His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (Book 1) Book Reviews

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Anti-Lord of the Rings. The author is on record stating that his goal was to create an atheist's "Narnia", free of Christian moralizing and themes. To that extent, the entire series is derivative, and not particularly engaging, though The Golden Compass is the best of the three novels in the series. The conscious rejection of the Narnia series' themes is distracting to the adult, yet curiously opaque to the adolescent. In many places the story is mean-spirited, and as obnoxious as a 14 year old who has read Cliff's Notes summaries of post-Modern philosophers. The half-baked attempts to create a humanist alternative to the Narnia series throughout are fascinating to read, but one shouldn't expect that a novel dedicated to nullification of another idea is going to go very far in exploring the alternatives to that idea. At the very least, the author proved that what C. S. Lewis (and Tolkien, too) accomplished wasn't accidental or altogether easy.

Terrible. All these book do basically is try to convince impressionable kids and teens that god is a fake. Save your money. I wish i could put no stars because that's what it deserves!

I want a daemon of my own.. Love the notion of a personal daemon. A pretty good adventure for Lyra, great characters. Unsatisfying ending.

Just ok. I just finished “The Golden Compass” and I have to write I found it underwhelming. My overarching issue with this book, like so many other of its genre (and many of today’s movies), is the Matrix complex - in this instance the heroine being that one special person marked from birth who is destined to save the world. As I get older, I find this theme so elitist and Calvinistic - that is your fate is pre-determined for greatness, especially if you’re from a privileged or “special” background. Additionally, since we know the heroine, Lyra, is so special, it diminishes her various tribulations since you then expect she’ll come through everything ok. Finally, that also winds up with most of the characters being so one dimensional as mere bit players to Lyra. I’m hoping books 2 and 3 pick up from this rather mediocre start.

So Far So Good!. A great opening to the trilogy. I'm looking forward to the next two installments. So far it's right up there with The Lord of the Rings and the Narnia Series. I'm not religious at all, so to me, comments from those who believe in an almighty god are completely irrelevant, not only for this work, but for the before mentioned works. Religious people tend to want to put their own spin on fantasy, since that's exactly what their own beliefs are based on.

Amazing!. This novel was perfect. I actually saw the movie without knowing there were books for them, and whenever that's happened to me, I have always liked the movies more just because I saw that version first. But on the other hand, this book was spectacular. The fantasy in this novel was creative, exciting, original, and in every way beautiful. Lyra, the main character, was a witty, stubborn, and passionate protagonist that everyone will fall in love with. And lastly, the themes of this novel are very relevant to things that could happen in our world today. Members of governments and the Church could one day gain the amount of power to do an immense amount of damage, which has happened before in our history, this novel, and could perhaps occur in the future. So in all terms, The Golden Compass was eye-opening and enchanting. Amazing.

HIs Dark Materials. This is an incredible trilogy to rival the Lord of the Rings!! An absolutely amazing ride, the first book is by far my least favorite, the other two get better and better. Excellent choice for all ages of readers from tweens to adults. Enjoy

Screw da haters. I know some of you know it all’s think that the ending was terrible and it is a Narnia rip off but it is better than your life story.

Excellent read. Would highly recommend the audible audiobook.

Su. FYI KONG so Desi

Great Book Slightly Complicated for younger audiences. This book is amazing, telling the story of Lyra Bellequa. Pullman did a great job and if you liked this book I urge you to read the rest of the series. Amazing though if you want your kids to read this I would wait until their at least 11 as it has some dark and complicated scenes that may scare younger kids. Also same with the show all though be prepared it’s not exactly the same so you may say “ I don’t remember this “ and you might also say “Yep I remember this exact scene”. Hope this review was helpful 😀!

Such a great trilogy! SPOILER ALERT. Wow!! I loved this book series! It's a great read, and the idea of your conscience being an animal that stays with you forever is brilliant! Loved how it began with a young girl and her dæmon sneaking around their medieval home, and ended with inter-dimensional travel! I loved the intelligent trunked creatures in The Amber Spyglass, and how the dark matter has a life of its own. I wonder... Is dark matter actually a form of communication with God? Hmmm...... Great book, all in all. I would definitely recommend it! But, it's on Overdrive the app for free... Don't buy it. Check it out from your local library!

Love!. This is honesty one of the best book/book series i've ever read. Highly reccomended!

Incredible!. The Golden Compass is a book where nothing is certain, and it kept me hooked up to the very end. I’ve only ever read anything better except Harry Potter! I can’t wait for The Book of Dust!😍😍😍😍😇👍🏿

Great Story, Valid Point. This book is a great story and a I can’t wait to read the next one. The characters are either entirely likeable or entirely not likeable. It doesn’t seem like there is a middle ground, but that serves a purpose within the story that makes a point of its own. Clearly all the Christians against this book never actually read the book. The church of the book is removing the souls of children and killing them in the process. There are a lot of diabolical characters who see children merely as pawns. They certainly don’t see them as human beings. The point Pullman is making with that is abundantly clear and the church itself is proving his point is valid. There objections say more about themselves than they do about the book.

amazing and heartbreaking. you need to use your mind and feel with your soul.. i read these books when i was younger and enjoyed the adventure and the magic. i was very aware of the atheistic and agnostic undertones. but now that i'm in my twenties, i can't believe how deep it really goes. i've laughed at the silliness. i've been breathless and on the edge of my seat. but i've sobbed. i don't remember feeling so sad when i was a kid, but now i'm older, i understand what the books mean. a POWERFUL trilogy. unfortunately, a majority of the world is too closed minded to attempt to accept the message in his dark materials.

Terrific books!. It's sad that this great country of ours is so resistant to anything that smacks of "non-believers". This book tells an incredible story, which also posits a world without religion, and offers up exciting visuals, ideas, plot, and riveting characters. These books should have been as popular as Twilight, Harry Potter, et al, book because of the foolish intolerant nutcases it's been smeared. If your looking for great young readers (adults enjoy it too) novels then pick this up.

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Over priced, buy the physical book cheap. Ibooks ripoffs aside, this was an incredible read, I grew up with Harry Potter and Lord of the rings, and sadly never found the time to read the Golden compassion until just recently (15 years later). All I can say is if you love fantasy and tumbling into a strange new world where with love able and endearing characters then read this book! The rules of the story's universe are addicting and well defined, not to mention very relive the to the strong and engaging story. Definitely recommended and will likely be reading to my children one day.

Too expensive. $10 for a digital copy?! The US copy of this on iBooks is $7, what's up with that? I'll give this book a proper rating when the digital copy costs less than a physical copy and the Canadian version doesn't cost nearly 50% more than the US version. Pure and simple greed.