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goodnight_moon 's review for:
The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman
Sections in the middle lost me a bit. It may just be that this book is a little longer than the previous two. Or that every character needs their loop closed, which slows down a previously free flowing story. It may be that the metaphor becomes more literal, and I get distracted feeling like I need to understand the symbolisms. But most of the story was still a fantastic adventure. I thought the climax was grandiose and the ending was beautiful.
A passage jumped out at me:
"Balthamos was slender. His narrow wings were folded elegantly behind his shoulders, and his face bore an expression that mingled haughty disdain with a tender, ardent sympathy, as if he would love all things if only his nature could let him forget their defects. But he saw no defects in Baruch, that was clear."
That's a beautifully written sentence, and I was struck by how well it establishes a character we've only known 5 minutes without bashing us over the head with him. We gain so much needed context without just reading a forced list of top traits. I think it's why these sequels work so well for me - the new characters keep the original cast from getting stale, but they don't suffer those sequel-character defects, because Philip Pullman balances writing simply and respecting the intelligence of his readers so well.
I deeply enjoyed the entire series.
A passage jumped out at me:
"Balthamos was slender. His narrow wings were folded elegantly behind his shoulders, and his face bore an expression that mingled haughty disdain with a tender, ardent sympathy, as if he would love all things if only his nature could let him forget their defects. But he saw no defects in Baruch, that was clear."
That's a beautifully written sentence, and I was struck by how well it establishes a character we've only known 5 minutes without bashing us over the head with him. We gain so much needed context without just reading a forced list of top traits. I think it's why these sequels work so well for me - the new characters keep the original cast from getting stale, but they don't suffer those sequel-character defects, because Philip Pullman balances writing simply and respecting the intelligence of his readers so well.
I deeply enjoyed the entire series.