The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)
Philip Pullman

Middle Grade Fantasy
416 pages, softcover
Target Reader: Ages 12+

Knopf
978-0375823459
Release Date: 1996



(see review below)

From the publisher:

Lyra is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle—a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle.

Read an excerpt.

That doesn't tell you a lot, so here's a bit more. First, the setting is a parallel universe to ours so while places and customs feel familiar, you can't assume that they are the same. Children are disappearing, being taken North by the Gobblers. The rumor is that they're killed. When one of Lyra's friends disappears, she decides to go after him but she is temporarily distracted by Mrs. Coulter, who at first seems sweet and nice, but she hides some really dark secrets.

Escaping from the Gobblers herself, Lyra travels North with the Gyptians and others, looking for the missing children. She has a compass called an aletheiometer, which lets her see the truth of things and predict what will happen. Through the use of this compass and her own courage and determination, Lyra eventually discovers the secret of the Gobblers and what they're doing with the children, but not why (at least, not in this book).

The Golden Compass is book #1 in the His Dark Materials series. It will be released as a movie in December 2007. It's got a few big stars in it, like Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Kevin Bacon, and it's being advertised as a children's movie. This concerns me, but I'll get to those concerns later.

I would rate this book as PG-14, meaning absolutely not for children under 14. I would also suggest that parents read this book before giving it to their children or letting them see the movie. The book is very dark and brutal. There is some mild swearing. There is violence against children—kidnapping, torture, and one more thing that I won't tell you because it's integral to the secret of the book. It wouldn't, as in couldn't, happen in our universe because we don't have daemon familiars, but the terror of the children and the shock of this abuse is vividly described. There is a war going on, attempted killings, and a blow-by-blow, descriptive fight to the death between bears that seem more human than not.

The book is written in a very slow and "vintage" style, not the fast-paced, high action style we expect in today's fantasy novels. It takes a while to get into it, but once you recognize the pace and adjust your expectations the story moves quite well. The characters are interesting. I love Lyra. She reminds me of a mix between my daughters, when they were younger. I love the dialogue, the word choices, the sentence structure. Setting aside the darkness of the storyline, the writing itself is intriguing and fun.

The plot moves along in a believable way, until the very end (chapter 21), when the main character starts quoting parallel universe scripture and goes off on an "original sin" tangent that turns out to be a major motivator for the story.

What?!

This was, perhaps, the most disturbing part for me. I don't want my theology messed with. But aside from that, it's such a radical departure from the rest of the book that I just didn't buy it. There was no hint that this was coming. I felt like either the author wasn't quite sure where he was going and how to explain the mysterious Dust so he threw in religion; or that he purposely manipulated us through an otherwise good story just so he could preach nonsense at the end. Pullman is clearly preaching anti-Christian philosophy.

Up until chapter 21, I would have given this book 4 stars, recommending it to adults who like fantasy, with the strong disclaimer that it needs parental approval before allowing teens (16+) to read it. But after chapter 21, where I felt the plot fell to pieces, I'm giving it a 2.0. If you really, really want to read it, check it out from the library—but expect to be disappointed in the ending.

Will I read the remainder of the series? Probably not.


Plot:

Characters:

Ending:

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Content Ratings

Language: Mild swearing.

Violence: Very brutally violent in places; not appropriate for children and younger teens. While this is technically not a horror story, many of the scenes are truly horrifying.

Drugs/Alcohol: Some drinking by adults.

Immorality: No sexual situations, but the immorality of killing children for gain...

Values/Themes: Disturbing ending, with anti-Christian messages.

Age Appropriate: Absolutely NOT for children, nor for sensitive readers. Very mature teens and adults, only.

Writing Mechanics: Good until the very end.


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