Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

16 reviews

cecilielaugesen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is one of those books you can read at any age, and you will most likely get something different from it each time.
Both the story line, the characters and the world are so complex and well build.
While it is entertaining it is also quite dark - all in all I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol and Confinement

xabbeylongx's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Spoilers Ahead: 

I had to read this book for university, and I didn’t realise how meaty the book is! The audiobook is like 12 hours long, and it’s a big read, but definitely one I enjoyed. A little shocked it’s classed as a children’s book, even towards older children, because some of the stuff in it was difficult for even me to comprehend, but I did really enjoy it. 

We follow Lyra as she’s spying on an important meeting. They’re investigating ‘dust’, which is something that people are scared of in the North. When Children start to go missing, there are lots of rumours about what it could be, but they all decide on one name: the Gobblers. 

When the Gobblers take Roger, one of the kitchen staff and Lyra’s friend, she decides she wants to go and find him. The mayor puts her in the care of a woman, whom she quickly becomes attached to, on their trip to the North, but she finds out that the woman is actually part of the Gobblers, and so she has to escape. 

The whole of their journey around the North is to find the Gobblers and to bring the children back to their parents. She joins a group of Gyptians on their quest. She finds out that the woman who is in charge of the Gobblers and who was looking after her is actually her mother, and her uncle is actually her real father. He has plans to use the dust to gain power. 

I feel a little indifferent about this book, to be honest. It was good, but it went on too long. There were a lot of names to remember, and they’re all quite difficult or a mouthful to say, so I often found myself getting confused. The plot was good, and I was really intrigued by the idea of dust, but I don’t feel that the ending answered all the questions I needed answering. My concentration sort of dwindled towards the end. The plot is so good, but I think it could have definitely been broken down into more books (I know it’s already part of a series), or just have had some of the parts taken out, especially towards the end. All of the characters were a bit insufferable, I can’t lie, I didn’t bond with them as much as I normally like to in a book, and I think that’s where the problem started. I was a massive fan of Iorek Byrnison, he was a great, loyal character and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about him. Other than that, this book was okay, not my favourite, though I understand I’m not the desired audience for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

jolineliest's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Deportation, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Grief, Confinement, Emotional abuse, War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Slavery, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Death of parent, Body horror, Gun violence, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, and Forced institutionalization

thetexasalp's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Holy cow I can't believe I read this as a child

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Child death, and Animal death

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

noxwitchbooklife's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I've read this a multitude of times in the last 20 odd years and it is absolutely my most read book. It opened my mind to fantasy and the idea of other worlds and realities along with the main character being a mischievous child with a big heart and a penchant for making up stories and it is just entertaining and wonderful every time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death

wildflower09's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, and Physical abuse

clrouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood

Minor: War, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Animal death

fjerda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really adored this book. The imagery was vivid and palpable. The child characters thought authentically like children which is lost in a lot of books. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Murder, Gore, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Child death, and Death

jadziaaudrey's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Murder and Grief

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship

dragonaion's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is more than just a fantasy tale of a child saving other children. This is a story of the need to belong and children surpassing their parents by choosing to push aside their stories, beliefs, fears, and becoming their own selves.

This is not a children's story; this has many discussions about the Christian church and original sin that may be disconcerting for some and does not put the church in a good light. However, for every growing adult who feels that they do not belong, that they do not believe the path that their parents lay in front of them is right- this is the story to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, and Animal death

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, War, and Animal cruelty