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The Golden Compass: A Must Read For Everyone

Updated on September 2, 2017

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass

So I’ve been reading new book after ntew book for a while now. But since I ran into some bad books, I decided to read one I love. So I went to my book shelf and grabbed an old copy of one of my all time favorite books. The book was The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman or if you live in the UK, you will know it as The Northern Lights. It is also the first book in the His Dark Materials Trilogy.

So what is it about? Well first off, its tale set in a world parallel to our own set in Oxford, Great Britain. From the curious details littered throughout the book one would think its set in 1920’s UK, but it has slight differences implying slightly steampunk and magic influences in the world. Also in this world, each person has part of their soul exists as a companion outside their body. They exist as a companion in animal form that can shape shift until the child reaches puberty. And throughout the book, this companion often times is acts as a physical manifestation of a conscience.

The book follows a wild tomboy orphan little girl named Lyra Belacqua, who grows up in Jordan College. One day she sneaks into the restricted retiring room. There she sees a scholar try to kill her uncle Lord Asriel. She ends up saving her uncle and watching the presentation he is offering to the college. It is there where she learns about a city of another world that can be seen through the aurora and strange particles that the scholars call dust. Dust falls from the sky and is strangely attracted to children. Fascinated by this, she wants to see the north and learn about dust and the city in the sky. But other things get in the way.

There are child thieves running a muck in Britain and when her best friend is stolen, she wants to get him back. Soon many turns in the story leads her to a journey north with a band of Gyptains, to save her friend and other poor children from Bolvanger in the deep north. Along the way, they encounter a kingdom of armored polar bears, the religious sect called the Magisterium,with their Tarter armies, and witches And the story lines eventually intersect with the mysteries of dust and the city in the sky.

The good? The book is so incredibly imaginative. From the armored bears to the spy flies, there are so many things in this book that I have never seen anywhere else. It is just so incredibly original. Also Lyra character is one of the unique and peculiar female leads to headline a book. She is just so different and her personality is just so incredibly strong as wild child who is a compulsive liar.

The bad? I’ve read this book three times long before I started these book reviews. Because I’m doing reviews now, I paid more attention to things. And the book could use a tad more detailed when it came to Lyra’s world, but that is all I can say.

Overall, this is an amazing and darn perfect book. It’s so amazingly original and then is just nothing else like it out there. I recommend this book to everyone.

4 smoothies out of four.

Overall Rating: A Must Read for Everyone

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