A review of sorts: The Golden Compass series.

If you remember, my resolution this year was to read at least 25 books. I already have 17 down, so if I don’t make it I will officially be Quite Pathetic. Coming off my strongest month yet, I’m confident I’ll get there. I read five books during the month of May, including Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass series.

My friend J. was the one who recommended the series. If a book sounds even remotely interesting and it comes recommended, I’ll give almost anything a whirl. It doesn’t always click – my friend Midge recommended Reading Lolita in Tehran and after having fallen asleep mid-chapter five days in a rown, I gave up. But I try. And I’ll admit: I was highly doubtful about The Golden Compass. I remembered the movie trailers – these books had Fantasy and Science Fiction written all over them. I hate fantasy and science fiction. “But you love Harry Potter!” J. argued. Yeah, well, there’s an exception to every rule.

But I tried them anyways, just to be nice. And I was right – I hated it. At first. The Golden Compass starts out as fantasy-ridden as can be. These children live in a parallel-version of olden London. And people there have weird animal-like twinners who are somehow connected to their souls. And the story starts in media without explaining any of what’s going on. It was a lot to take in. “Keep going!” J. urged. “It gets better!”

And after awhile, it did. The first book was my favorite. It was packed full of adventure with a defined sort of plot. They conquered on scene, it flowed to the next. They conquered that scene, they moved on to the next. It culminated with a big cliffhanger that they had been building towards during the entire book. Very satisfying, the way that novel flowed.

The next book, The Subtle Knife, didn’t live up to my expectations. For one, the plot was slightly less adventure-based and a little more…is theoretical the right word? The focus was less action-based and more philosophical. Also? One of the main characters turned me off with some intial chauvinistc attitudes and it took a good portion of the book to forgive him. (For those of you reading, it does happen. I liked him again by the end of Book 3. Just in time for the story to end.) It’s hard for me to decide what was missing from the second book, but the closest I can guess is that the pace of the novel was just blocked differently.

The third book, The Amber Spyglass, was even more loosely constructed. The plot moved back and forth through time and bounced dizzingly to different subplots. Too many characters were busy with too many tasks. One character’s hunt for another was a little more linear and helped me get on board for a little while, but with the plot becoming more fantastical and just…out there…every page, I had a hard time hanging in there. If it weren’t for a strong attachment to the character of little Lyra, I doubt I would have hung in there at all.

Even at over 1200 pages, I’m still glad I invested myself. The story might not be my cuppa tea, but it was an original story, one that I will be able to talk about when it comes up…or when my girlies read it. It will blow their wee little minds that I was once so cool.

Tags: book review, Books, literature, reading