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hannahhamburger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
asriram's review against another edition
4.0
A bit slow of a start, but once it gets going, the book is incredibly interesting and entertaining.
jtrogers1992's review against another edition
3.0
If I could I’d go with 3.5 stars as I overall enjoyed the book and particularly the ending! I plan to continue reading this series for sure. Definitely a bit didactic about certain plot points which bothered me a bit.
curiouslyjade's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say? After I read this as a kid, I wanted a daemon for years. And I kind of still do.
jen395's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
I've been subconsciously avoiding this book for a few years. It's for a dumb reason too. Basically, the cover of this book reminded me of The Polar Express and that movie creeped me the fuck out as a child. But having finally read it, I quite liked it.
There's some great world-building here. I was iffy about Lyra as a protagonist at first but she really grew on me. There were a lot of characters, and I did not keep track of them, but I liked most of them. The audio production was fantastic, and... honestly, the book kinda took me by surprise with the magic and the politics and the story overall. The ending was great and got me hyped for the rest of the series.
In the end, I'm glad I got over my childhood bias enough to give this book a shot. Though I still maintain that The Polar Express is creppy and shouldn't be shown to children.
There's some great world-building here. I was iffy about Lyra as a protagonist at first but she really grew on me. There were a lot of characters, and I did not keep track of them, but I liked most of them. The audio production was fantastic, and... honestly, the book kinda took me by surprise with the magic and the politics and the story overall. The ending was great and got me hyped for the rest of the series.
In the end, I'm glad I got over my childhood bias enough to give this book a shot. Though I still maintain that The Polar Express is creppy and shouldn't be shown to children.
baubausaur's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
4.0
This fits into what has become one of my favorite fantasy sub-genre's: speculative/alternative history with magical elements.
While The Golden Compass is extraordinarily light on character development, the plot is compelling and I found the world-building to be imaginative. Pullman creates an interesting cosmology in this "anti-Chronicles of Narnia" tale, that leaves readers wishing they had daemons of their own.
As has been noted elsewhere, the film version failed due to it's watering down the religious/anti-religious themes that feature more prominently in the book. I remain optimistic that the new His Dark Materials tv series will do it greater justice.
While The Golden Compass is extraordinarily light on character development, the plot is compelling and I found the world-building to be imaginative. Pullman creates an interesting cosmology in this "anti-Chronicles of Narnia" tale, that leaves readers wishing they had daemons of their own.
As has been noted elsewhere, the film version failed due to it's watering down the religious/anti-religious themes that feature more prominently in the book. I remain optimistic that the new His Dark Materials tv series will do it greater justice.