The Imagination Chamber
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-01 09:51:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Philip Pullman
- ISBN：0702315516
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Josh Turner
，
I never thought I'd ever give a dark materials tie in book a low score but slowly these short stories have gone from a quick five minutes to a small collection of scrap thoughts on a page， they dont add to the story， they dont make me feel anything extra， it feels like a phillip pullman notebook accidentally got shredded and fell into a nice book cover I never thought I'd ever give a dark materials tie in book a low score but slowly these short stories have gone from a quick five minutes to a small collection of scrap thoughts on a page， they dont add to the story， they dont make me feel anything extra， it feels like a phillip pullman notebook accidentally got shredded and fell into a nice book cover 。。。more
Jake Chaplin
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There's a certain beauty to these small snippets that makes me appreciate His Dark Materials all the more。 There's a certain beauty to these small snippets that makes me appreciate His Dark Materials all the more。 。。。more
Megan
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Overpriced for what it is。 But I’ll buy anything Pullman writes set in this universe， and loved the glimpses of grown-up Will。
Derek Winterburn
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Publishing this as a hardback book is an astonishing insult to Pullman fans。 The price might be fair if the book was full of text but it is over half empty。 And what Pullman offers his readings seems to be little more than some paragraphs that were cut from other books。 A more appropriate offer would have been simply to put up a series of blogposts for anyone to read and comment on。 This book is a massive misjudgement by all involved， even if it breaks even。 I feel conned。
Lara
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This was a really interesting concept。 I felt like I was entering the mind of Philip Pullman。 It made the characters from the trilogy seem even more real （if that's possible）。 This was a really interesting concept。 I felt like I was entering the mind of Philip Pullman。 It made the characters from the trilogy seem even more real （if that's possible）。 。。。more
Chris
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Picture a mood board for interior design， or an evidence board for a police investigation: its images， press clippings and suggestions of cross-links are there to explore relationships， build a bigger picture and perhaps lead to conclusions。Philip Pullman likes the metaphor of a cloud chamber， in which “the passage of charged particles， or cosmic rays” are made visible; he believes his mind “has become accustomed to working like a cloud chamber， in which minute particles charged with story can f Picture a mood board for interior design， or an evidence board for a police investigation: its images， press clippings and suggestions of cross-links are there to explore relationships， build a bigger picture and perhaps lead to conclusions。Philip Pullman likes the metaphor of a cloud chamber， in which “the passage of charged particles， or cosmic rays” are made visible; he believes his mind “has become accustomed to working like a cloud chamber， in which minute particles charged with story can find something to condense around them and make them visible for a fleeting moment。”Mood board， evidence board or cloud chamber – The Imagination Chamber is a collection of those very particles charged with story which throws light on Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust。 Since 2007 some have been published in various editions under the heading Lantern Slides （the 2011 one-volume compendium in Everyman’s Library contains nine of these）; a total of forty-two are included here， many apparently for the first time。For anyone who’s a fan of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust this may be a wonderful reminder of incidents， scenes and characters， or glimpses of niches or corners in the otherwise familiar narratives which would repay investigation: Lyra’s scowling face for the annual photogram， the endless steppes of Central Asia， the cause of Jordan College’s Master’s food poisoning， the softer side of Mrs Lonsdale， Will’s subtle surgeon-like skills a hint of the future， the contradictory stories told to Lyra about the fate of her mother…Some of the entries are short， almost epigrammatic， for example: On the beach， the alethiometer suddenly inert in Lyra’s hands， as if it had abandoned her。 Some are longer – though never longer than a page – enigmatic vignettes that give glimpses of infinite perspectives， as when Mary Malone gradually comprehends how the mulefa understand their history， although never discovering whether they had a concept of fiction。One entry is a self-referential consideration of the storyteller’s art， namely drawing out a tale from notional scraps of paper with writing divorced from a context， watching “a story growing out in every direction like frost on a window pane。” Whether they’re used consciously or not， each is a potential seed which can develop in unpredictable ways; and The Imagination Chamber is full of such examples。Published while the author still works on the final volume of The Book of Dust this could be seen as a stopgap offering consisting of a collection of aphorisms and vignettes， or an expensive publication cynically cashing in on readers’ desire for more on Pullman’s multiverse。 Pages intentionally left blank opposite each entry and the lack of images other than Pullman’s raven dæmon （designed by John Lawrence） may suggest the latter。 Personally I’m in the former camp， appreciating the mood board and watching out for the trails created by those charged particles。 。。。more
Philip
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I had loved Pullman's series of 'Lantern Slides' - little extra snippets from his acclaimed 'His Dark Materials' series。 They were all wonderfully written and full of heart and warmth。 I did raise an eyebrow when it was announced that Pullman would be writing a load more and bundling them together in an expensive volume。 And unfortunately it is just as much of a cashgrab as I imagined it to be。 Very few of the new writings add anything to the legacy of the original books， nor do they at all shin I had loved Pullman's series of 'Lantern Slides' - little extra snippets from his acclaimed 'His Dark Materials' series。 They were all wonderfully written and full of heart and warmth。 I did raise an eyebrow when it was announced that Pullman would be writing a load more and bundling them together in an expensive volume。 And unfortunately it is just as much of a cashgrab as I imagined it to be。 Very few of the new writings add anything to the legacy of the original books， nor do they at all shine a light on Pullman's newer trilogy 'The Book of Dust。' They all just sound a bit pompous and overblown。 Oh and over half the pages are left blank - gosh this £11， 96 page book really did need some padding。 2 stars。 。。。more
Felicity
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Ok。 I went into Waterstones yesterday just to browse and ended up buying this book。。。。Yes， it is expensive for the fact it is only 85 pages long although really it is 42 as the facing pages are blank， However， the book is beautiful to look at and I am a fan of HDM so I loved the little insights in to characters from Lyra and Will to Mrs Coulter， Lord Asriel and Malcolm。 A lovely little book although you might want to wait until it is in paper back unless you are a big HDM fan。
Sue Frances
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A book like no other。 A glimpse into Lyra's world and an insight into Philip Pullmans mind。 I loved it。 A book like no other。 A glimpse into Lyra's world and an insight into Philip Pullmans mind。 I loved it。 。。。more
Claire
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It’s a beautiful little book full of snippets about the characters in the ‘His Dark Materials’ universe。Some are thought provoking。 Some are descriptive。 Some are characterisations。 Anyone really familiar with the universe will appreciate these small insights - evoking images， sounds & smells in the reader。
Emily Pallett
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This book is pure treasure。 It is little snippets of Lyra’s world。 Little secretes， little answers， little pieces of gold written by a beautiful wizard of words。
Jamie Sherwood
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The book looks and feels beautiful， with nice thick pages， a textured front and a lovely type， but content wise this is really one for hardcore fans。 Some of the thoughts are nice， others fairly hard to care about。 I really admire Pullman， but this is more of a gift book than a book you'd treasure。 The book looks and feels beautiful， with nice thick pages， a textured front and a lovely type， but content wise this is really one for hardcore fans。 Some of the thoughts are nice， others fairly hard to care about。 I really admire Pullman， but this is more of a gift book than a book you'd treasure。 。。。more
Lottie
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Not a new story - more like deleted scenesUnfortunately， I pre ordered this book thinking it would be a new story， even if a short side adventure。 Instead it is a selection of paragraphs （at times little more than a few lines） that could have been， but were not， in the original His Dark Materials。 While they do add some nice flourish to some well loved characters， being read out of context means I found them adding minimal value to my personal experience/enjoyment of the trilogy。 Perhaps it woul Not a new story - more like deleted scenesUnfortunately， I pre ordered this book thinking it would be a new story， even if a short side adventure。 Instead it is a selection of paragraphs （at times little more than a few lines） that could have been， but were not， in the original His Dark Materials。 While they do add some nice flourish to some well loved characters， being read out of context means I found them adding minimal value to my personal experience/enjoyment of the trilogy。 Perhaps it would be better read straight after the original novels， almost like deleted scenes from a film。 。。。more
Melanie Reynard
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The reason this gets 4 stars and not 5 is because it is a short read and could be described as a selection of moments， rather than other companion books （i。e。 The Serpentine， which is more of a short story）。That said， I love the concept of story particles and these vignettes or moments revisiting the characters we know so well are divine。 It’s nice to see glimpses of Will as a young man。 It makes me wonder if he will reappear for Book 3 of The Book of Dust。
Gaetano Setticasi
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 As a huge fan of His Dark Materials， I was looking forward to this companion novel。It was a really interesting read but way too short。 These pieces in my opinion could have easily been published online considering the length， surely though it's a must have for any fan of His Dark Materials， especially for those who don't have the Lantern Slides editions。The page dedicated to Will （which gave me good hopes for the third novel of The Book Of Dust） was wonderful and all those with Lyra at Jordan Co As a huge fan of His Dark Materials， I was looking forward to this companion novel。It was a really interesting read but way too short。 These pieces in my opinion could have easily been published online considering the length， surely though it's a must have for any fan of His Dark Materials， especially for those who don't have the Lantern Slides editions。The page dedicated to Will （which gave me good hopes for the third novel of The Book Of Dust） was wonderful and all those with Lyra at Jordan College were great as well。 It always warms my heart to see what she did as a child at Oxford and reading about how she imagined her parents really moved me。 。。。more
Sara
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I was looking forward to reading this book （if it can be called a book） and I did enjoy what little there was。 However， I am very disappointed about how little there actually is especially as only half of the book has text on it and often only 4 lines if there is text。
Ali-pie
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I love HDM enough that I'm very happy to get even a little bit of extra content， and there were a few gems in here。 I was expecting short finished scenes of about a paragraph to a couple of pages but a lot of these are unfinished thoughts of just a sentence- I don't think any even filled a page。 It probably would have been better to publish this in one volume with The Collectors， or to have illustrations， but I still enjoyed it and I am a bit of a completist。（Tbh I will be a bit annoyed if they I love HDM enough that I'm very happy to get even a little bit of extra content， and there were a few gems in here。 I was expecting short finished scenes of about a paragraph to a couple of pages but a lot of these are unfinished thoughts of just a sentence- I don't think any even filled a page。 It probably would have been better to publish this in one volume with The Collectors， or to have illustrations， but I still enjoyed it and I am a bit of a completist。（Tbh I will be a bit annoyed if they do end up putting out an illustrated edition as I feel like this franchise does that kind of thing a lot and it feels unfair on the loyal fans who buy stuff immediately） 。。。more
Sarah
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The book itself is beautiful， but the content is snippets from the Dark Materials 'verse - not short stories， or paragraphs， just little snatches of ideas and images。 The words are great， and feature some favourite characters， but it's a lot of money for what it is and sadly I don't think the content was made clear。 This could have been a small gift type book。 The book itself is beautiful， but the content is snippets from the Dark Materials 'verse - not short stories， or paragraphs， just little snatches of ideas and images。 The words are great， and feature some favourite characters， but it's a lot of money for what it is and sadly I don't think the content was made clear。 This could have been a small gift type book。 。。。more
Ian Clark
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Disappointingly brief！
Ciaran McGuiggan
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Takes less than hour to read。 Feels like a collection of thoughts he had lying about and then stuck them in a book。 Not worth the money but was nice to spend time in the dark materials universe again！
Lisa of Troy
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The Imagination Chamber: Cosmic Rays from Lyra’s Universe is the latest work from Philip Pullman。 He is my favorite author！Way back on January 21， Philip Pullman announced the release of The Imagination Chamber on Twitter， and I put in my order at Waterstones， a UK bookstore。This short book， 85 pages in length， is simply gorgeous and high quality。 The cover feels like linen， and the pages themselves are extremely thick。 In other words， the feel of this book in your hands is magic。 Usually， I lik The Imagination Chamber: Cosmic Rays from Lyra’s Universe is the latest work from Philip Pullman。 He is my favorite author！Way back on January 21， Philip Pullman announced the release of The Imagination Chamber on Twitter， and I put in my order at Waterstones， a UK bookstore。This short book， 85 pages in length， is simply gorgeous and high quality。 The cover feels like linen， and the pages themselves are extremely thick。 In other words， the feel of this book in your hands is magic。 Usually， I like to have ebooks to conserve my limited space， but this book is such a tactile phenomena。 Additionally， the pages are tinted red。 The publisher， Scholastic， spared no expense putting this delightful book together。This book is a bit different than any of Philip Pullman’s other works。 For example， it is not exactly a short story。 Most pages only contain one paragraph。 Some pages contain as many as four paragraphs。 This book is meant to be cosmic rays from the imagination chamber。 They are very short little bursts of brilliance。 Each one of the pages could lead to a book or chapter in its own right。 This would make a great gift to anyone with a penchant for writing。The Imagination Chamber proves just how brilliant Pullman is。 He has developed a world that has so many interesting characters with rich backstory。 Who will make it into the final book？Pullman， I saw it。 Page 51。 “A beautiful blue cat-daemon was gazing up at her。 When Lyra was nine or ten she went there on her own， often， and sat in front of the picture， whispering to her。”As for the writing itself， Pullman does not disappoint。 However， The Imagination Chamber does refer to characters in His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust。 This book will make much more sense if you have read the two series first。The last page of the book makes me cry。 I can’t help but think of the parallels between Farder Coram and Philip Pullman， how he is starting to contemplate how everything will come to an end。 Can he find the words to pull off one last spectacular novel？ The play on words in the previous sentence is intentional。The Imagination Chamber might give some hints as to what is to come in the third book of The Book of Dust series。 Fans （including myself） have been asking for the release date of the final installation in The Book of Dust for years now。 In the beginning of the book， Pullman shares his experience writing the final book in the series。 There is some hope though！ In the “Selected Works by Philip Pullman” page， under THE BOOK OF DUST， it states， “Book three coming soon”！！！！！！！The Imagination Chamber is a perfect gift for those fans of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust， especially those still waiting， patiently or impatiently， for the final book in The Book of Dust series。Need more bookish thoughts？ Check out Lisa of Troy’s homepage！2022 Reading ScheduleJan Animal FarmFeb Lord of the FliesMar The Da Vinci CodeApr Of Mice and MenMay Memoirs of a GeishaJun Little WomenJul The Lovely BonesAug Charlotte's WebSep Life of PiOct DraculaNov Gone with the WindDec The Secret GardenConnect With Me！Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook 。。。more
Lizz
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Well written and beautiful but a bit pointless。。。clearly a filler until the third Book Of Dust is released。 Took me literally 8 minutes to read this book。
Clare
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Some nice little snippets to get you back into the worlds of the Book of Dust but just left me wanting the final book now please！
Audrey
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3 étoiles c'est même trop。 😅Vraiment juste un objet de collection pour les fans de l'univers de 'À la croisée des mondes'。 3 étoiles c'est même trop。 😅Vraiment juste un objet de collection pour les fans de l'univers de 'À la croisée des mondes'。 。。。more
Lorenzo
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Prima di tutto bisogna ammettere che questo libro è per i fan della saga， non per i lettori "casuali"。 Non capisco le recensioni negative che ha ricevuto， certo avrebbero potuto accompagnare i testi con dei disegni （da qui le mie 4 stelle anziché 5）， però si sa cosa si sta andando a comprare。 Non un romanzo， ma un libro con piccole scene "tagliate" o in più dalla trilogia。 Un piccolo aperitivo da leggere mentre si aspetta il terzo de Il Libro della Polvere。 Prima di tutto bisogna ammettere che questo libro è per i fan della saga， non per i lettori "casuali"。 Non capisco le recensioni negative che ha ricevuto， certo avrebbero potuto accompagnare i testi con dei disegni （da qui le mie 4 stelle anziché 5）， però si sa cosa si sta andando a comprare。 Non un romanzo， ma un libro con piccole scene "tagliate" o in più dalla trilogia。 Un piccolo aperitivo da leggere mentre si aspetta il terzo de Il Libro della Polvere。 。。。more
Hannah Govan
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I was so excited for this and had it on preorder， but was really disappointed。 Only took around 30 minutes to read the whole book。
Kirsty Cabot
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Beautifully packaged， light on content， but some nice tidbits。Would’ve been peeved had I paid £13 for it。 £6 still felt a bit much。
Chloe
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This is a pretty book containing some beautiful little pieces of writing， but I read it in 15 minutes and felt like it was lacking a lot。 More could have been done to make this more special for the loyal fans like me who preordered it。
Gabriella
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Sorry but this gets a solid 'meh' from me。 Not worth £13。 There's so little content inside， and sooo much blank space that could've been used to include some illustrations at the very least。 Some of the tidbits were interesting to read – particularly the ones that give insight into what Will went on to do as an adult， but overall it was underwhelming。 The synopsis made me think we were going to find out more world-building details， but most of the content is just random information about existin Sorry but this gets a solid 'meh' from me。 Not worth £13。 There's so little content inside， and sooo much blank space that could've been used to include some illustrations at the very least。 Some of the tidbits were interesting to read – particularly the ones that give insight into what Will went on to do as an adult， but overall it was underwhelming。 The synopsis made me think we were going to find out more world-building details， but most of the content is just random information about existing characters。 。。。more
Giu
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Made me feel like I was back in Lyra’s world。 That was all I wanted from this book。 ✨
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Imagination Chamber
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Imagination Chamber&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft