Does The Golden Compass get any better?

[Kelthaz]

I'm around 150 pages into the book right now, but it's just not grabbing me. I keep waiting for the story to take off and get interesting, but it's just one boring chapter after boring chapter. Neither the alternate world they live in or the tales of woe from the North interest me.

Anyway, Lyra and company just arrived in the North, so I'm wondering if I should stick with it. Does the plot finally pick up now that they reached their much talked about destination or is it just more random wandering around with a bunch of two dimensional characters whose names I struggle to remember?

 

[Nowhere Man]

The movie sucked, that's all I know

 

[Professor Zoom]

I thought the first book was good, but the series got progressively worse and worse. By the third book, I think the story has gotten out of the writers control and I finished with a giant Meh in my heart.

 

[USS KG5]

I'm around 150 pages into the book right now, but it's just not grabbing me. I keep waiting for the story to take off and get interesting, but it's just one boring chapter after boring chapter. Neither the alternate world they live in or the tales of woe from the North interest me.

Anyway, Lyra and company just arrived in the North, so I'm wondering if I should stick with it. Does the plot finally pick up now that they reached their much talked about destination or is it just more random wandering around with a bunch of two dimensional characters whose names I struggle to remember?

It does get better, in fact for me it turns into one of the best fantasy trilogies ever written.

BUT that is largely because the philosophy of the books agrees with mine, if you happen to be a certain type of person you will feel personally attacked by them, well maybe.

They get better, but you need to get on board for the ride very much to love the story. These books are not a casual read.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I read the first book and I didn't like it. It wasn't rubbish or anything like that, but in my opinion the narrative suffered terribly from having a protagonist who not only reacts far more than she acts but is also extremely unlikable. Lyra is a lying, cruel, selfish brat, and it's clear from the way the book is written that we're supposed to sympathize with her and admire the audacity of her methods, but I really couldn't.

 

[USS KG5]

I read the first book and I didn't like it. It wasn't rubbish or anything like that, but in my opinion the narrative suffered terribly from having a protagonist who not only reacts far more than she acts but is also extremely unlikable. Lyra is a lying, cruel, selfish brat, and it's clear from the way the book is written that we're supposed to sympathize with her and admire the audacity of her methods, but I really couldn't.

I would not go that far. I'd say that Lyra grows up throughout the three books and that her attitude in the first is totally changed at the end by the events the OP will not have read yet.

The books certainly require a certain sympathy with Lyra, and the gyptians and a certain dislike of authority. Then of course the imposition and management of authority is a theme of the three books.

 

[Gojira]

The movie sucked, that's all I know

Yeash, it did. I turned it off about 20 minutes into it.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I would not go that far. I'd say that Lyra grows up throughout the three books and that her attitude in the first is totally changed at the end by the events the OP will not have read yet.

I read the first book and I didn't see any significant change in her attitude. I didn't get the impression that the author thought there was anything wrong with it in the first place, since her lying and her selfishness are used time and time again to drive the plot forward. Honestly, I couldn't find any reason to root for her. I didn't find her pleasantly rebellious, I found her unpleasant.

The books certainly require a certain sympathy with Lyra, and the gyptians and a certain dislike of authority. Then of course the imposition and management of authority is a theme of the three books.

That was another problem for me. Lyra is supposed to be opposed to all authority, yet she seems to accept the directives of total strangers unquestionably. I haven't read the second and the third book, but from what I read, I got the impression that "The Golden Compass" is less about the fight against oppression than it is about replacing one authority with another. Pity because I do think that the concept of atheistic fantasy has a lot of potential.

 

[Kelthaz]

BUT that is largely because the philosophy of the books agrees with mine, if you happen to be a certain type of person you will feel personally attacked by them, well maybe.

Oh, I'm a godless liberal. That part doesn't bother me exactly, but I have no interest in the author going on some pro-atheist rant either. I just want a good story with some good characters, but so far I don't really have either.

I think I'm going to finish the first book and then decide whether to stop reading the series or not. Lyra and company did just arrive at the North, so I might as well see what developments happen now that they've finally reached their destination.

 

[Gaith]

@ The OP: It does get better, in the sense that it progresses from awesomely great to superbly wonderful.

Lyra is a lying, cruel, selfish brat

Rubbish. Name one instance of cruelty. Sure, she has bad manners and an inflated ego, but that's largely because she grew up without any kind of parental influence, and has had to rely upon her own wits all her life. We're meant to celebrate her spirit, not admire her outward shortcomings, which the narrator often explicitly points out. The fact that she isn't a well-raised, brilliant angel like, say, Hermione Granger not only isn't her fault, it makes for a more interesting protagonist.

And selfish? Once she finds out the truth about the Gobblers, she risks her life to flee an existence of power and luxury, and later goes through a huge ordeal in order to rescue her best friend. If that's selfishness...

 

[USS KG5]

That was another problem for me. Lyra is supposed to be opposed to all authority, yet she seems to accept the directives of total strangers unquestionably. I haven't read the second and the third book, but from what I read, I got the impression that "The Golden Compass" is less about the fight against oppression than it is about replacing one authority with another. Pity because I do think that the concept of atheistic fantasy has a lot of potential.

It is not about the fight against oppression per se. Another poster has of course made a post about Lyra since in response to yours which sums her up very well so I won't go there.

It is very hard to discuss the books if you have not read all three, the tone changes drastically in the second and third in a way that totally pulls the first into the loop in a way you do not expect.

 

[USS KG5]

Oh, I'm a godless liberal. That part doesn't bother me exactly, but I have no interest in the author going on some pro-atheist rant either. I just want a good story with some good characters, but so far I don't really have either.

It is certainly not a pro-atheist rant, by any stretch. I can't tell you what the essential point was to me because it will spoil getting there for you.

I think I'm going to finish the first book and then decide whether to stop reading the series or not. Lyra and company did just arrive at the North, so I might as well see what developments happen now that they've finally reached their destination.

There are two truly shocking scenes to come, as well as other events that got me truly hooked, but seriously read all three books and then judge the trilogy, you can come back and rant at me should you regret it, but I don't think you will.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Rubbish. Name one instance of cruelty.

I'm sorry if I got that wrong. I have a vague recollection of her rejoicing on her enemies' death, but I may have made that up. I read the book quite a long time ago.

It is very hard to discuss the books if you have not read all three, the tone changes drastically in the second and third in a way that totally pulls the first into the loop in a way you do not expect.

For me, the bottom line was that I was simply not interested in following Lyra's adventure any further. I just thought she was a charmless, annoying protagonist, and I couldn't find any way to root for her.

I also found that the author laid on the exposition pretty thick. The book is full of moments where characters just sit down and explain the plot to Lyra, which is not the most elegant way to tell a story, if you ask me.

 

[scout]

I think if you're not 'grabbed' now it might be better to give up on them. I really liked 'The Golden Compass' but connecting emotionally to the story relies, I think, on feeling connected to Lyra and her journey.

Interesting that you thought she was two - dimensional, I wouldn't have thought that.

Any of the movie characters though...Omg that was an abortion of a film adaption and no mistake.

 

[Gaith]

Rubbish. Name one instance of cruelty.

I'm sorry if I got that wrong. I have a vague recollection of her rejoicing on her enemies' death, but I may have made that up. I read the book quite a long time ago.

Well, she certainly does do that, but that's because she's just a kid who barely understands what death means at that point. Plus, the baddies were pretty bad, and she didn't kill them herself. So she's immature, but I wouldn't say cruel.

 

[Wicca who Wonta]

I loved these books and I think they are well worth reading!

These are books that make you think. And, as posters have pointed out before, the philosophy of the books might make some averse to reading them. There are probably lots of different opinions of their message but as Philip Pullman himself has stated he wants us all to make up our own minds about what the trilogy is all about. I found the books a great read and my interpretation of the message is a positive one that I can sympathize with.

 

[galleywest]

I thought the first book was good, but the series got progressively worse and worse. By the third book, I think the story has gotten out of the writers control and I finished with a giant Meh in my heart.

This sums up my opinion of the books nicely. I loved the first book, but the next two were all downhill, imho.

 

[USS KG5]

For me, the bottom line was that I was simply not interested in following Lyra's adventure any further. I just thought she was a charmless, annoying protagonist, and I couldn't find any way to root for her.

The funny thing is the second book introduces a second protagonist who feels exactly the same about Lyra as you do, at first.

I also found that the author laid on the exposition pretty thick. The book is full of moments where characters just sit down and explain the plot to Lyra, which is not the most elegant way to tell a story, if you ask me.

A bit like LOTR that way, but as others have said if you did not like it you probably are not about to start!

 

[Trent Roman]

I loved these books; if I had to designate which one was weakest, I actually think it was the second book, which had some middle-book syndrome. The first presented a wonderful world and a fun adventure, and the third one presented several while just generally upping the stakes across the board, turning a quest narrative into a grand epic.

As for Lyra, it's been a while since I've read the books, but as I recall I didn't care for her at first, either; during the opening sections of the book at the college, she seemed a shiftless, obdurate and willfully ignorant child, possibly even a bit of a bully--although the inspired device of the daemon, their love for one another and the kind of self-philosophysing that comes with it at least made her interesting, if not likeable. After she's removed from the college, however, as she begins to apprehend what's really happening and her responsibilities in the matter, I found I quickly grew to like her. In retrospect, I can see how it was necessary that Lyra be, well, rather unimpressive in the beginning: this is a coming-of-age story, and for Lyra's maturation to take place she, obviously, has to start the story immature, and not as a perfect, beatific child protagonist in the Harry Potter vein. It is, indeed, the best coming-of-age story I've ever read (although given the general morass of the genre, perhaps not a difficult acheivement), because Lyra is such a fully-dimensional protagonist whose growth is organic and resonant, and because the story itself pulls no punches. If you pursue the story further, you'll find that Lyra's humane imperfection is, indeed, an integral part of the story, tying into her mythic connotations and the ideological struggle swirling around her.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Davros]

The movie sucked, that's all I know

No it didn't.

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