Reviews with content warning for War - The Secret Commonwealth

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The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

11 reviews

bobthebard's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-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

4.25

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caseybones's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

Many reviews articulate frustration with this book and I share those sentiments. It feels like Pullman lost the subtlety of his previous storytelling, glossing over major character development and leaving the reader perplexed.

How has Malcolm Polestead essentially become this universe’s version of a Bond-like spy, dodging knife attacks, walking away

from being shot and casually snapping a man’s neck with his
bare hands

before heading to the bar for a casual drink?

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

she and Pan hate each other so much they can barely speak to each other

?

Make it make sense.

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ilete's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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francisfrancis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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alixlowe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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msmith892's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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amerikinz14's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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 main conflict between Lyra and Pan is alright but there were moments where their arguments seemed too harsh. Yes, coming from the end of “The Amber Spyglass”, their relationship is strained. In the original HDM trilogy, I enjoyed Lyra and Pan’s camaraderie and their interactions were one of my favorite aspects. While in “The Secret Commonwealth”, they spend a good portion of the book either arguing with or being separated from each other. It fits the story but it isn’t how I envisioned the characters grown up.

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!

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