The Golden Compass

I remember all of the hype around the movie and I started to read this book years ago but never got through it. Now with a little more time and understanding I can appreciate it better.

Lyra is a well written character. It's too bad I can't say the same about her uncle (Lord Asriel). You think he's an honorable guy, but really he turns out to be a jerk with his own agenda. Mrs. Coulter shows some vulnerability towards the end but it is clear where her alliances lie.

I do like the witches and the gyptians. They help keep the flow of the story gong and make some of the scenes more exciting. I think Pullman mught have used the witches a bit better towards the end of the book because they started to become the ones to swoop in and save Lyra when she got in trouble.

The ending is not going to be satisfying, only because it was clearly written to be a series. There are plenty of questions left for the reader, including the nature of Dust and why everyone is so afraid of it. Actually in writing this I now have a guess about Lord Asriel's motivations. I will see if I am right in the future books.

Its a good read, hopefully the next books are just as good.