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A review by palomapepper
La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
3.0
His Dark Materials was a childhood favorite of mine, so I came into this book really wanting to love it. I enjoyed the writing style and world-building as always, but overall I'm a little lukewarm about this installment of the series.
Good bits: a curious and lovable main character; spying and intrigue; more time spent in this familiar fantastical alternate-reality; existing character cameos that show other facets of their personalities. I'm an older sibling, so I related to Malcolm's affection and protectiveness for baby Lyra.
But the plot itself moved slowly, and didn't come together for me as a self-contained story. The scenes with seemed to come completely out of left field; I'm sure their presence will be explained further in the next book(s), but their appearance here seemed sudden and random.
I wasn't satisfied with the main villain, either...
Hoping I'll like the sequel better!
Good bits: a curious and lovable main character; spying and intrigue; more time spent in this familiar fantastical alternate-reality; existing character cameos that show other facets of their personalities. I'm an older sibling, so I related to Malcolm's affection and protectiveness for baby Lyra.
But the plot itself moved slowly, and didn't come together for me as a self-contained story. The scenes with
Spoiler
the fairy queen (yes, hello Spenser), the dead-people purgatory garden(?), and the witch queenI wasn't satisfied with the main villain, either...
Spoiler
yes, he and his hyena daemon were appropriately repulsive, but his motives felt vague and all over the place. So... he's an unhinged, rapey Dust scientist, on a quest to abduct a baby to further his... research obsessions? I kept waiting and hoping for his character & motivations to get fleshed out, but it never happened.Hoping I'll like the sequel better!