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amehlia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“Evil can be unscrupulous, and good can’t. Evil has nothing to stop it doing what it wants, while good has one hand tied behind its back. To do the things it needs to do to win, it’d have to become evil to do ‘em.”
After reading La Bell Sauvage, I was excited to continue my journey through The Book of Dust with Pullman’s second instalment in the series, The Secret Commonwealth. This story reunites us with Lyra, now 20-years old and studying at St Sophia’s College, whose relationship with her dæmon Pantalaimon has become strained by her interest in the works of philosopher Simon Talbot and novelist Gottfried Brande, who both argue that dæmons are merely figments of the imagination and denounce anything that isn’t logical or attributable to pure reason. Meanwhile, the Magisterium remains a powerful enemy, and trouble is brewing further east over a rare rose known only to grow in the desert of Karamakan, and the industry of growing the roses and extracting their oil is under threat from mysterious men from the mountains.
The story opens with Lyra in Oxford, and although Lyra is different in many ways to her child self, it was enchanting to be reunited with her in a familiar setting, and I quickly became immersed in the book. Lyra and Pan’s difficult relationship was portrayed very well, and was interesting to read about because it echoed that relationship you sometimes have with yourself when you’re going through something difficult or a period of change. You feel disconnected and dissatisfied, but you can’t pinpoint why. I thought Pullman portrayed this feeling very well through Lyra and Pan as they begin another adventure that places new demands on each of them. I enjoyed the plot, and whilst others have criticised it for being too complicated or containing too many characters and side plots, I don’t think this detracts too much from the overall feel of the book. I read it quite quickly considering it’s over 700 pages long, so the plot and characters were always fresh in my mind and I didn’t find it too difficult to follow. If you’re taking this book at a slower pace, you might find the plot and it’s sub-narratives quite confusing. Compared to La Belle Sauvage, I felt that the pace and plot was more consistent, but less interesting in places. With the first book, I was hooked in the first half but found the second half a bit of a drag, whereas with this book my intrigue was satisfied throughout the whole thing, but I wasn’t enthralled by it.
This book started out as a strong 5⭐️, but there are a number of things I really didn’t like about this book. There’s a pretty unnecessary love story underlying parts of the narrative, which I’ll go into more detail here:
Apart from those two aspects of the book, this probably would’ve been a strong 4.5⭐️ or maybe even a 5⭐️. Of course, the ending was pretty dissatisfying, but this book is a bridge between the first and the last, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m interested to see how Pullman is going to pull everything together in the final book of the trilogy. Overall, this was generally an enjoyable read apart from a couple of aspects, and I’m looking forward to the final instalment of The Book of Dust.
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Death, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
claudiajades's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
So gripping! Really loved it, so hooked. Devastated have to wait it out for the final book in the series though. Potentially recommend waiting to read until all are out :P
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death
Minor: Abandonment
kayciedoom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Did not like this one as much as La Belle Sauvage. I gave it four stars because I am SUPER here for the expanded development about human-daemon relationships and the philosophical topics, which was enough to outweigh the things I didn't like about the book (which are mainly the Malcolm thing and soldier scene, already mentioned by many other reviews here).
I'll save full judgment on it until the next book, which I assume will be a continuation.
I'll save full judgment on it until the next book, which I assume will be a continuation.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Sexual assault
cursedepub's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The thing I regret most about this book is that Pullman does very well setting up the mystery and conspiracy. I genuinely do want to find out what happens next even though I was too angry at this book to keep reading at times.
The thing I next regret most about this book is that the conflict of self-image that Lyra embodies in it (growing up and becoming anxious, self-hating, and distressingly ordinary, especially compared to what one once was) should be incredibly compelling and thought-provoking, but it just falls flat entirely. More than anything else reading this book felt like being lectured about not losing my childhood sense of wonder in a way that really made me want to lose my childhood sense of wonder just out of spite. I could not help but feel that ever since The Subtle Knife, Pullman has been dedicated to diminishing the character of Lyra Silvertongue from her glory in The Golden Compass, just for the sake of it.
I find it very funny that the novel features an author that is described as being very clever and enthralling with his prose but ultimately saying very little of value. Pullman's prose is excellent, of course.
The thing I next regret most about this book is that the conflict of self-image that Lyra embodies in it (growing up and becoming anxious, self-hating, and distressingly ordinary, especially compared to what one once was) should be incredibly compelling and thought-provoking, but it just falls flat entirely. More than anything else reading this book felt like being lectured about not losing my childhood sense of wonder in a way that really made me want to lose my childhood sense of wonder just out of spite. I could not help but feel that ever since The Subtle Knife, Pullman has been dedicated to diminishing the character of Lyra Silvertongue from her glory in The Golden Compass, just for the sake of it.
I find it very funny that the novel features an author that is described as being very clever and enthralling with his prose but ultimately saying very little of value. Pullman's prose is excellent, of course.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Trafficking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
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