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bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
I actually kinda loved this. The Book of Dust isn’t a patch on the original His Dark Materials trilogy, but this instalment still had bags of intrigue, magic and philosophy; it was definitely quite significantly better than book 1 in the trilogy, ‘La Belle Sauvage’.
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.
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:norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
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