The Rose Field - come over here once you’ve finished !

I've just finished. I was really enjoying it, but towards the end the story began to unravel somewhat.

I don't understand how in another world accessed through a doorway in an eastern desert were Henry and Ethel, lamenting over decimalization!

And then the actual ending was so abrupt! What happened to Malcolm. Did he and Lyra get together? Did they go back? Soo many questions!

I’ve just finished also, and have the same thoughts as others. Not really sure what the point was or how it was an ending at all really. None of the questions were answered.

Not sure what Lyra and Malcolm were supposed to be achieving that seemed to have been foretold in some way - they didn’t actually do anything, it was Bonneville that killed Delamare, all Lyra did was reopen the one window. Also not sure why the Rose world seemed to swing from Armageddon to actually fine within a few moments.

I’ve just finished and my first thought is that it was a let down. The ending was a nothing. The whole book felt … I don’t know. Unsatisfactory ? Like most Pullman books it will need a second and third read to get the most out of it, but I feel really disappointed

I enjoyed it, but felt unsatisfied when I got to the end. I guess after the ending to the Amber Spyglass, which was amazing, this ending felt like too much was unresolved. It feels like the author is moving us on somehow, and showing us the difference between books for children and books for adults.
i thought it lacked pace in places, and the Magesterium plot line was a bit dull. I did love Mr. Ionedes though, and the griphons

The other thread I felt was really hanging was what happens next? Malcolm is this golden person with a magic aura who the witches know about and who’s defeated a sorcerer but who is younger than Lyra (? In outlook? But Lyra’s still incredibly childish…) - what happens? Presumably there’s still a police state in Brytain that won’t just collapse because Delamare was killed. And they’re claiming he had inappropriate feelings for Lyra while he was teaching her… (which isn’t entirely untrue) and his College is still being taken over by corporates… so his future looks pretty crap? But it’s ok because the stroppy student who chucked away his hard-won love gift that he sweated over and risked his life for without really a second thought is going to set up with the women who shagged him when he was 16 because she was grieving her husband. Sounds great!

And what was with the palace in the desert? Do people actually have to separate from their demons to get there? Delamare didn’t. neither did Lyra’s brother. I don’t get it. What was the point of the lovely Persian myth that was going to turn out to be about our white protagonists all along? They just forgot about it!

I can understand Lyra leaving Will as part of her childhood but didn’t they part with a “mission” to find and close gaps? What if Will’s all set to be an explorer like his father and is busily closing all the windows in his world? Isn’t that a problem now? Won’t it stop the Dust flowing?

Argh I wrote a big post and lost it.

I liked it. I like the pace and stories converging.

But. I feel that HDMI as a trilogy had the balance right, it had lots of threads but each one was fleshed out and characters rounded. BoD as a trilogy has too much going on. The first one I loved but the second two just miss the mark a little. Take Malcolm. I like him a lot but it's like Pullman understands his importance but has forgotten to tell us. A witch visiting him when Lyra was a baby and the gryphons see him as important and foretold. But why? What has it got too do with the story? What actually are his auras? I was expecting them to be important but they never really were. We never find out what happened for his to stop teaching Lyra either.

Lyra's brother too was not well rounded as a character and I felt like we needed his back story.

Daemons too. There is something important going on but we've not quite got the information we need to understand it. Ah those separated people, some live with their Daemon like Lyra and Malcolm but some don't. The author who does was living with someone else's Daemon. What's going on there? The people who of ore theirs until they stop really seeing them? I get what he was saying about indifference in general but it didn't feel fully explored, especially given we know that Will's world was essentially explained that the Daemon's were essentially internal unless you learned to see them.

Agree with the u turn on opening doors. I understand that it's moving from the childish black and white view to an adult understanding and why lots of doors shouldn't be opened but I can't believe they talked about doors without mentioning spectres!

I understand why Lyra wouldn't find Will immediately. He's a part of her childhood. I felt very sorry for Lyra, she's clearly never really talked about what happened to her and doesn't seem to have anyone close to talk to. Some contact with gyptans perhaps but other than that who is there who she travelled with in her life? She's carrying all this knowledge and all the trauma and she's not shared it with anyone.

I'm not completely disgusted by the building romance. I think it's still a long time coming judging by Lyra and Pan plotting to get him and Alice back together. But Lyra is growing up and starting to see him in a different light and actually while he taught her briefly several years ago he's had no contact with her since so not like he's been watching her grow up. But then I know a fair few big age gap relationships. 11 years is nothing.

I feel like there is a lot more story to tell. Wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be.

Surely, given the number of windows still open, the first thing Lyra would have done would be to cut a window into Will’s Oxford?

It needed a good edit. Less travel, more time wrapping up the six million threads started AND the massive rethink/retcon of the previous series which was mentioned in about half a page and then never explored again?!