"His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" - Thoughts So Far

This is Quintus, and I haven't been able to finish any books for this cycle. Currently I'm reading "The Golden Compass", the first book in a trilogy called His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. For me, at least, the book is a bit of a slow read. I'm still only on the 3rd chapter. Nevertheless, I will provide a summary of what has happened in this book so far.

*Note: This will contain mild spoilers. Read at your discretion.*

The story begins with a girl named Lyra sneaking around inside Jordan College, which is a fictional college within the University of Oxford in England. Accompanying her is her dæmon Pantalaimon, a being with human intelligence that can shapeshift into any animal based on the owner's needs. Lyra enters the retiring room and hides as the Master and Butler come in bringing a bottle of alcohol, and the Butler leaves as the Master poisons it for Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle to drink. The Master leaves, and Lord Asriel comes in later. Before he could drink the alcohol, Lyra stops him, revealing to him that she was hiding. Lord Asriel decides to allow Lyra to continue hiding for a presentation he will do. A number of guests come in, including the Master. In this presentation, Lord Asriel demonstrates the effect of a new type of photogram emulsion and compares it to regular emulsion, which brings up the topic of Dust, which Lyra is curious about. The new emulsion also reveals the outline of a city veiled by the Northern Lights. In the end, Lord Asriel asks the Scholars of the college to take a vote on whether or not they will fund his expedition to go north to try to find this other world. The Master and the Librarian later speak privately about the presentation, revealing that they wanted to murder Lord Asriel because a tool called the alethiometer warned of bad things happening if Lord Asriel pursued the research, and that Lyra has a big part to play in all this. Later we learn more about the setting of Jordan College and about Lyra's life before hiding in the Retiring Room. Then, we are told of a rumor that children are being kidnapped by a group known as the Gobblers, though no one knows what becomes of the children.

I haven't read beyond this, and I look forward to eventually sharing a review of the full book. I recommend this book to those who are interested in fantasy novels and want to read a heavier read. 

Thank you for reading my blog.

Quintus Kreiger

Comments

  1. PChenSeptember 28, 2024 at 6:37 PM

    Starting off, this book's storyline sounds extremely fun. I have never heard of the His Dark Materials series, but the way you explained how the first installment begins made me much more fascinated. I'm looking forward to your book review in the future. I'm curious whether or not you're going to read the rest of the books in this trilogy. Great job Quintus!

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