nelsonmaddaloni 's review for:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

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A curious book, very intriguing indeed to read. I had somewhat put off reading Philip Pullman (originally because of his somewhat heated views of religion in my youth and then later for having heard the series goes South). This book, at least, is very fascinating to read. So many neat concepts and ideas and the prose, though for younger audiences, is not written as such which I find very good and appropriate as he doesn't talk down to his audience in the least. It follows my own philosophy towards children's entertainment and media and writing, it should never speak down to the audience and he does not do this. Lyra is, equally, a force to be reckoned with as a narrative focus. At times the set pieces are fantastical and at times grounded in a sense of reality. The story never shies away from darker subjects and had me feeling things and becoming rather emotional toward the narrative. These are fleshed out characters, for the most part, and introduced things that I definitely hope to see show up and develop in the later novels. I think comparing it to C.S. Lewis and Narnia is a little misguided. I have heard this as an anti-Narnia and if it is, it's not very apparent in this book. I understand that Pullman's Atheism somewhat influenced the genesis of the series but, ah, it didn't bother me either one way or another. These two are not truly comparable in that they are fantasy series for kids and, to be fair, there's others that would fit a better category. I liked it quite a bit and I anticipate my readings of the series as time goes on, it will not be immediate, but consider me hooked! It did not disappoint me in the least and flowed rather well and has some beautiful, haunting, and fantastical set pieces.