Author: Philip Pullman
Edition: Scholastic UK, 2011
Rating: ★★★
Review
I've meant to pick up this book for a while, and my Writing for Young People module reading list has forced me to finally get round to reading it; it's the chosen book for the young people and fantasy lecture.
Prior to reading it, I'd heard lots of good things, and, I'm sorry to admit, I saw the film adaptation, known as The Golden Compass, years and years ago. I do think having the film in my mind while I read it did ruin the experience a little, but I'll get to that.
Philip Pullman has such a magical way with words. His descriptions, especially of settings, are clear and thorough, hardly leaving anything to the imagination at the same time as sparking it. The world in which Lyra lives is so close to the real world that it eased me into the fantastical elements gently, and as it became more and more unlike the real world, it all felt natural; of course there are ice-bears in the North and witches that fly like shadows.
