes complete with a made up Slavic Kingdom, but despite its way to-good-to-be true conclusion I can't help but love it. I have a soft spot for Jim Taylor.
But I cannot ignore the book's conclusion. Stop if you've heard this rant before. Pullman seems to think that sex leads to either death or separation. Sally and Fred hook-up and Fred immediately dies in a fire (for no reason at all - one of the all time worst character deaths ever written). Lyra and Will hook up (they did, get over it people) and are sent off to their respective worlds for the rest of their lives (I still don't completely buy the reasoning). As if on autopilot, Jim and Adelaide finally have a moment alone, and then, in a completely relevant and plot driven twist (shocking!), almost get killed by men with guns who have been chasing them. And yet this is the time that Pullman says, no, even though Jim's been shot six times, let's have him miraculously survive so he can have a happy ending. I mean, I could never kill Jim either, but the whole things seems a little ridiculous.
But I cannot ignore the book's conclusion. Stop if you've heard this rant before. Pullman seems to think that sex leads to either death or separation. Sally and Fred hook-up and Fred immediately dies in a fire (for no reason at all - one of the all time worst character deaths ever written). Lyra and Will hook up (they did, get over it people) and are sent off to their respective worlds for the rest of their lives (I still don't completely buy the reasoning). As if on autopilot, Jim and Adelaide finally have a moment alone, and then, in a completely relevant and plot driven twist (shocking!), almost get killed by men with guns who have been chasing them. And yet this is the time that Pullman says, no, even though Jim's been shot six times, let's have him miraculously survive so he can have a happy ending. I mean, I could never kill Jim either, but the whole things seems a little ridiculous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2016
Why are Philip Pullman's endings always so sad...
Loved the book, though not his best. It certainly raked up the emotions inside me.
Loved the book, though not his best. It certainly raked up the emotions inside me.
July 30, 2022
I have to wonder if this was an attempt at creating a spinoff from the Sally Lockhart series and when that didn’t pan out they just shoved it in as the fourth book in the original series. There is very little Sally in fact she’s in it so little it makes Jim’s appearance in the last book look like a staring role.
Instead of Sally we are introduced to Becky who is ably supported in her adventures by Jim and some new characters. Apart from the change in protagonist the book is also different in that the majority is set in the made up country of Razkavia rather than the familiar streets of Victorian London we have grown to love over the past three books. For me these two major changes to the usual entries in the series were not quite successful and I think it would have been better as a separate completely unconnected stand alone novel.
The storyline is very unrealistic. I find it very hard to believe that the characters we have seen in previous books would ever end up in the positions they find themselves in here. It’s just not credible. The romance is also not great.
Despite all that the book isn’t all bad. There is a lot of action and some really exciting scenes that keeps the pace flying.
2022 Goals – Series up to date/completed
Instead of Sally we are introduced to Becky who is ably supported in her adventures by Jim and some new characters. Apart from the change in protagonist the book is also different in that the majority is set in the made up country of Razkavia rather than the familiar streets of Victorian London we have grown to love over the past three books. For me these two major changes to the usual entries in the series were not quite successful and I think it would have been better as a separate completely unconnected stand alone novel.
The storyline is very unrealistic. I find it very hard to believe that the characters we have seen in previous books would ever end up in the positions they find themselves in here. It’s just not credible. The romance is also not great.
Despite all that the book isn’t all bad. There is a lot of action and some really exciting scenes that keeps the pace flying.
2022 Goals – Series up to date/completed
January 12, 2021
A fast paced historical YA adventure set in the fictional European country of Razakavia. The setting is well done with Bismarck trying to take over the small country while the newly minted "tin princess" Adelaide trying to outmaneuver all to save the small nation. The characters are endearing and the plot presents with many twists and turns. Fun read.
September 26, 2019
Probably my favourite of the SL quartet which seems horribly disloyal to Sally as she hardly features (and I mean at all). The characters, setting and plot were absorbing and I enjoyed the ambiguity of the ending.
February 12, 2018
I hadn't read anything else in the Sally Lockhart series, which likely affected the degree to which I knew what was going on, though Pullman is such a good storyteller that I went along with it contentedly anyway. And hey, I always like a made-up tiny country with royalty and stuff.
January 27, 2020
普曼這個系列實在不如《黑暗元素》三部曲，特別是結尾這部《錫公主》，給新女主硬加的黑��背景、對乞丐王子的戲仿結合得不夠緊，很浮很卡通化很輕小說……
July 30, 2019
I expected to like this more. When I read the Golden Compass trilogy I thought I remembered it being very feminist and class conscious. This was sort of like that but with a side-order of gender essentialism and individualism that I guess I was not as sensitive to before I went back to uni.
Jim is the romantic lead I suppose. He is a swashbuckling adventurer- fearless, decisive and charming. Adelaide is the queen- I enjoyed that she was intelligent and came from a poor back-ground. The sex-work episode of her life left me ambivalent...on the one hand it was good how matter-of-fact it was taken by her friends, on the other there was shades of the Pretty Woman trope that male heterosexual authors seem to love so much- it was however underplayed enough to be forgiven. There were aspects of Adelaide I liked but I was irritated how often her beauty, charm and smallness were featured and the (admittedly mild) fat-shaming of Becky. I didn't see why Becky was consistently presented as not quite measuring up to Adelaide, I felt indignant on her behalf. I thought their relationship could have been more equal given circumstances and given how much Adelaide in fact needed her.
I didn't get a good impression of Sally Lockhart from this which surprised me...but if could just be that she got too powerful and rounded off in earlier books and had to be this "larger than life" hovering figure now for continuity. That can happen and you have to read all the books to really appreciate that. So that also is forgiven.
I started off thinking I was loving the book, then that it was still very good though not five star but I ended up merely liking it with traces of irritation. I thought I was going to recommend it to everyone based on how I felt about the beginning but now...I just think it is neither the best nor worst of my reads this year, solidly somewhere in the middle.
Jim is the romantic lead I suppose. He is a swashbuckling adventurer- fearless, decisive and charming. Adelaide is the queen- I enjoyed that she was intelligent and came from a poor back-ground. The sex-work episode of her life left me ambivalent...on the one hand it was good how matter-of-fact it was taken by her friends, on the other there was shades of the Pretty Woman trope that male heterosexual authors seem to love so much- it was however underplayed enough to be forgiven. There were aspects of Adelaide I liked but I was irritated how often her beauty, charm and smallness were featured and the (admittedly mild) fat-shaming of Becky. I didn't see why Becky was consistently presented as not quite measuring up to Adelaide, I felt indignant on her behalf. I thought their relationship could have been more equal given circumstances and given how much Adelaide in fact needed her.
I didn't get a good impression of Sally Lockhart from this which surprised me...but if could just be that she got too powerful and rounded off in earlier books and had to be this "larger than life" hovering figure now for continuity. That can happen and you have to read all the books to really appreciate that. So that also is forgiven.
I started off thinking I was loving the book, then that it was still very good though not five star but I ended up merely liking it with traces of irritation. I thought I was going to recommend it to everyone based on how I felt about the beginning but now...I just think it is neither the best nor worst of my reads this year, solidly somewhere in the middle.
September 2, 2017
A rollicking old-fashioned melodrama, which takes some of the characters from the earlier Sally Lockhart books (Jim Taylor and little Adelaide) and transfers them to a little made-up country in Central Europe. There they battle evil plots and international intrigue and poisonings and murder and true love, all in an attempt to save a kingdom.
Lots of people die in this, including people the reader has come to care about (and a kitten). And in some ways the plot is quite predictable; I could have told you the broad strokes of the plot to come as soon as the first murder took place. Still, the execution is about as good as could be hoped for, and I did love the three protagonists. Their adventures during the culminating conflagration kept my heart in my throat throughout, and that's a compliment.
I do regret a bit that the team that adapted the first two Lockhart books for TV were unable to finish the series (due in large part to Jim Taylor's actor, Matt Smith, becoming Doctor Who, which is a life-altering and all-consuming kind of role). I think Smith would have been an excellent Jim for this novel, and if they could have found an equally excellent Adelaide, it would have been quite good.
Lots of people die in this, including people the reader has come to care about (and a kitten). And in some ways the plot is quite predictable; I could have told you the broad strokes of the plot to come as soon as the first murder took place. Still, the execution is about as good as could be hoped for, and I did love the three protagonists. Their adventures during the culminating conflagration kept my heart in my throat throughout, and that's a compliment.
I do regret a bit that the team that adapted the first two Lockhart books for TV were unable to finish the series (due in large part to Jim Taylor's actor, Matt Smith, becoming Doctor Who, which is a life-altering and all-consuming kind of role). I think Smith would have been an excellent Jim for this novel, and if they could have found an equally excellent Adelaide, it would have been quite good.
October 31, 2018
Story
The story wasn't altogether what I expected it to be. There was a lot more politics involved, and the main characters felt sort of...detached from the writing, somehow. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, and I think the author carried it out well, it was just lacking something. It was interesting most of the time, but it did get pretty boring in certain parts, and every-once-in-a-while I forgot what was happening just because there was so much going on. I also wasn't too keen on the random switching between third and first-person narrative.
Characters
None of them were developed the way I would have liked to have seen. The book starts off with the focus on Becky, and ends with her as well, making it seem like she is the most important of the main characters. However, Adelaide and Jim are more idolized by the writing, and I suppose they are supposed to be the main focus here. That being said, I really enjoyed reading about Becky. If she were to be expanded upon, I can see her being the most interesting and fun character of them all.
2.5/5
This was a fun read, and I was able to read and understand it without having read any of the previous books. I appreciated the authentic feel to the book, but there just wasn't enough "uumph" in it for me.
The story wasn't altogether what I expected it to be. There was a lot more politics involved, and the main characters felt sort of...detached from the writing, somehow. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, and I think the author carried it out well, it was just lacking something. It was interesting most of the time, but it did get pretty boring in certain parts, and every-once-in-a-while I forgot what was happening just because there was so much going on. I also wasn't too keen on the random switching between third and first-person narrative.
Characters
None of them were developed the way I would have liked to have seen. The book starts off with the focus on Becky, and ends with her as well, making it seem like she is the most important of the main characters. However, Adelaide and Jim are more idolized by the writing, and I suppose they are supposed to be the main focus here. That being said, I really enjoyed reading about Becky. If she were to be expanded upon, I can see her being the most interesting and fun character of them all.
2.5/5
This was a fun read, and I was able to read and understand it without having read any of the previous books. I appreciated the authentic feel to the book, but there just wasn't enough "uumph" in it for me.
April 29, 2009
Somehow I'm even more sad than I was when I finished the final Harry Potter book. This series is so, so, so, so made of awesome. And I can't help but love it. And adore it.
Never mind that I really don't get what Mr Pullman is trying to do at the end of The Tin Princess. Okay, I needed some time to get into this Razkavian stuff and get used to the fact that Sally wouldn't play a big part in this one. But after the first 100 pages I really loved it. When I came to the final 5 pages I thought: Well. Save and sound, every one. That's nice.
But then this Spanish actress appears and attacks Becky out of the blue. And she dies. No one knows what happened to Becky afterwards. I mean, is it my lack of language knowledge that doesn't make me feel satisfied with this? No explanation and all that, and I even searched the internet for a few information, but I found nothing. Hm. Very weird.
Anyway, I loved all those German bits he put in. Hehe, there actually were a few mistakes, but never mind. Loved it anyway.
Never mind that I really don't get what Mr Pullman is trying to do at the end of The Tin Princess. Okay, I needed some time to get into this Razkavian stuff and get used to the fact that Sally wouldn't play a big part in this one. But after the first 100 pages I really loved it. When I came to the final 5 pages I thought: Well. Save and sound, every one. That's nice.
But then this Spanish actress appears and attacks Becky out of the blue. And she dies. No one knows what happened to Becky afterwards. I mean, is it my lack of language knowledge that doesn't make me feel satisfied with this? No explanation and all that, and I even searched the internet for a few information, but I found nothing. Hm. Very weird.
Anyway, I loved all those German bits he put in. Hehe, there actually were a few mistakes, but never mind. Loved it anyway.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2009
This is almost a standalone in the Lockheart series -- it's certainly the one that's easiest to pick up and reread quickly, and that's because it doesn't really dive into Sally Lockheart's life. This one's all about Jim Taylor.
I love Jim unabashedly. He's cheeky and clever and quick, with a strong sense of right and wrong. It's great to see him in the centre of his own story, as I always wanted more of him in Sally's books. Now that he's grown up a bit and is finally the ringleader of his own investigations, he finds himself with an oddly familiar girl and massive European royalty scandal on his hands.
The setting is enthralling, the politics a little more fantastic than the previous books, and a long-ago mystery is finally somewhat solved. But like I said: it's Jim. I'd read about him whatever he did, because anything he does is fun.
I love Jim unabashedly. He's cheeky and clever and quick, with a strong sense of right and wrong. It's great to see him in the centre of his own story, as I always wanted more of him in Sally's books. Now that he's grown up a bit and is finally the ringleader of his own investigations, he finds himself with an oddly familiar girl and massive European royalty scandal on his hands.
The setting is enthralling, the politics a little more fantastic than the previous books, and a long-ago mystery is finally somewhat solved. But like I said: it's Jim. I'd read about him whatever he did, because anything he does is fun.
August 31, 2009
This is a sort-of sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke et al., and okay, it's kind of a cheesy sequel. But oh, the characters! Seeing Jim and Adelaide all grown up, and Sally as a matron, is fun without being corny; and Becky and the new minor characters are wonderful enough that you can mostly ignore the rags-to-riches-to-royalty story the book is ostensibly about.
I think of it as really extremely good self-fanfiction. If you enjoyed the three books in the series proper, and can keep that description in mind, you'll probably enjoy this. (JIM!!!)
I think of it as really extremely good self-fanfiction. If you enjoyed the three books in the series proper, and can keep that description in mind, you'll probably enjoy this. (JIM!!!)
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