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montereads'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? No
3.5
However, on its own merits, the book is in many ways lacking. Alice is spirited, but doesn’t really contribute anything to the journey except childcare, a kind of pigeonholing I didn’t expect from Pullman after as phenomenal a protagonist as Lyra. This irritated me throughout, as she had such potential. Beyond that, the purpose of the whole narrative relies entirely on who Lyra is established to be in the central trilogy. I’m not sure what reading this is like if you aren’t already invested.
Overall, seriously worth the read for big fans of HDM. However, if you’re new to Pullman and wondering if his more recent work is the better place to start, I don’t think I recommend these.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Rape
tifftastic87'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
angelbabe_cj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
It's been a while since I read His Dark Materials, but I absolutely love this return of the universe. It's obvious how Malcolm Polstead influenced Lyra's subconsciousness.
However, I must admit that this book starts off so incredibly with so many amazing areas to explore, and it really raises your expectations on the story-to-come, but in the second half most of these things are pretty much just dropped? The League of St. Alexander, for example, was something I really really liked and wanted more explored in the book.
I have to leave off a note on how amazing the names in this book are, though. I will never seize to fall in love with Pullman's choices on character names. Malcolm, Asta, Asriel, Sophonax, Pantalaimon, Coram van Texel??? So sexy. Not to mention the beautiful image of the Trout you get in the first chapter—with the terrace over the water and the two peacocks.
I absolutely recommend this book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
idailf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Sexual content
moonybombadil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence and Sexual harassment
katie_345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
P.s this book left some stuff unresolved as it’s a first of three, also this book doesn’t really talk about Dust or get into it in nearly as much detail as it does other topics ... the title could be misleading but we might find out more about dust in the follow up novel (not that I’ll read it 😳)
“This was all very difficult “- Malcolm
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Vomit, Medical content, and Alcohol
erinwolf1997's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, and Alcohol
anastasiamakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, and Stalking
kayciedoom's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Blood
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content