Tolog Review: The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman
reviewed by Grace Lawlor

Lyra Belacqua has lived her entire life roaming the vast campus of Jordan College, located in Oxford, with her dæmon, Pantalaimon, and her companion, Roger. She has scoured every nook on the roof of the college, and every alley in her town. She has journeyed to imaginary worlds, deceived and beaten many an enemy, and has spent her life carefree and naive of her destiny. When her perfect world is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors to Jordan College, she begins to understand that there are greater powers at work in her life other than her adventures. These visitors bring knowledge and intrigue beyond Lyra's imagination, and somehow has something to do with the disappearances of children that are sweeping across the countryside and through the city, including the disappearance of Lyra’s companion, Roger. 

As Lyra is swept away from her old life and thrust into a new one, she begins to understand and see her world as it truly is. A world filled with witches, armored bears, and members of the Magisterium that will go to terrifying lengths to understand what terrifies them most, an element known as Dust. An elementary particle that is presumed to be the root of all sin, Dust is an elusive topic, presumed dangerous, and is forbidden in conversation. 
As Lyra journeys to rescue her companion Roger, and other children with the same fate, her destiny becomes clearer as her past falls apart. 

The Golden Compass written by Philip Pullman is an exciting and thrilling novel that includes ideas of incredible parallel worlds, and spans all the way to addressing problems of the Church. Pullman sends his readers on an incredible journey that never slows or grows boring, and entrances them in his incredible fantasies and riveting worlds. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys fantasy and sci-fi, and hope it interests you enough to pick it up off the library’s shelf and give it that same love that I have!