The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1) by Philip Pullman
3/5 stars
Premise– (3.5/5) I’ve heard a lot about Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, and I remember it being kind of a big deal when I was still in grammar school. Having never read it, I thought I’d give it a try when I found it at the Book Mobile. My vague recollections from grammar school all recall scandalous whispers about how the book/series was about killing God – definitely not mentioned in the premise. Anyway, I was intrigued by both those rumors and memories from when I was younger, and the given premise was interesting. I will say that once I finished, I felt the premise was a bit misleading, but overall I was definitely curious to read this one.
Characters– (3/5) Lyra was sometimes irritating but mostly endearing, as most 11 year olds are. Lyra’s cunning was admirable, and her bond with Pan was definitely touching. Her cleverness and determination made it pretty easy to root for her. I liked John Faa, Ma Costa, and the other gyptians a lot. Serafina was interesting, and I’d like to see more of her. Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, on one hand, were both very mysterious and intriguing, but on the other, almost felt a bit too “larger-than-life” for me. Iorek was a unique character, and one I enjoyed for sure. I liked the characters for the most part, but wanted them to be a little more three-dimensional. Lots of potential, but they weren’t quite as captivating as they should have been.
Plot– (3.5/5) There were a lot of parts to the plot, but they were mostly well done. There was a lot going on – a lot of travel, and lots of action broken up by stints of that travel. From Jordan College to the glamorous world of Mrs. Coulter to the icy terrain of the North, Lyra and Pan were never in one place for too long. I’m not sure I exactly understood all the details presented at the end about Dust and the city in the sky, which detracted a little from the climax for me. Though it can be hard to fit so many plot pieces together, I thought Pullman did a pretty good job. Also, I was expecting more interaction between Lyra and Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel based on the premise. I don’t mind that that’s not how things went down, but it’s not what I was expecting.
World– (3.5/5) I love, love, love the idea of daemons. Reading the book made me wish I had one of my own. As I stated above, some of the details of the Dust are still a bit murky for me, but that may be because I finished this book at nearly 2AM. Based on what I’d heard when I was younger, I was expecting the Church to have more of an influence, but I’m guessing they’ll have increasing presence in the rest of the trilogy. I would’ve liked a bit more world-building; the kinda-sorta base in real places but with different names and customs and things threw me for a loop and I wanted more explanations. Is this some sort of alternate timeline? They must be on Earth because, you know, England and the Church. I just feel like I had some unanswered questions about the world. But it has a lot of potential, and again, I loved the daemons.
Writing– (2.5/5) Stylistically, I didn’t have any issues with the writing, although the altered dialect took a little getting used to. I’m knocking some points for some uncomfortable racial coding. The mercenary who captured Lyra was described as having “Asiatic” features, and the gyptians felt sort of Romani-coded to me, which I’m not sure how I felt about. Also, this book is a little bit older, so some of the language took a bit of getting used to in that respect.
Overall– (3.2/5) The Golden Compass held a lot of interest for me because I know it’s fairly popular, and because I remember it being a big deal when I was younger. While I would’ve liked the characters to have more depth and the world-building to be more thorough, the plot was really solid. Not quite what I expected, but not necessarily in a bad way. The writing style was pretty easy to read, though there were a few instances of possible racial coding that made me uncomfortable. Still, I can see why The Golden Compass is considered a classic by some, and I’m intrigued enough to read book two if I find it.