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caseybones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How has Malcolm Polestead essentially become this universe’s version of a Bond-like spy, dodging knife attacks, walking away
bare hands
What happened to Lyra in the eight years since the Amber Spyglass that turned her from a passionate, brave adolescent into a timid, narrow-minded young woman? She read two books and suddenly
Make it make sense.
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
silversparkles50's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault
annir's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Classism
amerikinz14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The characters from “La Belle Sauvage” get re-introduced (since TSC takes place when Lyra is 20 years old; years after HDM ends) and I REALLY enjoyed that aspect! Pullman blended the familiar and new characters well.
The plot itself is somewhat confusing. Since the audiobook is 20 hours long, I found myself tuning in and out (and I sped up the narration) which led to some details being lost. I got the gist of it as the book progressed but I think the author tried to cram a lot into the book (which is basically 640 pages), spending time on flushing out less important details. And knowing there will eventually be a third book is very interesting!
Still docking points for the “Unabridged” audiobook version having some vulgar language and a few triggers.
Overall, I like “The Book of Dust”. I prefer the stories of “His Dark Materials” but “The Book of Dust” fits well as a continuation!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and War
eilidhbear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was really lovely to be back with Lyra and Pan again and to explore their relationship in a whole new way after certain events in ‘The Amber Spyglass’. I also really enjoyed how all the rationality and atheist leanings in the first trilogy were explored and deepened to order to take into account things like spirituality, imagination and faith.
The pacing for this book is very slow and at times a bit plodding, especially Malcolm Polstead’s chapters. I also thought it was a bit… hmmm… 🚩🚩🚩 what Pullman has decided to do with Malcolm and Lyra in terms of where their relationship is going. These are the things that brought my rating down.
I love both Lyra and Pan very much and I want nothing but the best for them. They both went through the wringer in this book, but it was so well done and felt necessary.
After avoiding reading this book for so long given how disappointed I was with ‘La Belle Sauvage’, I’m really happy I’ve read this now and can genuinely look forward to the release of the final book in this trilogy.
Graphic: Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual assault, Suicide, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Torture and Classism
Additional content warning not listed:lucecanon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Trafficking and War
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
erinwolf1997's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, and Classism
amehlia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“Evil can be unscrupulous, and good can’t. Evil has nothing to stop it doing what it wants, while good has one hand tied behind its back. To do the things it needs to do to win, it’d have to become evil to do ‘em.”
After reading La Bell Sauvage, I was excited to continue my journey through The Book of Dust with Pullman’s second instalment in the series, The Secret Commonwealth. This story reunites us with Lyra, now 20-years old and studying at St Sophia’s College, whose relationship with her dæmon Pantalaimon has become strained by her interest in the works of philosopher Simon Talbot and novelist Gottfried Brande, who both argue that dæmons are merely figments of the imagination and denounce anything that isn’t logical or attributable to pure reason. Meanwhile, the Magisterium remains a powerful enemy, and trouble is brewing further east over a rare rose known only to grow in the desert of Karamakan, and the industry of growing the roses and extracting their oil is under threat from mysterious men from the mountains.
The story opens with Lyra in Oxford, and although Lyra is different in many ways to her child self, it was enchanting to be reunited with her in a familiar setting, and I quickly became immersed in the book. Lyra and Pan’s difficult relationship was portrayed very well, and was interesting to read about because it echoed that relationship you sometimes have with yourself when you’re going through something difficult or a period of change. You feel disconnected and dissatisfied, but you can’t pinpoint why. I thought Pullman portrayed this feeling very well through Lyra and Pan as they begin another adventure that places new demands on each of them. I enjoyed the plot, and whilst others have criticised it for being too complicated or containing too many characters and side plots, I don’t think this detracts too much from the overall feel of the book. I read it quite quickly considering it’s over 700 pages long, so the plot and characters were always fresh in my mind and I didn’t find it too difficult to follow. If you’re taking this book at a slower pace, you might find the plot and it’s sub-narratives quite confusing. Compared to La Belle Sauvage, I felt that the pace and plot was more consistent, but less interesting in places. With the first book, I was hooked in the first half but found the second half a bit of a drag, whereas with this book my intrigue was satisfied throughout the whole thing, but I wasn’t enthralled by it.
This book started out as a strong 5⭐️, but there are a number of things I really didn’t like about this book. There’s a pretty unnecessary love story underlying parts of the narrative, which I’ll go into more detail here:
Apart from those two aspects of the book, this probably would’ve been a strong 4.5⭐️ or maybe even a 5⭐️. Of course, the ending was pretty dissatisfying, but this book is a bridge between the first and the last, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m interested to see how Pullman is going to pull everything together in the final book of the trilogy. Overall, this was generally an enjoyable read apart from a couple of aspects, and I’m looking forward to the final instalment of The Book of Dust.
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Murder