Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

After reading His Dark Materials (Golden Compass), I was curious about Philip Pullman’s other works. Sally Lockhart’s series seemed a good start to know this author a little better, so I decided to try Ruby in the Smoke.

‘Have you ever heard the phrase The Seven Blessings?’That question causes a man to die of shock, and propels Sally Lockhart into a desperate adventure that will expose the deepest secrets of the corrupt and murderous opium trade. Sally is sixteen when the story begins, orphaned and alone. She’s had an unconventional education: her knowledge of English Literature, French, History, Art and Music is non-existent, but she has a thorough grounding in military tactics, can run a business, ride like a Cossack and shoot straight with a pistol. When her father is drowned in suspicious circumstances in the South China Sea, Sally soon finds herself in terrible danger too – and at the rotten heart of it all lies the deadly secret of the ruby in the smoke.

This is the story of 16 year old orphan, Sally Lockhart. After her father sudden death, she receives a strange message... Decided to unveiled the mystery, the young woman starts an adventure who will change her life.

One of my problems with this book, is the main character – Sally. Many of her decisions and attitudes are not what we expect for a young woman of the late 19th century and she really felt terribly fake to me. Also, Sally is too perfect! No matter what, she always seems to find effortlessly a solution for everything and everyone's problems.

Another particularity, in every dangerous situation she’s never really hurt or threatened. Unfortunately, her companions cannot say the same and they end up beaten and bloodied by Sally's enemies. No need to say how annoying it can be to read about such flawless and stagnant characters.

The secondary characters were also a problem, since I barely noticed them. I was expecting so much from the photographer, Frederick and what a disappointment it was to see how he constantly stayed in the background just like the others. Even the villainess, Mrs. Holland, who, at first, sounded so promising, couldn't save the story. She ended up looking like just a rather silly old woman in quest of power. Even her ending is pathetic, making everything easy for Sally.

I never really had the feeling I was reading a story set in Victorian England, but maybe Pullman wanted to keep things simple, since this is a young adult book.

Everything happens very quickly which is sometimes confusing making it hard to keep your attention the story without being distracted by something else. I don’t think I’ll continue reading Sally Lockhart’s adventures.

Grade: C+

The Ruby in The Smoke - Philip Pullman

I started this book with great expectation having heard so much about Pullman and his His Dark Materials books. Besides it is set in Victorian London and I love those stories.

Have you ever heard the phrase The Seven Blessings?
That question causes a man to die of shock, and propels Sally Lockhart into a desperate adventure that will expose the deepest secrets of the corrupt and murderous opium trade.
Sally is sixteen when the story begins, orphaned and alone. She's had an unconventional education: her knowledge of English Literature, French, History, Art and Music is non-existent, but she has a thorough grounding in military tactics, can run a business, ride like a Cossack and shoot straight with a pistol. When her father is drowned in suspicious circumstances in the South China Sea, Sally soon finds herself in terrible danger too - and at the rotten heart of it all lies the deadly secret of the ruby in the smoke.

I found he has a great way to describe characters and setting, I could almost see Sally and the Garlands and Mrs Holland going about the streets of London. However I think there were some problems with the plot. It's supposedly a mystery however I never felt a suspense thrill, it mentions opium dens and shady characters but only in some few selected scenes did I feel that dark atmosphere. Sally never really interested me much, she is supposedly the sleuth that is going to discover everything but I felt that we get as much information from the villains if not more than from Sally. She was more worried in trying to remember the past and to know why her father was killed than actually looking for the lost ruby or helping save Adelaide when that was needed. I could never really warm up to her. On the other hand I really liked Jim and Rosa and would really like to know what happened to Adelaide.

The bad guys are really bad, namely the infamous Mrs Holland but it seems she manages to hurt everybody except Sally, who is supposedly the real target! Isn't that odd? Besides the story is slowly revealed, at times too slowly and then in the last chapters everything is solved with a nicely thought twist to explain everything and every character involved.

It seems to me that the idea behind the story was a good one (I keep thinking of Emilio Salgari's stories because of the Indian bad guys and the famous cursed jewel) but somehow the final result is not as good as it should be.

Grade: C+