While we are still on the heroic journey, I decided to read another well known children's fantasy novel. The Golden Compass, written by Philip Pullman is different take on the fantasy genre that takes place in a less “Tolken high fantasy” setting. Instead the story takes place in a parallel world similar to ours in many ways. This detail was a plus for me, because as much as I like elves and dwarfs, it really felt like a breath of fresh air. Another aspect I loved was the whole concept of the Daemons, or the animal manifestations living in every human's soul. They have their own personality and can have influence on the soul they're living in.
The story starts out with our heroine Lyra going against her Daemon's order of hiding in the Retiring Room of the collge she is currently living in. What results is overhearing an attempt to poison her uncle and the kidnapping of her good friend (among other things). Something I found really amusing was how Lyra always ended up coincidently getting into her various adventures simply due to others actions besides her own. This causes somewhat of a snowball effect when it comes to the problems she has to face. We go from rescuing a friend to stopping multiverse conquerers within the span of this novel.
With all this in mind, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. The scale of the problem at hand is simply not what I'm used to, and I like it. For a children's book it really doesn't talk down on it's audience, with some parts that even I thought was questionable for younger readers. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to read something a little different in the fantasy genre. I'm hoping to eventually read the other books in the series.
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