MobileRead January 2015 Discussion: The Golden Compass (UK title: Northern Lights) (spoilers)

[WT Sharpe]

The time has come to discuss the January 2015 MobileRead Book Club selection, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. What did you think?

[CRussel]

This was a re-read for me, but my first read was an audio book, and this time I read it on my Kindle. And while I enjoyed it, I found some of the dialog that worked well for me in an audio presentation, worked less well in the written form. It just felt a bit stilted.

Beyond that, I quite enjoyed this return to a very different Oxford and the North. And I'm not sure how much my memory of this book is tainted by having read the full series (in Audible format). Several characters have bigger roles later in the series, and Lee Scorsby in particular seems a less well thought out character here.

I'll be curious to hear how folks felt about the book who are reading it for the first time.

[bfisher]

I'm reading this for the first time, and am about 40% in - the ship has just left port. I'm enjoying it so far, but I agree with you that some of the dialogue reads oddly. For example, in one of John Faa's speeches, you have "If I stay my hand in the North .." (the speech of a well-educated orator) versus almost immediately afterwards "you’re a doing what I always warned you agin" (the speech of an uneducated person). It doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the book; it's just a small jarring note.

[fantasyfan]

I love the alternate Steampunk Oxford and Lyra is one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

I love the alternate Steampunk Oxford and Lyra is one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature.

It's funny, I never think of this as "steampunk", probably because I'd not ever heard the term until some significant amount of time after I'd first read it. And yes, I like Lyra a lot.

If you like Pullman, you might want to try his mystery series (darn, should have nominated it this month!): The Ruby in the Smoke, the first of the Sally Lockhart mysteries.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

I love the alternate Steampunk Oxford and Lyra is one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature.

I loved the steampunk feeling too, although there seem to be some oddities - taking a zeppelin from Oxford to London, and then a boat ride across the Thames to a block of flats on the Embankment

I wish she had taken a ride on the Chthonic Railway (the Underground).

There were obviously internal combustion engines (the canal boats and airships), but no indication of motor vehicles; were the cabs horse-drawn?

[fantasyfan]

TGC has so many fine moments! One section that for me contained an absolute horror was the imprisonment described in "The Daemon-Cages" and "The Silver Guillotine", particularly the attempt to sever the bond between Lyra and Pantalaimon. This was an attack on the child's very identity and sense of being. I suspect that Pullman is using the scene as a general parable on dehumanising ideologies in our world.

[fantasyfan]

Originally Posted by CRussel

If you like Pullman, you might want to try his mystery series (darn, should have nominated it this month!): The Ruby in the Smoke, the first of the Sally Lockhart mysteries.

I have that mystery series in PB and they are very good. They are probably best read in order and the sequence is:

The Ruby In the Smoke
The Shadow In the North
The Tiger In the Well
The Tin Princess

[WT Sharpe]

January has been a slow month for me, but I just finished The Golden Compass and am now looking forward to the second and third books in the trilogy. I really liked this one. The only major flaw in my opinion was that Lyra seemed mighty courageous for her young years.

[CRussel]

She is remarkably courageous for a 10 year old, certainly. But it's less about the absolute courage (or, more accurately, lack of learned fear), which I think many 10 year olds have, but the sustained courage and perseverance, something I find a bit unlikely. None the less, I still enjoyed this book even as a re-read.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by CRussel

She is remarkably courageous for a 10 year old, certainly. But it's less about the absolute courage (or, more accurately, lack of learned fear), which I think many 10 year olds have, but the sustained courage and perseverance, something I find a bit unlikely. None the less, I still enjoyed this book even as a re-read.

Your phrase "sustained courage and perseverance" sums up much better than my post my objections to her character's plausibility. Still, I suppose there are some 10 year olds who might demonstrate those traits. But that aside, I did enjoy the book very much.

[CRussel]

We agree, Tom. A C- on character plausibility, but a B+/A- on reading enjoyment. (And I actually think the supporting characters get much better in the 2nd and 3rd volumes.)

[fantasyfan]

Originally Posted by CRussel

We agree, Tom. A C- on character plausibility, but a B+/A- on reading enjoyment. (And I actually think the supporting characters get much better in the 2nd and 3rd volumes.)

I think that Lyra is a very well conceived character--remember she has the gift of reading a very powerful artifact--but agree that the reading pleasure is first class. (I would give it an A+). On the other hand, I have reservations about the next two books. For me, the following novels somehow lack the freshness of this brilliant opener. Will in The Subtle Knife is simply not in the same class as Lyra. By the end of the third book the plot is becoming bogged down in Pullman's ideology and many find the finale unsatisfying.

This is not to say that the final two volumes are not worth reading. They are. It's just that--perhaps--one should not expect the same magic. Of course this is only a subjective opinion on my part but we all have them.

[treadlightly]

I had a late start to this one, but once I got to it, I enjoyed it immensely. I love the concept of the daemons mirroring the soul of the child, even though I am still unsure if they are corporeal or incorporeal, i.e. can a weight fall on a daemon, crushing it? Then what happens to the human? There were a few times in the plot when I felt Lyra could have consulted the alethiometer to have avoided negative consequences but I can chalk that up to her being young. There are a lot of comments about this book making statements about institutionalized religion but I didn't feel it was overplayed. I will continue the series this year, maybe not right away though. It was a very good selection for the club.

[CRussel]

Yes, the daemons are corporeal. You'll recall that the monkey daemon of Mrs. Coulter attacked Lyra's daemon, causing pain and weakness to Lyra. The death of a daemon is eventually fatal in most cases (hence the deaths of the children in the North.)

I'm glad you liked the book. I enjoyed it as well, and have the 2nd and 3rd on my TBR for when I get a bit more caught up. I read them as audio books some time ago, but haven't read them in conventional form.