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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Only book that makes me cry at the end. Absolutely amazing in sense of scale and pace, and yet so touching and human and personal. Can't wait for the Rose Field!
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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:
No
The final volume leads Lyra and Will into the heart of the war against the Authority. And into their own coming-of-age, where love, sacrifice, and the very fate of worlds hang in the balance.
This book was epic, heartbreaking, and profoundly philosophical. Pullman never loses sight of the human heart at the core of all the metaphysics: friendship, loyalty, grief, first love, loss. The way he gives shape to enormous, cosmic questions while keeping them grounded in two children’s journeys is nothing short of masterful. The ending, both tender and devastating, underlines his greatest gift: explaining the vast mysteries of existence through the lens of human feeling.
✨ Across the trilogy, what struck me most was how Pullman bridges the gap between wonder and understanding. String theory, Dust, the multiverse aren’t just scientific or fantastical concepts; they’re metaphors for what it means to be alive, to question, to love, to exist. Subtle differences between worlds, yes, but an undeniable sameness in what binds us all.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An emotional ending to a wonderful series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
I think this is the strongest book of the trilogy. Pullman is wild for publishing this. This is so anti-religion, I can't believe I didn't hear more about this book when I was growing up. I say this as a positive. It's not common to see a book that doesn't shy away from heavy themes like this. Especially a middle grade/young adult book.
What I didn't like: I don't think Pullman did a great job describing some of the world's and people. Maybe this is a me problem but the race of people with trunks and wheels and seedpods is very hard for me to picture. This is just a difficult concept for a book in this vein. I also didn't really like that the turning point for a child being an adult issexual love. I guess it is something that a child does need to develop and mature to really understand, but what about people who don't experience sexual love until they're in their 20s? What about asexual folks? I know this is from a time before that was a well-known concept, but there are a lot of people this wouldn't apply to. Maybe this was just the turning point for Will and Lyra and it can be different per person, but Pullman didn't expound on this in the narration. For me this made it difficult for me to give a 4-star rating. If I can't buy into the thematic importance of the climactic scene I can't give 4 stars. Last small thing, I thought the conclusion of Father Gomez's death scene was weird and anticlimactic.
This isn't necessarily something I disliked but I did think that throughout the series there was a ton of character death. I do understand this choice thematically but this is a very bleak world and I thought some of the characters could've not died lol.
That said, I really liked how so many if the different plot threads came together. Pullman does a great job throughout the story with building tension. I was a bit annoyed when the angels were introduced because I usually dislike when characters are added to the cast in the last book of a trilogy, but I really liked Balthamos.
Will and Lyra's conclusion did make me tear up, and it's always a positive when a book can low-key make me cry.
Overall this was a fun series to finally read, I'm glad the last one became available for me on Libby pretty soon after the second one.
What I didn't like: I don't think Pullman did a great job describing some of the world's and people. Maybe this is a me problem but the race of people with trunks and wheels and seedpods is very hard for me to picture. This is just a difficult concept for a book in this vein. I also didn't really like that the turning point for a child being an adult is
This isn't necessarily something I disliked but I did think that throughout the series there was a ton of character death. I do understand this choice thematically but this is a very bleak world and I thought some of the characters could've not died lol.
That said, I really liked how so many if the different plot threads came together. Pullman does a great job throughout the story with building tension. I was a bit annoyed when the angels were introduced because I usually dislike when characters are added to the cast in the last book of a trilogy, but I really liked Balthamos.
Will and Lyra's conclusion did make me tear up, and it's always a positive when a book can low-key make me cry.
Overall this was a fun series to finally read, I'm glad the last one became available for me on Libby pretty soon after the second one.
adventurous
medium-paced