rblog

The Golden Compass
Author: Philip Pullman
Amazon info

A very promising start to a trilogy. Mysterious, foreboding, and fascinating. The book begins slowly, taking place in a universe that is similar to ours, but different. This creates some confusion for the reader and patience is required. But about 1/3 of the way in, things get a little clearer and captivating. The story features Lyra and her daemon, her estranged parents (Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter), and a cast of many others - including armored bears and witches. Everyone appears to be caught up in the search for Dust - which the Church believes to be an echo of the original sin, but also appears related to the Aurora Borealis. I especially like the alethiometer, a device that when properly used can answer any question put to it.

On the positive side, this is a fairly unique novel, which brings in some interesting physics (in particular the multiwold view of quantum theory). I love the characters and the similarity of her universe to ours. For better or worse, it is not clear to me who is good or bad. Lyra is definitely good. Her father, not clear. Her mother seemed clearly evil, but at the end of the book things became less clear. Representatives of the Church seem generally bad, but I can't really make judgments yet. Lord Asriel is out to challenge God ("The Authority") does that make him good or evil? I have my opinions of course. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Recommendations: None yet, too early in the series.

PS - I have NOT yet seen the movie, I heard there was major controversy over the role of religion, but I don't know if the (seemingly) anti-religious sentiment of the book was toned down for the movie (I would expect it was, but perhaps I am being cynical).