This book seems to be written for a younger audience, and I have no doubt that preteens and up could read it without difficulty, but at the same time I feel that a lot of the themes and the nuance could go over the heads of younger readers. The use of accents, speech patterns, dress, and behavior to denote class, the writing of younger characters to think and behave as young people would and do while still keeping things moving forward at a good pace and keeping things both exciting and logical, the politics and relationships between adult characters: these things may be appreciated much more by adult readers than their younger counterparts. This is definitely a book which can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. Twists and turns are difficult puzzles, but there are enough clues that a younger detective could still see what's coming if they're paying attention. The plot is thrilling, often intense, moving, and fascinating. The cultural standards surrounding daemons alone could make up their own encyclopedia. Some have claimed this book to be religious in nature, but while it does *deal* with religion quite a bit, I do not find it to be in any way advocating for any particular faith. If anything it warns against the nature of organized religion to become corrupt (without demonizing the religion itself). If you are concerned about the nature of the 'daemon' characters, be aware that the term is used in the old Greek sense more so than the 'different spelling for demon' sense; 'a supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans'. They are loosely intended to be an external version of the soul or spirit, not anything evil or bad. Be warned, though: this book does include terrible things happening to children, and several deaths. Younger children may find it frightening or upsetting. If you give this to your child be prepared to sit down with them and discuss the book when they are finished reading.

I've read some claiming this is a book for children or young teens, which I frankly think is snobbishly dismissive. While its suitable for that audience, it is very imaginative and though the lead character is a typical precious little girl, I had a very difficult time putting the book down. The world Pullman creates has a lot of color and character and after finishing reading it I was left wishing we could have Daemons (loosely translated: Familiars) similar to how everyone in his world has. The author doesn't do the usual tactic of making ever chapter's end a cliffhanger to draw you into the next one, rather its his cadence and implied threat being deeper into the next chapter that teases you to read just one more if you feel like it, and I found it a lot more effective than the breakneck chapter doorways that many authors resort to in order to keep the pages turning.

One of the key elements of any story I feel is the villain, and here Pullman did a outright great job for readers of adult or younger audiences, they have shades and facets to their character that made me curious about them and interested in seeing how they view the world, and how the heroine reacts to them and their designs is both believable and engaging. The only criticism I have is sometimes the lead character Lyra is a little too typically precocious in her behavior and she's more tenacious than she is bright. There are a lot of subtle layers to this tale however, its creativity and the philosophy behind its physics is quite engaging and worth its time to read, and no, the movie didn't do the book a fraction of the justice it deserves.

This book starts a bit slowly at first, but then kicks up into high-adventure and keeps this pace to the end. Pullman’s writing is very good and he manages to capture a perfect voice for the main character of Lyra as she negotiates this strange world populated by anthropomorphic soul-animals, witches, ghasts, and armored bears.

In reading this book, I felt reminiscent of the that sweet, nostalgic tone achieved by C.S. Lewis in “The Narnia Chronicles.” Perhaps this is simply due to the omniscient point of view in which the narrators guide one along in these comparable fantasy works. There is something comforting when you feel as if a story is being told you by a dear old friend while at the same time you’re being truly immersed in the narrative. That is a subtle art in which the author must carefully balance the use of the narrative voice so as not to feel intrusive or too expositional. I think there is something in the human psyche that responds to this mode of storytelling that harkens back to our ancient oral traditions.

The work is not particularly a “Christian” one, even though I am mentioning The Narnia Chronicles which are more overtly Christian in their telling. Pullman does draw on the dogma, practices, history and teachings of the Christian Religion to create his fantasy world and also to better illustrate what is happening and drive the plot along. However, unlike The Narnia Chronicles, the institutional nature of religion plays a much bigger and more nefarious role in The Golden Compass. That being said, this particular tale is not overly caught up with this theme. During some portions the religious aspect is missing altogether—though I admit that it does make up an important part of the book. So in essence, I am saying that however critical this book might be toward the institutional aspect of religion—it is not solely concerned with that point.

The world created by Pullman feels rather unique, even though it is a secondary world not unlike our own (in many ways). He devises a magical system utilizing a special dust-like substance; and souls that live outside the body in animal forms called daemons. This feels very authentic and manages to be quite delightful. Probably the strongest and most developed part of the book is the relationship Lyra has with her own daemon.

Other elements of the story come flying in as Lyra (the protagonist), takes up her quest to deliver a magical item to a far off and dangerous land. She meets interesting, fun and compelling characters all along the way. My only gripe is that at times, these non-player-character-types seem to drop on and off screen as needed. So too, does the adventure seem to proceed along one step at a time. The feel of this story is that as the protagonist progresses, the author foreshadows the next event, a challenge is overcome and the protagonist advances to the next level. A bit mechanical—not exactly contrived, but somewhat stilted. The writing is really great and the plot has a lot of fun and interesting elements that leave you anxious to see things through. There is just something a bit….in the background…missing... Perhaps it was the dropping away of secondary characters without a lot of follow through on their individual subplots? But, maybe that would have just slowed things down? I’m not sure.

All in all, I have no real problems with this book. It’s very well written, a great read and I’d definitely recommend it and am curious to read more. Mainly though, the author has a great voice for his story telling and that is what really pulls you in.

Podcast: If you enjoy my review (or this topic) this book and the movie based on it were further discussed/debated in a lively discussion on my podcast: "No Deodorant In Outer Space". The podcast is available on iTunes, Tune-In Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, YouTube or our website.