There was an occasional feeling of boredom when reading, a focus on minutiae.īut this is far from a bad review. Perhaps the world this time felt a bit less fresh.

Still, I did enjoy the prior novel rather more. The author preached successfully to this choir.Ī successful sermon and overall a successful book. That anger was exciting to read I became angry at these systems of inequity as well. At the corroboration of those whose who carry out those orders. At the violence ordered, the justifications made. Much like his protagonist, the author is also angry: at the systematized inequities of the world, at the secret power brokers, at the trickle-down effect of rot at the top. We are all works in progress, no matter how righteous our cause. The author is committed to showing that growth. Young but experienced in the corruption and evils of the world. When last we saw her, she was much younger.

Then I remembered that my window has a screen and I don't go about abusing books in the first place, so that was out of the question. The only reason it got one star less was I got so frustrated by what happened near the end that I almost threw a tantrum and chucked the book out the window. But I'm not going to continue furnishing praise over characters. Someone I would have been able to relate to more (which is also probably why I like this character more than I do Lyra Belacqua in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy). It also helped that Sally Lockhart went from the fantastic 16-year-old to an even more fantastic 22-year-old in the second book. This kind of writing followed through in The Shadow in the North, and it was fabulous to see the repeated cast the second time around. It was such a great way to introduce a slew of characters, and while there were multiple points of views, I appreciated how the reader knew what the villains were thinking. And I don't know when I'll be compelled to read the third installation. Because I can't think of reading this book again. I love this book, but I hate him so much right now.

Philip pullman the shadow in the north