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ra22ouille's review against another edition
Not only did the writing quality tank through this series, there were continual pedophilic moments that were normalizing and insidious and I put it down because it was beyond the scope of critiquing the church and felt fetishistic. Absolutely would not recommend that any minors read this series. I dont understand why it's so popular! Even if someone could gloss over the pedophilic moments, the writing also just sucks after the first book. The characters all start talking really strange in a way that feels super out of character. The plot is so loose at times that huge chunks of the book don' feel like they matter. 1/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia
brycestevenwilley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.0
Lots of unorganized thoughts. I'll extend this as I add more:
- it's very good
- it's very cheesy
- it does the "chosen one" and prohpecy thing a lot, which I'm not a fan of. But it didn't feel like it mattered as much to me as it normally does
- the last paragraph of
the battle scene, where Lee becomes part of the universe is one of my favorites of all time - it's very weird
- I rated Subtle knife lower because it starts to introduce all of these weird plot points, almost too many, but Amber Spyglass really uses them well. It also adds some things that I think are unnecessary, but I'm willing to overlook some
- the begining is slower than I remember, but the last half is such a wild ride
human / daemon / ghost split as the holy trinity is really clever, and ties in well with a lot of what is in the Golden compass the amber spyglass itself really doesn't affect much; Mary never does anything to affect the plot, she just reports on what's happening with Will and Lyra. Story would be the same without it. - the thing I like most anout this book is that the plot and story is very complex, but the themes are simple.
- Much of it really does read like a myth or a folk story, where the details are replaceable, and the main points are extremely strong and iconic. That makes sense given how much of it is from bible stories like Paradise lost, and other misc myths and hero stories
- somehow does the least with it's multiple worlds than other multiverse stories. Mainly a twin universe story, with a few side universes as well
father gomez was a mildly interesting thread with an extremely underwhelming ending. Literal angel ex machina, but no one even knows about it, and kinda makes it stupid Metatron was interesting and built up to be intemidating, but was also dealt with stupid quickly. "He just really horny" is a waste of a character - Focuses on Will more, and I really wish that Lyra felt like she had more agency.
She gets a little in the end, but, nothing compared to Will's entire 1/3rd of the book dedicated to just him
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Pedophilia and Colonisation
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