Scan barcode
dullshimmer's review against another edition
3.0
I found that I liked this book slightly better than The Golden Compass the first book of Philip Pullman's trilogy, but it wasn't quite enough to boost a rating to higher than a three out of five. Mostly, I just found that I liked some things better in this book, but other things not so much.
One of my biggest problems with the first book is that very few of the characters were that likable. Obviously, Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel were not meant to be too likable, but I didn't find Lyra too likable either. In The Subtle Knife I found that I liked the characters quite a bit more. Lyra seems more mature overall, although maybe becomes a bit too different from how she was in the first book. I overall liked Will, even though he's a bit rough, this is explained fairly well by his background. Lee and Serafina Pekkala return as well, which is welcome as I liked them in the first book.
With the second book the problem isn't so much the characters, but the plot. There just seemed to be too much left unexplained. Who was seeking after John Perry's letters? Lord Boreal being in Will's world; Lord Asriel's ability to gather an army and massive citadel so very quickly; and Marisa Coulter's ability to do just about anything she wants are all very convenient but aren't really very well explained at least in this novel. They just seemed out of place and make the characters more powerful than really seems likely. Also the amount of adoration that Lyra gets kind of baffles me, I certainly didn't fall in love with her in the first book, but all the characters seemed to.
On the positive side with the plot, I felt that overall the plot was more focused on the meeting of Will's father and how it connects with Lyra's own journey. This takes place by changing perspectives between characters, mainly between Will and Lyra, Lee, and Serafina Pekkala or some of her witches. While this can be a bit disjointed jumping around, I felt that it was a bit smoother than the first book.
Also in regards to the plot, the anti-religion theme comes up a bit more in this book. However, it just seems rather confusing. The big authoritative church is evil and "The Authority" is the one to blame for it all. However, at the same time spirit and matter seem to be good and this God created it all. So it just seems to be a bit of a mess really. While no doubt the "church" of the book seems to be in the wrong, just like the real church/denominations/leaders have been wrong also, there have also been groups that do not seem to subscribe to the kind of views that Pullman's fictional church does. So honestly it just kind of falls flat in my opinion and doesn't really add to the book that much in my opinion. Maybe the third book clears some of the confusion, but for now it's not too clear.
So overall, I felt that The Subtle Knife took care of some of the problems I had with the first book, but added some of its own. I did enjoy it a bit more, but it still isn't my favorite fantasy series by any means. Personally, I think it tries a bit too hard to be clever and symbolic, but doesn't really do a great job of it.
One of my biggest problems with the first book is that very few of the characters were that likable. Obviously, Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel were not meant to be too likable, but I didn't find Lyra too likable either. In The Subtle Knife I found that I liked the characters quite a bit more. Lyra seems more mature overall, although maybe becomes a bit too different from how she was in the first book. I overall liked Will, even though he's a bit rough, this is explained fairly well by his background. Lee and Serafina Pekkala return as well, which is welcome as I liked them in the first book.
With the second book the problem isn't so much the characters, but the plot. There just seemed to be too much left unexplained. Who was seeking after John Perry's letters? Lord Boreal being in Will's world; Lord Asriel's ability to gather an army and massive citadel so very quickly; and Marisa Coulter's ability to do just about anything she wants are all very convenient but aren't really very well explained at least in this novel. They just seemed out of place and make the characters more powerful than really seems likely. Also the amount of adoration that Lyra gets kind of baffles me, I certainly didn't fall in love with her in the first book, but all the characters seemed to.
On the positive side with the plot, I felt that overall the plot was more focused on the meeting of Will's father and how it connects with Lyra's own journey. This takes place by changing perspectives between characters, mainly between Will and Lyra, Lee, and Serafina Pekkala or some of her witches. While this can be a bit disjointed jumping around, I felt that it was a bit smoother than the first book.
Also in regards to the plot, the anti-religion theme comes up a bit more in this book. However, it just seems rather confusing. The big authoritative church is evil and "The Authority" is the one to blame for it all. However, at the same time spirit and matter seem to be good and this God created it all. So it just seems to be a bit of a mess really. While no doubt the "church" of the book seems to be in the wrong, just like the real church/denominations/leaders have been wrong also, there have also been groups that do not seem to subscribe to the kind of views that Pullman's fictional church does. So honestly it just kind of falls flat in my opinion and doesn't really add to the book that much in my opinion. Maybe the third book clears some of the confusion, but for now it's not too clear.
So overall, I felt that The Subtle Knife took care of some of the problems I had with the first book, but added some of its own. I did enjoy it a bit more, but it still isn't my favorite fantasy series by any means. Personally, I think it tries a bit too hard to be clever and symbolic, but doesn't really do a great job of it.
pedanticpenchant's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
estelle127's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
lemaog's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thebookofeels's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
corinnab953's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
psychedelics's review against another edition
3.0
will is just kind of... Not Lyra. would like more lyra... half her parts even are just her being interesting for a second and then like “AND YET MY ONLY PURPOSE AND SOLE FOCUS IS TO BE WILL’S SIDEKICK, ALAS”.... hopefully 3 is better
karlosius's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
polyanarchist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-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