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Journal Entry 1 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Sunday, February 25, 2007
 "In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall. Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved."
I found this very nice copy at Goodwill.
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Journal Entry 2 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Been wanting to start this series for a while now. Actually just finished the audiobook version, which was nice in that it had a full cast of voices. However, I think I was a little disappointed in the story overall, mostly because I guess I just expected it to be really great & it was just "okay" in my opinion. But...I'm a sucker for series books & I have books 2 & 3 waiting to be read, so I'll undoubtedly be reading those soon as well. And I'm also looking forward to the "The Golden Compass" movie, due out in the next month or so. We'll see how it compares to the book!
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Journal Entry 3 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sending off to QueenBoadicea, to fulfill a trade. Enjoy! :')
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Journal Entry 5 by QueenBoadicea from Brooklyn, New York USA on Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I finished this book yesterday. It took me less than two days. Whew! What a fast read!
The character of Lyra Belacqua, aka Lyra Silvertongue and whatever alias she deems suitable to the occasion is a delight. She is a fiery, willful intelligent person although spottily educated.
The author has a real grasp on what children are really like. Lyra is ripe for adventure but easily bored by adult intrigues and politics, finding herself falling asleep whenever the grownups talk about such things. She engages in childish wars with the other children around her; it's all in good fun and no one gets seriously hurt. She lives half-wild, half-spoiled and learns quickly how to manipulate the world around her to her advantage.
She comes across as being like a real child, unlike children you find written about in certain other books.
Now that I've finished this book, I'm going on to the rest of the trilogy. Thanks again for sending it, indygo88.
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The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)
