The Golden Compass

I decided to read the book after watching the first episode of His Darkest Materials and instantly falling in love with the story and world created by Phipllip Pullman. Althought often refered to as a kids book, there are some subtleties and deeper meanings here that make this a much deeper book then what might be anticipated. This was an incredibly easy ready, with amazing writing and good progression.

I just finished this wonderful book that was heavily recommended to me. I enjoyed it very much and following the journey of Lyra, Pantalaimon and Iorek never left me bored nor outpaced: the rhythm is excellent.
I would recommend for both kids and adults as it's one of those story that has several degrees of reading. By fear of spoiling anyone, I will only say that the underlying theme treated here is omniprevalent in our society.
I can't wait to see how this story is going to evolve, as it's time for me to start the second book of this trilogy, “The Subtle Knife”.

Great start terrible ending

If you enjoyed Harry Potter and Narnia (and the like), but long for a more complex plot, deeper magic, and a more fantastical journey, you'll very much enjoy the first book in Philip Pullman's “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Great read.

Brilliant. The first book in astoundingly rich and original masterwork of fantasy. Start here and thank me when you finish The Amber Spyglass. You're welcome.

This was pretty good but fell short. Pullman's writing - the individual craft of the sentences and the emotional heft he carries - are the strongest parts of the book. He also has a fun sense for set pieces. Some fell flat but I loved the time spent at Jordan College and the research facility.

But I don't think this stacks up to the best YA literature I've come across. Pretty much the whole time I wished I was reading the Earthsea series instead, which I remember having a much richer sense of adventure and evil. The Golden Compass also does not do enough to complicate its orientalist and colonialist elements. And Lyra falls asleep immediately after a major action piece (and sometimes before it has concluded?) about once every 10 pages.

I had previous watched the HBO Series His Dark Materials and did enjoy it the TV show and now I have started this series as a whole starting with the golden compass

This world has the feel of a steem fantasy set in a alternate earth universe where everyone has a animal companions referred to as daemons which for me at least is a unique take on alternative earth.

The world that we find our main character Lyra in, is controlled by a religious orgnization known as the maigsterium aka the catholic church which is reference in a few different ways and seems to, like the tv show to be heading into a conflict between religious dogma and scientific advancement, which I think is the point of these books to begin with.

One could argue I think that this is a young adult series, between the young protagonist and the animal companions in a way it has a kind of cozy feeling of growing up while taking on that call to adventure, like harry potter, Lyra is very young when she gets her call to adventure and I am certainly enjoying this book series so far.

I found the writing style to be simple and easy to read, while still doing a great job and world building and character development. The anthropomorephized bears with their armor are prob some of my fav aspects of this world, as well as the unique take on wtiches which unlike other fantasy, are not the typically dark, ugly forest women who prey on unsupecting victims lol

all around fun read and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This was a throwback read for me since it was one of my favorite childhood series so I thought I'd give it a reread to see if it held up to standard now that I'm an adult.

First I'll say that despite the witches and the talking bears and the fantasy tag: this book leans much more toward sci-fi than fantasy in my opinion. There are definitely fantasy elements, as previously established, but most of the plot centers on scientific ideals and goals like the multiverse theory and copious discussions about particles and energy including a particle made up completely for this book and world. I don't normally go for sci-fi, so while I might not have picked this book up today as a new read, I had fond enough memories of it from my childhood to dive back in.

The best part of this book is absolutely the daemons. It's such an interesting concept that I've never seen anyone try to do before; not to this scale or this detailed. I'm kind of obsessed with it to be honest, and it's what led me to gloss over the parts of the book that I would normally mark down the rating for just because it's so engaging.

That said, this book is surprisingly dense for how short it is. You really have to pay attention to make sure you know what's going on and the plot is ruthless as it goes from one place and plotline to another without giving you time to breathe. This isn't the type of book you can put down for a while and then pick back up without probably being confused about where you are for a moment. The story itself was interesting enough; I absolutely adore Lyra for all she annoys me sometimes but I think that's a good thing. For all of her talents as a protagonist: manipulation, misdirection, adaptability, the author also makes it very clear that she is still a child and she's going to make childish mistakes and still act immature. I think a trap a lot of authors fall into while writing a younger protagonist is to make them act older than their age to appeal to more readers or for plot purposes, but I think the story is made all the better when you have to grapple with the fact that Lyra IS a child and she's going to approach everything like a child would.

Overall, this is still a very solid story. I'll be finishing my reread of the trilogy for sure.

I liked the plot and many of the characters, I think I just don't love this writing style? Idk, was kind of a slog at times for me to get through despite wanting to know what happened to Lyra and Iorek — I'll probably just watch the show now

Is this book for children - absolutely not. But is it a great book - indeed it is.

We have an intricate plot, set in a world that is our own (except that it isn't), and carried out by some of the most intriguing and duplicitous characters, that will never leave you indifferent.

The book is full adventure and whimsy and lovely winter atmosphere and I read it within a day with no desire to stop at any point.

Highly recommend.

The world and the premise in this one has so much potential, but I just felt like the pacing was a bit too slow, and I found things really draggy by the middle. It also felt like an adult's story strongly dressed up as a children's book, because it dealt with very, very heavy topics and had some pretty violent scenes involving (anthropomorphic) animals fighting each other to the death. But yet the author used the guise of a children's book so he could do expositions and info dumps that would be excusable for children's stories but inexcusable for adults. Honestly a shame because I really liked the premise and the world and want to know more about the concepts introduced in this book, but I'm still on the fence whether I want to read the rest of the series.

I watched Golden Compass long ago and remembered loving the movie. It ended in way that there would be a sequel so I searched it up. And turned out the movie was a flop—how sad I was when I learned this. And it was based on a book series. One thing that made me loved the movie so much was the bond between human and their daemon. There was just something about their deep connection that touched something inside me. 

But for some reason I've been putting off reading the series because I was afraid I'd end up disliking them. LOL how wrong I was.

But honestly, it took times for me to get used to the writing style, but the second half of the book grabbed my attention just like that. And Lyra dear! She made me fell in love with this book! She is so witty and smart! Lord Asriel surprised me the most. I didn't expect him to be like THAT. Asshole. Oh, and Iorek Byrnison! My  polar bear! I love him and lyra. 

I know the trilogy was a critic towards religion, but I can't say much about it cause I don't really understand it fully. 

Enjoyed it a lot even though I knew the plot. Really liked Lyra and Pan

I thought I'd like this but, I had the hardest time getting myself to pay attention to the story. It's well written and I understand why this is loved, but I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or plot, maybe this is my fault ‘cause I read this in the middle of reading another fantasy book that I do like a lot and so every time I pulled myself away to read this, I just wanted to read the other instead.
But then again, I do recall not being interested in this book as a kid too, so maybe it's just not the story for me.

Já conhecia a história desse primeiro livro, então não tive grandes surpresas, apesar de ainda sentir empolgação e vontade de continuar a história conforme ia lendo. O mundo de Pullman é muito rico e cheio de camadas que, neste ponto, a gente só consegue ver e entender um pedacinho. Imagino o tanto de coisa que ainda tem por vir nos próximos livros da série. Muito bem escrito e com muitas passagens que dão material pro leitor pensar por algum tempo.

A little frustrating at times, simply because the main character was a bit annoying.

I'm really torn on where I land with this book. Lyra is such a fun character, the bears are awesome, and the overall world is really neat. On the other hand the main character has a device that can answer any question you could imagine and she NEVER uses it.

Overall I think if you're looking for a fun and unique fantasy read it's a safe bet you'll enjoy it. It was a great book club pick and gave us a lot to talk about!

I very much enjoyed the world-building of this fantasy, the subtle differences between their universe and our own. Pullman creates a linguistic fantasy, and I fell deeply into it. What I didn't fall deeply into, however, was Lyra. For some reason, I could not bring myself to care for her, relate to her, or even like her.

Maybe it was the childish, forced way she spoke (en't), her initial tendencies as a bully, or the first few chapters where she showed interest in absolutely nothing. Whatever it was, it ruined my initial impression of her and I struggled to repair that impression throughout the book.

Every other character was well-written to me. I found myself caring about the other children, the panserbjørne, the gyptians, even the dæmons (including Pantalaimon, who seemed to have more character than Lyra herself). I hated Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel with equal fervor, but I just felt lukewarm and confused about Lyra the entire time.

Maybe that's the point - for Lyra's character to be so ambivalent because of her position in the story. Bridging the gap between childhood and adolescence, her world and the world in the Aurora, society and prophecy. I'm eager to see how she fares in book two, and maybe I'll have enough time to form a new opinion.

Once I finish the trilogy I may re-read book one to see if I can enjoy it more deeply. My experience with fantasy worlds like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings has made me used to caring for and relating to the heroes, which made my experience with Lyra all the more disappointing.

This world is absolutely amazing, and I love Lyra and Pan with all my heart. The descriptions of the land, the characters, and emotions are incredibly vivid and powerful.

Barely related personal note: I started reading this years ago and couldn't remember where I stopped. I have a bind up of all three novels and had seen the movie, so that made it even more difficult. After finishing the book, I still have no idea how far I originally read, but I can say it's a definite possibility I had actually finished it. If I did, that means I got to do one thing people always say they wish they could do: I read it for the first time again!

WHAT. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. SO COOL.

Easy to read, exciting and fun adventure.

Another one that I lowered my expectations as far as I could. This one is much larger then Narnia though.

I started with the TV series, got to a few minutes into the third episode. It took 4 hours into the book to reach that same point. It was dreadful repetitive, but I kept hoping after that It would payoff. It didn't.

The story is just too boring, the characters too plain, the world building doesn't inspire me. All is too.. juvenile, which is after all the book's target audience.

Read 4:33/10:33 ~43%

This review is also featured at Behind the Pages: The Golden Compass

In the world of The Golden Compass, every human has a daemon. They are an extension of a person's soul. Whatever a daemon feels, their human feels as well. Lyra and her daemon Pan spend their days wandering around Oxford college, listening to the Scholars when they choose and wandering the streets to play with other children. Always ready for another adventure, Lyra is excited to learn she will be traveling North with Mrs. Coulter. Until she learns the horrible truth of what happens in the North. Her journey becomes a race to save her friends and family. Along the way, she will learn the bitter truth about betrayal and dark ambitions.

The Golden Compass is one of those books that stays with you. I first read this ten years ago, and I have never forgotten the elegant writing style or the gripping story of Lyra as she tries to save those she cares about. Lyra is a girl with a rabid imagination, able to spin a tale at the drop of a hat and entrance whatever audience she has, including the reader. Phillip Pullman has woven together a vivid display of cultures and philosophical theories into one enchanting tale.

I know there are people who refer to this book as religious, or political. Being someone who doesn't necessarily follow organized religion, or politics, the details that some readers pick up on that revolve on religion or politics simply are beyond me. To me, this was an intricate fantasy tale that I found entertaining from start to finish. Yes, when Iorek and the bears are introduced it mentions Christianity, but I just took it as another piece of world-building. I have never read beyond the first book, so perhaps I will pick up more on these themes as I continue to read.

Ammetto che mi ha deluso un pochino la lettura di questo romanzo, avevo alte aspettative dato che è un libro parecchio famoso da cui hanno tratto un film e la recente serie tv (che trovo perfino meglio del libro a tratti). Complice il fatto che ho letto, bazzicando in giro, che è un romanzo apprezzabile anche da un target più adulto rispetto a quello consigliato, per via dei temi che si affrontano nel libro. Infatti non nego che la piccola protagonista del libro è piccola solo nel numero degli anni, mentre la maggior parte del tempo dimostra una maturità non caratteristica della sua età, lei osserva gli adulti e le loro azioni, riflette sul perché fanno quello che fanno, si pone continuamente domande sulla natura delle cose e da queste domande nascono spunti abbastanza interessanti, ed è tutto qui.

Il wordbuilding è stato palesemente costruito basandosi sul una versione del mondo degli anni ‘10 in uno stato teocratico di una variante della nostra Chiesa Cristiana, aggiungendo in piccole dosi magia che viene amalgamata in questa pseudoscienza. Ho trovato interessante la presenza dei Daimon, simpatici animaletti mutaforma legati ad ogni persona. Ma del resto in realtà non sono rimasto così colpito, tranne poche cose l'ho trovato così poco originale e a tratti forzato. tranne gli orsi-guerrieri, quelli sono parecchio fighi Il motore degli eventi del libro, una specie di anomalia magica-fisica promette cose molto interessanti... che in un certo senso potrebbe salvare il worldbuilding dei prossimi volumi tuttavia.

La storia penso sia uno dei punti dolenti, è estremamente dinamica, incentrata completamente sull'azione e sul destino, infatti se gli dovessi dare un nome la chiamerei “Una serie di fortunati eventi”, è allucinante che ci siano così tante coincidenze che rovinano proprio l'intera credibilità della storia. Il problema è che l'autore non ci prova a essere coerente, cerca di deformare la storia in modo che tutto sia al loro posto quando deve esserlo, anche a rischio di risultare assurdo, e mi ha dato parecchio fastidio per tutta la durata del romanzo. Però ripensando al target originale del libro, capisco che molte persone ci potrebbero passare sopra. Inoltre ci sono alcuni palesi buchi di trama, fino all'ultimo i pochi colpi di scena sono incoerenti e incomprensibili... per quanto riguarda questo punto mi ero aspettato molto di più.

La scrittura è essenziale, quasi strumentale, non è elegante né precisa, è solo funzionale alla trama e all'azione, tirchia di descrizioni accurate e poco incisiva tranne in qualche raro momento. Ci sono molti dialoghi anche talvolta inutilmente lunghi, forse per dare più un taglio cinematografico che altro. Non che mi aspettavo troppo diversamente, però ecco è veramente povero lo stile dell'autore a parere mio.

I personaggi non spiccano né per caratterizzazione né per credibilità se per questo, ci sono diversi personaggi interessanti ma poco tempo per approfondirli, quindi sono tutte delle bozze, dato che l'attenzione è concentrata il 90% del tempo su Lyra, la piccola protagonista. Forse è anche per questo che è difficile inquadrare le loro azioni, anche questo è un lato che mi ha fatto storcere il naso.

Lo consiglio? Sì a tutti, ma con molte riserve, la prima è quella di aspettarsi un romanzo per bambini e non altro. Bisogna passare sopra su alcune coincidenze e buchi di trama. Soprattutto bisogna regredire un po' bambini per cogliere il lato divertente di questa “avventura”.

The story of Northern Lights begins with Lyra Belaqcua, a young child, living and studying at Jordan College. Lyra enjoys her life at Jordan College however certain events lead her away. Lyra witnesses one of her teachers, known as the master, trying to poison her Uncle Asriel. Her best friend, Roger, goes missing and rumours spread that he has been taken by “The Gobblers”. The culmination of these events is that she is soon introduced to Miss Coulter, a mesmerising socialite who may alter the course of her life, in unimaginable ways.

Northern lights was a fantastic start to the year. I listened to this is an audiobook, Philip Pullman and a full cast bring this book to life. Phlip Pullman does a splendid job or narrating his story which is a truly enrapturing one to follow. Lyra, as a character, feels so believable. She is a young child and while she does show kindness and courage, she also enjoys lies and fabrications. She has ingenious ideas but they always feel organic to her character and naturally tie into the fabric of the story. Another interesting element of this story is that every human has what is known as a Daemon, an animal which is linked to each person. These Daemon's tend to have characters of their own, it is a unique facet of this tale.
I have not gone into much of what the book is about here, to avoid spoilers, but this story is in itself a fantastic journey full of riveting events and spectacular sights.