The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Series #1)

Wow. Perhaps one of the finest bits of fantasy i have read

First off, yes this is sold as a young adult novel. It really isnt though. It is actually a novel... young and old alike will like it.

Second... where do i begin in saying how good it is? The world feels fully formed and the writing is breathtakingly good. The character are all well thought out and are multi dimensional. The plot has just the right amount of twists. And the story is incredible.

Yes this book was written as "an atheist response to narnia"... but it goes so far beyond that as to become a fully fledged fantasy classic on its own merits. Give it a read - you will not regret it.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

What is going on in this book?

Let me preface by saying I have never seen the movie, nor do I plan to. I'm almost at a loss for what to write as a review for this book. I know this story is apparently written for a younger audience, but i don't see how. I had to reread a lot of pages in this story just to keep track of what was going on, I would get so lost it was ridiculous. The only things that I can attribute this to are 1) we are to assume to already know how this 'alternate' world works, such as Dust, daemons, talking bears, witches, etc. with absolutely little to no introduction on who or what these things are and 2) maybe I just got so lost because British writers just write differently. While the story may be difficult to understand or follow in certain parts, it has piqued my interest into the next book. So... having bought the boxed set, and being fairly curious as to what happens to Lyra and Pan after they 'step into the sky', I'll read the next one. Maybe I'll be able to follow along better this time? We'll see!

4 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass is a tangled web that has many problems that make you feel that this book should not have been a Fantasy book for children, but overall Philip Pullman was able to make a book that is able to shine through the problems that it has.

The Golden Compass is about a young girl named Lyra and her Daemon Pan, (daemons are animals that are born with there human and there appearances are judged by the persons personality), but because Lyra is so young, Pan has no full form yet. Lyra is a young brunet haired girl who is content to cause problems for the scholars and servants, Lyra lives in a world were churches and scholars rule most of Europe and every person has a Daemon. I can relate to Lyra because she feels that she does not know her own past. Lyra also has a so called uncle called Lord Asriel (a powerful scholar who Lyra fears and respects) Lord Asriel is a powerful man who has many ties with Jordan college. Lord Asriel daemon is a snow lion, Lyra meets a young women named Mrs. Coutler who is a proud scornful women. Her daemon is a golden monkey who also has a short temper.

The Golden Compass takes place in a parallel Europe, were the countries are controlled by churches and scholars. People in this world all have animals that are called daemons that are a part of them. This is very important! This story centers around Lyra who is very hyper and begins her quest to save her friend Hennery and find the truth.

Unfortunately the author made a mistake with this book that was meant for children. In a later interview Philip Pullman stated that with this book he had killed God, and claims that the gobblers in this story are actually churches in the real world. This did make enjoy the book a little less when I learned of this. Still this book was made to be about truth, love, and courage I also learned from this book that everyone has his/her own problems and must fix them, the conclusion of this book leaves many things open to for the next story.

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Creatatively Written and clever witted

The Golden Compass is a thrilling book. I highly suggest reading it. This book leaves you hanging and craving for more of Pullmans brillance. Lyra and her deamon,Pan, captivate you in there world and you never want to leave. Pullman manages to suck you up in this book and make you never want to leave the adventure.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Great!

I really liked this book. Phillip Pullman is incredably original in all of his ideas. In my oppinion at least. I suggest this book to anyone who liked Ender's Game or Harry Potter, though they're not alot alike.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Zoe's Book Reviews

The Golden Compass is a great book. I loved it so much because the idea of the compass. I think that sometimes having a daemon would be so cool. I really like Iorek Byrnison he is probably my favorite character.

The Golden Compass is a wonderful book about a young girl named Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon or for short Pan. Lyra is put in the care of a wonderful lady named Mrs. Coulter but then she finds the truth with a amored bear named Iorek. Lyra and Iorek must help every kid from a horrible thing.

This book is a wonderful fantasy book with great characters, a wonderful plot and a twist.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A very good book.

I found myself enjoying this book- the ideas, such as Daemons, the characters, such as Iorek, and the places, such as Ma Costa's ship. Overall, it was a good book and I suggest you read the entire series.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Ugh

The beginning is really good but then it gets to hard to follow. I would not read. To many characters. To hard to follow.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

a good fantasy read

This was a fairly well-done fantasy read, but for this type of thing I prefer Roderick Blackwood and the Demon Stone by Ralph Rathbone, which is much more exciting.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

:)

A very good trilogy. The 2nd & 3rd books get better.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Delightful juvenile adventure; not atheist propaganda

"...I definitely stayed up way too late on some nights, just because I didn't want to put the book down, and I was a little sad when I finished it; it ends with a lot of action and mystery, and I look very forward to reading the second book in the trilogy so I can find out what happens next for Lyra and Pan, and see who, if any, of the other characters might also be around.

If you've seen the movie, but have not yet read the book - read the book. Seriously. As much as I enjoy the movie, I was pleased to find out that the book has even more action and adventure, and more mystery as well! You're definitely cheating yourself if you haven't read this yet, and I wish I hadn't taken so long to get to it..."

For full review, please visit me at Les Livres on Blogger:

jaimeliredeslivres dot blogspot dot com

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Absolutely love it

This book is one of the best ever

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great!

One of the best books i've ever read! I can't put it down!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Worth the time.

This is most def an odd book but once u get into it you cant put it down. Great series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great and challenging adventure

I loved this book and then passed it on to my niece. A great adventure with great characters. The movie version was a disappointment except that the cast was well chosen. I also thought Pullman's presentation of a different understanding of the interface between religious and scientific understanding quite interesting and worth pondering. Highly recommended no matter at what level you read. I recommend Pullman's other books as well. Great series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Lord Voldemort

Great!!

Good book

Good book

AWESOME!

Our 11year old girl book group read and everyone LOVED it!

Breathtaking

This stunning novel never fails to leave me more in love with the characters and the places than the time before. Every time, I am sucked into the story, and I feel as if I am right alongside Lyra in the fridged North.
By far the best of Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, it is a book I come back to again and again for a taste of adventure, tradgedy, love and vivid imagination.

Adult or kids book? Who knows?

Have been meaning to read this for years now and finally got around to it. I wanted to read it ever since I heard that the book was extremely critical of organized religion and dealt with concepts that would generally have been over a young adults head. That is absolutely true. This is a great book. Well worth the read for all fans of Science Fiction. It's much more of a Science Fiction than a Fantasy. Easily five stars.