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humbuggery 's review for:
The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman
Finally, after THREE months, I’ve finished it!
I’m not sure how I feel about this book, hence why there is no rating. There were moments when I just couldn’t read anymore, and in the beginning of this book I was definitely considering just DNFing. But after watching the TV show (which is amazing btw), I decided to pull through, and I’m (sort of) glad I did!
The book started off slow and a bit boring, but picked up towards the end. There was lots of action and the book caught interest during the second half. However, I wish there was some more focus on the characters and their relationships with each other. I thought all the friendships/relationships between the characters were surface-level and didn’t go deeper. This applies especially for Lyra and Roger, who apparently were the best of friends and so close that Lyra journeyed all the way North to save him. Yet, I couldn’t find bring myself to care for Roger and his survival. I could probably count how many times Roger was actually on page using my fingers. It was also easy to guess who the “villains” of this story were, even without watching the show beforehand. I wish the author had made it a bit harder to predict, a little more of a plot twist.
I’m not sure if my enjoyment of this book (or lack of) during different parts of the book was because my mood at the time/going through a reading slump, or if I just didn’t like it. It feels unfair to give “The Golden Compass” 2 stars just because I was in a reading slump at the time I was reading it.
One I thing I can say with certainty is that the TV show is MUCH better. The pacing is faster, and the characters themselves, along with their relationships, are much improved. The action is still there, and it’s pretty cool to see all these intense scenes from the book transferred onto the screen. Plus their intro is SO COOL. Definitely would recommend the show (His Dark Materials on HBO).
I’m not sure how I feel about this book, hence why there is no rating. There were moments when I just couldn’t read anymore, and in the beginning of this book I was definitely considering just DNFing. But after watching the TV show (which is amazing btw), I decided to pull through, and I’m (sort of) glad I did!
The book started off slow and a bit boring, but picked up towards the end. There was lots of action and the book caught interest during the second half. However, I wish there was some more focus on the characters and their relationships with each other. I thought all the friendships/relationships between the characters were surface-level and didn’t go deeper. This applies especially for Lyra and Roger, who apparently were the best of friends and so close that Lyra journeyed all the way North to save him. Yet, I couldn’t find bring myself to care for Roger and his survival. I could probably count how many times Roger was actually on page using my fingers. It was also easy to guess who the “villains” of this story were, even without watching the show beforehand. I wish the author had made it a bit harder to predict, a little more of a plot twist.
I’m not sure if my enjoyment of this book (or lack of) during different parts of the book was because my mood at the time/going through a reading slump, or if I just didn’t like it. It feels unfair to give “The Golden Compass” 2 stars just because I was in a reading slump at the time I was reading it.
One I thing I can say with certainty is that the TV show is MUCH better. The pacing is faster, and the characters themselves, along with their relationships, are much improved. The action is still there, and it’s pretty cool to see all these intense scenes from the book transferred onto the screen. Plus their intro is SO COOL. Definitely would recommend the show (His Dark Materials on HBO).