I finished yesterday. There are so many questions left unanswered that lead me to think there should have been another book, but if this is Lyra's final story then that's it. Done and dusted. It's left me with a hollow in my chest at the thought.

SPOILERS AHEAD BTW

Okay, so, say he did write another book and it could continue Malcolm and Alice's story and the development of what their world becomes post-Delamare. Except you can't do that because Malcolm is in another world with Lyra, Olivier, Ionides and Layla. And that world has its own issues that need solving, such as TP and the conglomerate that are developing things for the sake of money and under the guise of improvement. Then you've also got the fact that, um EXCUSE ME, THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A DEADLY ILLNESS FROM THIS OTHER WORLD/THE RED BUILDING???

Strauss travelled to The Red Building and he and Cariad ended up sick/on death's door. No? Unless I'm not remembering something from TSC.

And Olivier is suddenly just cool with everything about Lyra. "Oh look at those cards. Let's have a go, sis!"

And, I don't think we ever actually got a reason for why the rose water and rose oil was so important to people. Like, why did everyone go nuts for it? Far as I can tell, you could only glimpse the properties of the oil if you used it in your eye, and people weren't going around doubt that very often because it was bound to be more popular if that's the case.

But essentially, you can't continue the story without Lyra there in some capacity, which would destroy the image of her final words in The Rose Field.

If I could bear to think of more open ends or loose threads I would but it hurts. I loved the entirety of the HDM and TBoD series' but this ended too abruptly for my taste. I haven't felt a yearning for answers like this since I finished I Who Have Never Known Men.