trying to get myself to read more again!
another great blend of action and lore. loving the various creative ways our characters come up with to circumvent each others' disabilities and limitations, helping others navigate a world that wrote them off. might just read this volume again for the confidence boost and food for thought. i like how each character has a strength-that-is-a-weakness. they seem a little bit too on the nose, but there's just so many individual threads and stories that this Highlighted Traits help them not get lost in the shuffle.
i feel like it should be a 4 but i'm... missing something? so maybe a 3/5 for now. i have many questions... i'm confused about the ending. so in the end it was all about the prophecy, not killing god? was it specifically about lyra? if so, why? what was it about her in particular? or was it about any individual who happened to arrive at that situation (puberty + witch + first love), and it just so happened, through many little synchronicities, that it was her? wasn't it about both lyra and will? why wasn't he part of the prophecy? what exactly was lyra's choice/the fall?? you can't choose to Not Mature physically, so not that... i thought it would be the later choice of closing the windows, unselfishly, moving away from childish self-centered-ness. but a) she had already acted in the interest of others throughout the series and b) the big dust glow already happened under the tree. so is it what Mary said, choosing to live with your full spirit, even if it means you're not following the rules/being "good"? if so, what sort of a choice is that for someone who wasn't really ever under the pressure to be "good"? why would her particular, conscious choice to do that generate so much dust compared to other people?
also other questions about asriel, his motivation, how people knew about him inter-dimentionally, how did they all build the fortress in a matter of a few weeks etc.
a grand sweeping adventure, for sure, with many emotional moments. it was cool how the "right things" happened when the protagonists acted from their own integrity vs. just following what others wanted of them, no matter how important it seemed. but i feel like that confused john travolta gif.
5/5 what the hell, so many good books recently. i mean i'm happy - it means i don't have to wonder whether to record all the books or only the good ones. wonderful heart-wrenching story about parenthood, love, hope, and responsibility against the backdrop of climate collapse. if you've got climate anxiety (so valid) maybe skip this one. generally there's plenty of other trigger warnings to heed but nothing was really for simple shock value. it was all excellently woven to serve the main themes and the stories of the ensemble. (huh, just saw a review complaining about a not very believable plot-twist and i'm not sure what plot twist they mean?? was there one?)
i mean... i started reading and accidentally left the eggs cooking for 3 hours... it's definitely engaging, i like the quick and seamless lore-dump/world building, things are happening rapidly without being overwhelming. "interesting" choice to forbid healing magic??
4/5 re-read. honestly the 1 point off from a 5/5 is for too good a job writing tense moments. the dread builds up and instead of wanting it resolved i'd rather just not read it and then i forget to pick it back up for days and days. somehow even more brutal than the previous one. this is how far i've read previously. i want to trust the author but it's kind of ? to root for the main characters, when their mission is "yes, go join/help this deranged guy, lord A Little Child Murder Is Beneficial Actually, on his totally normal interdimensional war/murder mission" (atrocities done in the name of god = get rid of god? my man, people will find different ways to justify the atrocities). idk! taking a break for other books. looking forward to dr malone's adventures, though!
5/5 recent pick-up from an indie bookshop. honestly i just wanted something self-contained and idk literary? slam dunk, what a great story. i love how it slowly started taking shape with each new mentioned crumb of info, like the looming dread of a tragedy. and then how neatly and satisfyingly it all snapped into place. i lack the proper words for the nuances of grief, the parallels, overlaps. like... a house haunted with mirror reflections down long hallways. reflections upon reflections. also - great structure, felt almost like a Good Meal.
5/5 a re-read! i haven't yet managed to finish the first trilogy, only ever got two books in, but i'm feeling good about this attempt. i love the world-building and the fairy-tale feel of it juxtaposed with the idk brutality of being a child, religious fanaticism etc. probably would've been obsessed if i'd actually read it as a child, alas - never heard of it at the appropriate age. also even after i heard of "his dark materials" - that just doesn't sound like a cool fantasy series, more like edgy porn?? but i'm very happy my appalled friend lent me their copies at the beginning of the pandemic. got my own book now (3 in 1), hope it /delivers/. (also, as before, reading about the alethiometer makes me want to dip back into lenormand!)
