Ohhh alright then, flip sakes, not enough of a 3 to be a 4, so like 3.45 ⭐️ because those hefty passages of explaining all the explanatory details the author felt needed over-explaining really subtracted from the flow of the adventure this one was advertised as in all the synopses. 

Sure, still, the adventure is wild and intense, but perpetrates a touch of confusion in the shrugging acceptance by which the heroes engage their task.

But…this second addition only leaves us hanging on a cliff, wondering what Will’s fate will be and how Lyra wields such silent power (and yet does so little in this novel) for the number of characters who pop up without much purpose or reason other than to praise Lyra. This strange quest to kill the creator, annihilate destiny, and discover dust (Dark Matter) flings us between daemons (spirit beings) and angels and witches and sceptres and a group of mental children ripped straight out of <i>Lord of the Flies</i>…

Not gonna lie: it’s a weird one, but it’s a twisting, character-complicated adventure, and though the uncertain (accidental?) quest is often overshadowed by long passages of ideological dissertation wrapped up in ‘you-didn’t-know-that?’ dialogues, it has its moments of shining emotion and captivating suspense.

Perhaps Book 3 will be able to tie up the myriad loose ends Book 2 has managed to unravel since Book 1.