theblackdog

This is one of those stories that reminds me of an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? except it wouldn't fit into a 24 minute show. This would need to be several episodes.

Harvey is an easy character to connect with. Haven't we all been that 10 year old kid in February who hates the dreary gray days of winter and it is going to be forever before spring break gets here? Once you hear of an opportunity to do something fun, you're going to jump all over it, even if you don't realize there is a catch until much later.

It was hard for me to put this book down once I started, though it's a short read. There are a few elements of horror but nothing overly scary, and thankfully Barker did not only use a trope of “the power of love” as the way for the evil to be defeated. It is more of seeking actual justice and exposing what is really going on.

Still, the Holiday House sounds like a fun place to visit. At least until you learn the price of your stay.

I remember all of the hype around the movie and I started to read this book years ago but never got through it. Now with a little more time and understanding I can appreciate it better.

Lyra is a well written character. It's too bad I can't say the same about her uncle (Lord Asriel). You think he's an honorable guy, but really he turns out to be a jerk with his own agenda. Mrs. Coulter shows some vulnerability towards the end but it is clear where her alliances lie.

I do like the witches and the gyptians. They help keep the flow of the story gong and make some of the scenes more exciting. I think Pullman mught have used the witches a bit better towards the end of the book because they started to become the ones to swoop in and save Lyra when she got in trouble.

The ending is not going to be satisfying, only because it was clearly written to be a series. There are plenty of questions left for the reader, including the nature of Dust and why everyone is so afraid of it. Actually in writing this I now have a guess about Lord Asriel's motivations. I will see if I am right in the future books.

Its a good read, hopefully the next books are just as good.

The book doesn't quite suffer from being boring because now all the initial action happened in the first book, but events must be set up for the third book so nothing happens here. However, it does seem like Lyra was dumbed down because she makes some decisions that I don't think she would have made. I never understood why she actually bothers to get in the car with Sir Charles, who randomly spoke to her at the museum. Yes, I get it she was running from the “police” and may have thought she wanted to get away but she wasn't that trusting of people in The Golden Compass. That's another thing; there are two guys specifically after Will and the letters from his father, and then they just kind of vanish after they almost catch Lyra at Oxford. It seems like they were working for Mrs. Coulter or Sir Charles, so I would have expected to see them show up in one of the other worlds. Also how does Mrs. Coulter suddenly have such a command of the specters that she can make them do things that they never did before? They did not take to the air until “she made them forget they were bound to the earth” and now they can conveniently attack the witches? That seems to be lazy way of creating a new problem for characters who didn't have to face the a problem before.

Pullman also seems to like killing characters once their “task” is done, and it feels a bit unnecessary. Scoresby leads Grumman to a mountain to meet with the knife bearer, now let's kill him. Grumman meets Will and helps him, oops, time to die now. At least the death of Sir Charles actually fits the plot and most of the character motivations.

Here's hoping the third book is better.

An editor, my kingdom for an editor.

I want to like this story. It’s been rare to see a poly relationship and there’s definitely the seeds of good ideas here. Unfortunately the story also suffers from Mary Sue Syndrome. With the exception of the inciting incident for Eve that leads to her saviors finding her, nothing bad happens to her or her partners or anyone she meets after that. Everyone is able to explain themselves and it’s just accepted.

Even the climax of the book is just a basic misunderstanding and it’s immediately resolved with one conversation. I know as much as we joke that a lot of things could be fixed if people actually talked, just one conversation and it’s almost never mentioned again isn’t compelling.

Speaking of climaxes, the sex scenes were hot at first, but they get repetitive. Every orgasm rips through her, and her partners don’t seem to know any phrase to describe her other than “fucking beautiful.” Also she has some amazing compartmentalization of past trauma because folks who went through what she did probably wouldn’t be eagerly participating in certain sex acts only a week or two after a particularly traumatic incident.

One point I will give that’s realistic is the individual dates with each of her partners are different activities and they are enjoyed for different reasons.

There were a few spots where this book fell victim to auto correct, another reason why I cry out for an editor.

Overall, this book and their characters were very much on easy mode and it brings down the entertainment value.

What a story! Cities being born into a self sustaining life, but others who want to stop it because it threatens their perfect vision of how a city should look and feel. It’s all been a great metaphor for gentrification. New York and the distinctive personalities of its boroughs are well fleshed out and the conflicts and pride between them are spot on. I can’t help but love Bronca and Brooklyn and both the borough and the personal clashes they work through. I didn’t expect the twist in how they deal with the Woman in White and I look forward into opening the next book to see what happens.

Also I absolutely love the queer representation throughout the book and how it’s just another part of the city and its people.