Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

7 reviews

sunandmoon's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.5

WHY PHILIP WHY do you absolutely want

your 30 something man to fall in love with 21yo LYRA, why did you think it was necessary for her to be assaulted

and then go about her quest almost like nothing had happened? Do you hate her and us that much? 
What a disappointment after the beautiful book that was La Belle Sauvage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, and Rape

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Cursing

Minor: Classism and Torture

Additional content warning not listed:

Potentially problematic relationship between a university professor and a student. The professor has known the student since they were a child, so there is also a potential grooming element.

lucecanon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Suicide

Minor: Trafficking and War

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-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

What a bleak, bleak book. Contrary to La Belle Sauvage, this one takes place 8 years after the events in His Dark Materials. We are reunited with Lyra, now a young woman at university. Unfortunately, after what she and her dæmon went through, their relationship has never been the same. And it's truly heartbreaking. Yes, there is a whole story that is part spy thriller, part fantastical mystery, but what I felt most of all was Lyra and Pan's deep, deep sadness. 
If you enjoyed La Belle Sauvage, you'll probably enjoy this one as well! Sadly for me, the elements I hadn't enjoyed in LBS were back here. I kept reading because I wanted to know where the author was taking his world, given that he promised us more about Dust, but I felt rather frustrated at the end. Yes, His Dark Materials isn't a happy story, but there are many lights in the darkness, and I still love this series (even though no matter how many times I read it, I never understand the last volume). Here I thought it was mostly gloomy and hopeless, which didn't particularly cheer me up, go figure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Suicide

theoreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicide, War, and Trafficking

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, War, Vomit, Abandonment, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Stalking, and Child abuse

flick_w's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship