TGC: Part One (Chapters 1 - 9)

[Kat]

Part 1

Please keep all discussion and speculation to the events of Part 1 (Chapters 1 - 9).

No spoiler tags required. Though it would be highly appreciated if you Uncheck Add to my Update Feed to avoid accidentally spoiling this for your good read friends.

Please do not discuss events from later chapters/books. Referring back to events from a previous section/book is fine.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Pretty good so far. I was a bit confused to start with though. I think there was a movie of this, and I think I watched it awhile ago, but if so I don't remember any of it and what I was thinking of was probably Stardust instead.

This seems a bit like alt history, at least in a Harry Potter way. It's our world, but with magic on top. Or so it sounds like based on locations mentioned. It seems to be set in the early 1900s or something though. Maybe? There is some level of technology including cars and lights I think, but no TV or telephones. Maybe that's just more alt history.

I like the demons. I especially like how children's demons are able to change form, but that adults are fixed in one shape. I enjoy learning more about them as the book goes on. We've found that a person's demon fades away when they die, but do people die if their demons are killed? When Mrs. Coulter's monkey demon attacks Lyra's, it seems to hurt her.

Mrs. Coulter has been kidnapping children for some reason, but it doesn't sound good. Turns out though that Lyra's her daughter, the bastard child of an elicit affair she had with Lord Asriel whose really her father instead of her uncle.

What I'm not sure of is why did the Master attempt to kill her father. It sounds like fear of being associated with whatever her father was up to up north with the Dust and the hidden city. The Master seems to care for Lyra, but yet he still gave her up to her mother, despite her father's wishes to the contrary.

Her father's been captured and being held by armored bears apparently.

I'm not entirely sure where I am exactly. The stupid audio book isn't split on chapter boundaries unfortunately. Somewhere in Chapter 7 or 8 though.

Lyra's been rescued by the Gyptians (or that's how it sounds to me) and it sounds like they will be heading north soon to try to rescue the kidnapped children.

Where I paused she's just come clean about the Golden Compass given to her by the Master who in turn had it from her father. We're learning a bit about what it is/does but I'm still rather in the dark on the whole thing. Probably need to hear more and let it sync in.

The audio book is pretty fantastic. It took me a bit to get used to. They have voices for all of the main characters plus a narrator (who may be the author himself. I'm not sure but I know he's part of the cast and Narrator would make the most sense). All of the readers are excellent. It's really more like a radio drama than an audio book at this point.

Good stuff so far! Am I the only one reading it for the first time?

[Suzanne]

You may be - and I'm remembering lots more than I thought (but I'm still enjoying it).

I listened to it going back and forth on my 1+ hour each way trips to grad school - I think it was the same version you are doing - it really was like a radio drama! I felt like it was very entertaining, although yeah VERY different from the usual audio.

I agree- I LOVE the ideas of demons changing shapes for children then settling as adults. Makes total sense too.

I'm not sure about the Master trying to poison Lord Azriel either. Because with giving Lyra the compass, etc., it seems like he is more on Lord Asriel's side than Mrs. Coulters.