Philip Pullman, The Ruby in the Smoke Reviews

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Philip Pullman, The Ruby in the Smoke
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Latest Reviews

“Worst book I've ever read”

★☆☆☆☆

written by gingerds on 23/11/2012

The Ruby in the Smoke has to be without a doubt one of the worst books I have ever encountered. It lacks interesting, well developed characters and has the most bum numbingly boring plot. I didn't know what was going on half the time because it was just so tedious. I have never read any other of Philip Pullman's books and I am not planning to. How anyone can enjoy this book is beyond me. We read it in class and it was the worst half term of my life. I have three words to sum up this book: Generic, boring and plotless. Could someone please tell me why you like this book? Anyone? I guess not. It is God awful. I give it a one out of five and if I could I would give it zero because it is just that bad.

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“ Ruby and the smoke is a jaw dropping action and...”

★★★★★

written by on 10/01/2012

Ruby and the smoke is a jaw dropping action and mystery film packed full to the rim with murder slaughter hate jealousy and rage. The main character miss veronica Lockhart also known as sally Lockhart who of which had her father killed by the sinking of his ship the lavinia so this starts the whole story of as she investigates the case getting into loads of other insistence and she later runs into ruby story so she tries to get involved in it

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“Absolutely Brilliant”

★★★★★

written by on 05/12/2011

I think that the book was absolutely amazing. If people do not like it, or do not understand it, that does not mean that it is not an excellent book. In my opinion, the language was very easy and simple, and the plot was fairly easy to understand. I only got confused with that last bit regarding Hendrik Van Eeden, but after some thought that was all perfectly cleared up. People who do not like the Victorian setting, or who find this type of language difficult, or who do not enjoy such books full stop, should not read it, because they will unneccesarily complain about it. A think that the characters were all described perfectly. I understood each and every one of them. The plot was very interesting with surprising twists that shocked me, and made perfect sense once a little thought was put into it. When I was twelve, I hated the book because I was too much of an ignorant twit to understand it. Now I'm fourteen and I read it in a day and loved it! I think both halves of the book are excellent, and I don't think people should complain about the lack of action, because, in my opinion, there was plenty of perfectly-described action. Many people do not seem to understand the significance of the Ruby. It is very simple: wealth. Wealth leads to power. Any power-hungry or exceedingly poor person would crave it. Anyone who did not have enough money for, let's say opium, would kill for that Ruby. It is very natural that Mrs Holland should want it. (Especially with her insane way of thinking.) My favourite character was Jim, because he was brave and clever and rude and funny. Anyone who liked The Ruby in the Smoke should definitely read the Shadow in the North. Another thing that annoys me is that people are always comparing the Sally Lockhart series to His Dark Materials. Yes, His Dark Materials was amazing and perfect and everything brilliant, but Sally Lockhart books have NOTHING to do with His Dark Materials. It is a different story, with different characters, with different plots, and a different setting. The two stories should be separated: one is fantasy, the other leans more towards mystery. Do not compare the two with one another. That is just like comparing Twilight with Harry Potter. Twilight is a paranormal teenage romance. Harry Potter is a fantasy adventure for children. The two have NOTHING to do with each other; one person may like Twilight more, the other person Harry Potter. Where did this emnity come from anyway? It makes no sense. Anyway, a bit off track there... The point is, two separate stories with nothing in common should not be judged. The only common denominator His Dark Materials and Sally Lockhart share are the author. That does not mean that the stories will be similar, so stop being disappointed when you find that they are not! In conclusion, people who do not like the Victorian setting,are not fans of mystery, or do not enjoy or do not have the ability to use their brains, should not read this book, because they will give it a bad image which it DOES NOT DESERVE. It was a perfectly decent book and many readers have enjoyed it immensely (including myself).

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“I loved the Ruby in the smoke, I'm reading it for a...”

★★★★☆

written by on 22/11/2010

I loved the Ruby in the smoke, I'm reading it for a school project. Some people hate it and I can see why they would. It does seem a bit confusing but if you just read over what you read then you'll get it. My class mates do seem to enjoy it quite a bit and btw we're only 13. I find the storyline great. I think you just have to have an aquired 'taste' to be able to enjoy the book. Philip pullmans book may be hatd to get into but once you read on past the first chapter it is a real page turner.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, it has a bit of everything; adventure, excitement, romance...
I intend to read the sequel- The shadow in the north.
P.s The shadow in the north is brilliant aswell. There are loads of murders and deaths in the rest of the sequels after the shadow in the north and un expected events. You should definately read on...Something VERY un expected happens.

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“rubbish, boring and deprrsesing”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 14/11/2010

rubbish, boring and deprrsesing

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“I would not recommend this book to anyone. I was a...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 04/11/2010

I would not recommend this book to anyone. I was a huge fan of Pullman; I worshipped the ground he walked on after reading his dark materials. But The ruby in the smoke was one of the most boring books I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Sally is quite possibly the most mundane heroine I have ever encountered in a novel, she's generic and boring. I am still unaware of the significance the ruby had at all, if it was just because everyone wanted it for money that's very lacklustre. Overall Pullman really disappointed me with this, I don't plan on reading any of the sequels.

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“I really wouldn't reccomend this book. I personally...”

★★☆☆☆

written by on 30/07/2010

I really wouldn't reccomend this book. I personally didn't like this, because - although I admit it is good writing in some points, the book itself makes no sense whatsoever. It is extremely complicated and it takes a great deal of concentration and re-reading to get your head around the storyline. I never understood the point of 'the Ruby' and all I really got was something about opium and an evil lady of some sort. I think there are parts of it (like the opium den) that are not bad, but I don't think that when all the scenes are put together it makes a book that is enjoyable to read. We read this as a book project for school, so I don't know if I judged it because of that.

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“The Ruby in the Smoke was honestly one of the most...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 05/12/2009

The Ruby in the Smoke was honestly one of the most boring books in my opinion ever (partly because we read it as a group for a project, it still would have been pretty bad though).
Everything is just too dang complicated! The book also made the main point of the story extremely hard to understand. They should have simplified the book a lot.
Even after seeing the movie and reading the book I still don't see the ruby's significance. But that might be because I was too bored to pay attention to such a boring book.
The very start of the book is pretty good, but after you get past the letter (which is like 20 minutes into the book...) the next 2/3 of the book is just a huge dragging amount of facts and facts that you eventually skim because you just want to know what happens.

The problem comes at the skim, as the book is so boring, you don't know a lot of the basic things. When the book starts to get interesting, you have no clue whats going on because the start of the book is just too danm boring!

DO NOT READ. EVER!!

Have a nice day :)

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“I am reading The Ruby In The Smoke for a group reading...”

★★☆☆☆

written by on 02/12/2009

I am reading The Ruby In The Smoke for a group reading project in school and I hate it! The plot is incredibly complicated and the language is complicated. Most importantly you should NEVER READ THIS BOOK AS A GROUP as it goes even more slowly than reading in your head and bores you to death. I would not reccomend reading this book to anyone who does not want to extremely challenge themself.

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“Philip Pullman, The Ruby in the Smoke was a very good...”

★★★★★

written by on 26/04/2009

Philip Pullman, The Ruby in the Smoke was a very good book and it had a good twist to it although there are a few swear words in there.. this is a great book ,although until you get to the end your a bit confused

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“The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman is a great...”

★★★★☆

written by tomc15 on 24/04/2009

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman is a great book for some one between 12-18 years who like a long story full of suprises and wierd and wonderful characters. Very descriptive text which lets your imagiation think that you really are there and that you know the characters surrounding you. Not a book for someone that likes loads of non stop action but for someone that likes a bit more of an adventure and a long read. All of the characters are wonderfully described and so are the scenes where they live in this highly detailed book based in Victorian London. It has some very dark moments and a few killings but i felt like it was all a bit bizare and didn't understand parts of ituntil i re-read it. overall a great book but best suited to someone who prefers the victorian setting and older writing style

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“Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke overall plot is...”

★★★☆☆

written by alexc46d on 21/04/2009

Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke overall plot is fairly hard to understand but it is about a girl finding the truth about her fathers death but gets caught up in a whole different story. It took me a fairly long time to read it mainly because the beginning half was hard but the second half was very good. I must say though I expected better from the author after reading his dark materials as through out the book I was having to re-read paragraphs to find out what was going on. It was as good as having a cup of tea in Brighton and then robbing a bank in australia! It was overall a good read but it wasn't very well written at all.

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“The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pulman has a brillaint...”

★★★★★

written by aidenmclean on 21/04/2009

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pulman has a brillaint storyline that kept me reading well into the night!

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“”

★★★★☆

written by tomguitarc15 on 21/04/2009


The Ruby in the Smoke is a great book for some one between 12-18 years who like a long story full of suprises and wierd and wonderful characters. Very descriptive text which lets your imagiation think that you really are there and that you know the characters surrounding you. Not a book for someone that likes loads of non stop action but for someone that likes a bit more of an adventure and a long read. All of the characters are wonderfully described and so are the scenes where they live in this highly detailed book based in Victorian London. It has some very dark moments and a few killings but i felt like it was all a bit bizare and didn't understand parts of ituntil i re-read it. overall a great book but best suited to someone who prefers the victorian setting and older writing style.

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“The Ruby in the Smoke ”

★★★★★

written by Harriet Klausner on 22/07/2008

The Ruby in the Smoke
Philip Pullman
Kopf, Sep 2008, $7.99
ISBN: 9780375845161

In 1872 London, sixteen years old Sally Lockhart lives with her scornful Aunt Caroline Rees following the death of her father at sea. However when she receives a note that appears to have been sent by her dad, she visits her late father's former business partner Selby to learn who Mr. Marchands is and what is the Seven Blessings included in the enigmatic message. Office assistant Jim Taylor escorts her to secretary Mr. Higgs. Her mentioning of the Seven Blessings leads to Higgs suddenly dying from a heart attack.

When she receives a note from Mr. Marchands warning her to beware of the old witch, she goes to visit him. He tells her he cannot help her, but provides her with a journal from when her mother was murdered sixteen years ago in India. She avoids the witch who happens to be visiting Marchands and meets young artist Frederick Garland. She returns by train to London, but falling asleep the journal is stolen except for the last few pages that fell out. Her adventures are just beginning but she has allies in Jim, Frederick and his actress sister Rosa even as the witch Mrs. Holland arranges to have her murdered as she did Mr. Marchands.

This is a reprint of an entertaining Victorian young adult thriller starring a wonderful teenage heroine in peril and a strong support cast either willing to help her or hurt her. The storyline is fast-paced from the onset as Sally just wants to know what her father's cryptic note means and never slows down as each innocent step she takes leads to trouble. In some ways in just a few scenes the vile villainess Mrs. Holland steals the show as her plotting is diabolically brilliant; just ask the journal thief. With a strong stance towards equality and bringing Madison Avenue marketing to Victorian London, fans will enjoy 'The Ruby In The Smoke,' the first of the Sally Lockhart mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

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“Well written and thought out yet very hard to follow...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 23/05/2008

Well written and thought out yet very hard to follow and confusing.

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“I read The Ruby in the Smoke, by Philip Pullman, the...”

★★★★★

written by rosierox on 02/05/2006

I read The Ruby in the Smoke, by Philip Pullman, the author of the famous His Dark Materials.

Ruby in the Smoke is about a girl called Sally Lockhart who is sixteen, she doesn't have a mother, and unfortunately Sally's dad has just died a most mysterious death.
On hearing of her fathers death Sally is sent a note on which states:
Sally beware of the seven blessings
Marchbanks will help
Chattum
Beware darling
Sally tries to find out what these words mean, she first goes to her father's old work place. She asked one of her fathers colleagues whether he knew anything of the seven blessings. He did know what the seven blessings were but was unable to tell Sally as he died on the floor at the sound of the words.

Ruby in the Smoke is a gripping mystery set in rat haunted streets in the depths of Victorian London. I really enjoyed reading this book and rated it a five star, it was a book filled with interesting language, that weren't hard to read. Ruby in the smoke is one of a series including Shadow in the North, The Tiger in the Well and The Tin Princess. I would confidently recommend this book to anybody over the age of 10 and I will be gob smacked if anyone is bored by the first chapters or if they don't like the plot.

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“Philip Pullman, The Ruby in the Smoke is a short book,...”

★★★★☆

written by lightrevolution on 24/07/2004

Philip Pullman, The Ruby in the Smoke is a short book, but Pullman is awesome at writing full stop and makes the story interesting and gripping throughout. As a young adult's book, he is the best writer I know of. I bought it in the afternoon at about 3 pm and finished it at 8:30, so it is very short, but worth reading, especially if you're a Pullman fan.

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