doesn't anyone else hate this book?

[Ted]

@ the OP: I suggest reading books before deciding whether or not you like them. Sometimes that can be difficult when your peer group's views about a particular book are strongly negative. But I think it can only broaden your understanding to read books that differ from the outlook with which you've grown up.

[Jane]

I hated it too. Pretentious, disorganized. Just hated it.

[Tanya]

its boring, i dont like it at all!!

[[deleted user]]

It's not so much that it has theological themes that it is just badly written. The characters are flat, the plot too predictable and the world unconvincing... Yawn. The only thing that I found remotely interesting in this book were the daemons.
For these reasons I couldn't finish the book because halfway through it was obvious how the story was going to end. It's just meh.

[Michelle]

The Golden Compass is just an introduction to the ideas that carry through the other two books. It does not have a ton of outwardly anti-religous plot points and mythology, until near the end of the book when the plot has been introduced. The other two books, however, do.

[Firstname]

Joyce wrote: "I am not particularly religious and not a Catholic. I read the first book and thought, hmm, not fond of Catholics. I read the second and said, that's enough. If you want to write a diatribe against..."

Really, how did you like the Chronicles of Narnia?

[Lynda]

Love it. Cant wait for book two. Hello!!! can it be writen and published already?! and as for any religious conotations, my answer to that is huh? They had a compass in teh bible? What the freak. It is a book! To be read and injoyed. If the author meant anything else with it, i missed it completly. But i suppose if you are so inclined, you can see anything in anything. Justification is the main reason for countless bad things that happen.

[mountaingoat]

Loved it actually, and the way everything came together in the last book was brilliant. I read it when it was still "Northern Lights" at 11 and many things went over my head but reading it again later, I can see why people would be offended by the themes. Yes, it's quite blasphemous, but it's supposed to be controversial.

[Lynda]

Lynda wrote: "Love it. Cant wait for book two. Hello!!! can it be writen and published already?! and as for any religious conotations, my answer to that is huh? They had a compass in teh bible? What the freak. I..."

Sorry all, I meant to say can the second movie be made already!!

[Perrystroika]

chris wrote: "There are reasons for me hating The Golden Compass. First of all, I pretended to like it at the beginning of the year when I actually didn't like it, and then these kids made fun of me because they..."

It's not even close to C.S. Lewis's Narnia books. To me, the first book of the series is passably diverting. The next two aren't so good though.

[Paul]

Ashley wrote: "To be honest, I haven't even read the book and I already hate the book because its written by an athiest and that contradicts my religion. In plus, my church is bascally banning us from reading the..."
Are you happy that your church is against free thought and expression? You must realise that this is the usual mind and crowd control tactic employed by organised religions from time immemorial?

[Jan]

Maybe some of you should wait until you're older to read it! I'm middle aged and only recently read the series - and loved it. Try to appreciate that it's a FANTASY, and also that it isn't anti-religious.

We are better able to choose wisely when we have examined our ideals and those things with which we disagree, thoroughly. Don't let anyone scare you away from the world of ideas.

[Genevieve]

Hate is a very strong word. I'm not even allowed to use it and I'm 18...
I love this book <3 I've read them all twice. They made me cry so hard but they were amazing.

[Paul]

Kevin wrote: "I don't like "YA novels" much and I don't like fantasy much - but this was the exception to both. I thought it was excellent: highly literate/literary, philosophically honest and challenging, openi..."
I agree with you about the low achievement of the film. I was disappointed with it as well. There have been some recent films showing that I have avoided seeing despite being a great fan of the books (Game of Thrones, The 'Jack Reacher' (Lee Child) film starring Tom Cruise. How can Tom Cruise who is 5 foot 4 inches tall and about 12 stone play a character (Jack Reacher) who is 6 foot 4 inches tall and weighs 250 US pounds?? Crazy! I have not seen these films because I don't want my internalised viewpoint of these characters and story plots destroyed by a watered-down film version. (rant over ;) )

[Sabrina]

I thought the book was good. It had a good plot and I loved the characters....but when they (view spoiler)[ ate the dead polar bears fat and stuff (hide spoiler)] it ruined it for me.

[[deleted user]]

I hate the book... cuz it sucks. Why? well it is boring...I mean, he could of cut out some chapters. It is too slow. And it made me feel uncomfortable. I read it cuz there was a movie (not that i saw it), and the way it talks about religion. I mean, i am a believing muslim(we do NOT like to kill people, i mean, im a pacifist! and our religion says if we kill 1 person, it is like killing the world) but i hate when kids books talk bout religion... i mean, ill get info from my mum,and i dont like how it was so anti

[[deleted user]]

it was akward reading it. my hindu freind didnt even like it

[[deleted user]]

C.C. wrote: "I don't understand how people can say the books aren't anti-religious, let alone anti-Catholic. In the climax of the story God is revealed to be a fraud and killed. I knew nothing of these books ..."
i agree

[Taylor]

Oh gosh yes! I thought I was the only one!

[Erica]

Ashley wrote: "To be honest, I haven't even read the book and I already hate the book because its written by an athiest and that contradicts my religion. In plus, my church is bascally banning us from reading the..."

And you let these people tell you what to do without thinking for yourself why you agree or disagree with a book's message? Isn't that proving the book's point about religion turning people into mindless drones?

Do you believe in a god or gods? Why? What do you think the nature of that god or gods is? Why? How do you wish to integrate your beliefs into your life? What kind of life do you wish to live as a consequence?

These are HUGE questions that all people of all beliefs must answer for themselves, and then they can gravitate towards communities of like minded people. But don't ever cut yourself off from people who believe differently from you because someone tells you to. Any church or community that asks this of you is skating dangerously near to being a cult, I think. Unless you live in a country that denies you freedom of religion and conscience, you have the right to choose which church you belong to. Consider joining one that encourages you to think and question and that does not tell you to cut yourself off from people with different beliefs than you.

[Hannah]

You hate a book just because it's been written by an Atheist? Well, all in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, I suppose (assuming Ashley is in fact a Christian - excuse me if you're not but all ancient superstitions start to look alike after a while). It reminds me of the Fatwa against Salman Rushdie - a man being condemned for a book his detractors had probably never read. Frankly, I hate attitudes like this.

[Firstname]

Hannah wrote: "You hate a book just because it's been written by an Atheist? Well, all in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, I suppose (assuming Ashley is in fact a Christian - excuse me if you're not but all ..."

Oh man, he has written some stuff worth getting mad about, but the Satanic Verses was SO BORING it wasn't worth the fatwa!

[Billy]

Some of these comments are straight bonkers. It's one thing to not like a book because of story or plot issues, genre or even the style in which it's written... but to completely write it off because the author is an atheist? Bonkers. It is my firm belief that you judge the art product and not merely the artist.

[Derick Lawson]

Taffer wrote: "No. The books are atheistic - there is no God in the books. Some of the characters try and overthrow an angel that's been set up as a false god. Personally, I've always thought the books were more..."

hahaha, she's definitely too simple to be ironic.

[Anirudh]

So many hate this book because Philip is an atheist and he is promoting atheist philosophies through his books. So, if that is wrong, what about all those authors who are seconding the idea of a 'god/supreme being' through their books? I don't think atheists dismiss a book or an author just because of their personal beliefs.

[Firstname]

Anirudh wrote: "So many hate this book because Philip is an atheist and he is promoting atheist philosophies through his books. So, if that is wrong, what about all those authors who are seconding the idea of a 'g..."

Yep, but C.S. Lewis rewriting Jesus as a lion is totally okay. Oh look, a double standard!

[Hayfa]

I personally loved it as child but I went back to Northern Lights a couple of year ago and didn't enjoy it quite as much as I should have. I had this cooky english teacher that mentioned that Pullman had incorporated several religious elements to the trilogy and that it was full of religious symbolism... So after a while I decided to read it again! And I don't know whether she'd somehow got it in my head but the religious metaphors kept jumping out at me. Which just left me frustrated.

[John]

chris wrote: "There are reasons for me hating The Golden Compass. First of all, I pretended to like it at the beginning of the year when I actually didn't like it, and then these kids made fun of me because they..."
Just make up your mind!

[Firstname]

John wrote: "chris wrote: "There are reasons for me hating The Golden Compass. First of all, I pretended to like it at the beginning of the year when I actually didn't like it, and then these kids made fun of m..."

Heh.

[Sparrowlicious]

Oh gawd, all the spoilers in this thread. Thanks to someone up there for spoiling the ending of the series, jerk. -_- I'm usually not sensible to spoilers but this time I really wanted NOT to know anything about the end of something. And I only SKIMMED this page.

Bleh.

That the discussion in this thread is still going on is interesting though.
I can't see how anyone can actually hate this book. Apart from misogynists who can't take it when there's a female character and only female witches (at least in Lyra's world)
Then again, I don't know how it is to be extremely religious, or any kind of religious at all. Why do religious people read novels in the first place? If you're under peer pressure and you're a kid: talk to your parents. Some of us are outraged when it comes to certain books for good reasons. I don't see a good reason to hate this book series though other than out of spite and because of other silly, irrational reasons.

[[deleted user]]

This book is NOT one of my favs.

[Robert]

I didn't so much hate The Golden Compass as simply think it wasn't all that well written.

[Wendi]

I hate how most people read just that one book and then pass judgement. It's a trilogy! You need to read all 3 books to take in the whole story. It's really good and it's a shame the other two movies will never be made simply because the public can't handle it. It's not about killing God, it's about giving mankind a second chance to live without sin by creating a new Garden of Eden with a new Adam and Eve. Either way, if you can't have an open mind then you don't need to be reading these books. I loved the story. But seriously, if you haven't read all 3 then you have no business passing judgement on it whatsoever.

[Tom]

Ashley wrote: "To be honest, I haven't even read the book and I already hate the book because its written by an athiest and that contradicts my religion. In plus, my church is bascally banning us from reading the..."

Why do you "hate" something because it's different from your religious beliefs - a religion that allegedly preaches love?

How do you reconcile the love your religion preaches with the ease with which that religion's followers can hate a book or a person just because it has a different belief?

[Truls]

Sophie wrote: "First off, I am an atheist. Now please, just keep reading what I have to say because I am very tolerant of people who are religious which would be basically everyone I know outside of my immediate ..."

I think this series is one of the best I have read. Being a atheist myself I love the way these books doesnt try to tell me god exists or not. They tell me people abuse power and they are willing to do anything that threatens their might. A church telling people how they should live their lives and then gets power by it is nothing new in my eyes, and these books tells the story of people questioning what is "right" in the eyes of people of power.
I hope my kids will read these books before LOTR and the even before Narnia. When Narnia tells the reader to trust a godlike person, this and LOTR tells you to trust yourself. :)

[Lani]

I hated this book. Didn't even bother to read the whole series. Knew it could never be good. I don't even mind the religion part.

[Robert]

The other 2 movies in the won't be made because the 1st was poorly done & made no money, not due to any religious reasons.

[Robert]

...in the trilogy...

[Hoche]

unaware of the raging controversy, i read the book and interpreted its story for what it is: a fantasy. it's quite enjoyable if you read it without any prejudices. although why the author called their companions/souls as daemons still puzzles me.

[Jessica]

chris wrote: "There are reasons for me hating The Golden Compass. First of all, I pretended to like it at the beginning of the year when I actually didn't like it, and then these kids made fun of me because they..."

So the books you like are determined by what other people think you should like?

.... heads up, that's a terrible way to get a good read in. The masses are a poor judge of good literature.

[S]

It's sort of a replay of Paradise Lost. That said, Pullman is a very loud atheist.

[Scott]

"Loud" in this case meaning "speaks at all."

[Firstname]

Scott wrote: ""Loud" in this case meaning "speaks at all.""

Well put.

[S]

I should rephrase that. Pullman's atheism certainly doesn't bother me. What I was trying to say is that the atheism that is implicit in "His Dark Materials" becomes implicit when you read Pullman's thoughts on the subject. I look forward to The Book of Dust.

[Beau]

chris wrote: "By the way, they don't emphisise the anti religion thing as much as they do in the other ones. In the third one, they try to kill god! That's anti religious, isn't it?" It isn't actually God, though. It's the first angel who appeared and claimed to be God. Right? Am I going to have to re-read this freaking story?

[Beau]

I just want to state, that I read this book as a child. I loved it, so much. Then I went to school and found out that everyone hated it and thought it was horrible and parents wouldn't let their children read it. So, a humble thank you to my parents for not censoring me.

This also did not in anyway turn me into an atheist. While I don't consider myself a Christian, I do believe a higher being. Before I even read this book, I was very anti organized religion as I'd never once had a positive experience in a church. Still waiting for that to happen. I can admit that not all people who consider themselves part of an organized religious group are evil, or oppressive. Religion has been used as a weapon by people and that is what I believe Pullman was trying to make

[Nyanka]

I personally loved the book, I think I was twelve when I read, but even back then I had a strong dislike to religion which is what really iced the cake for me. I've always felt that religion makes people do or say ridiculous things.
The one time I actually went to a church function I ate a nasty wafer, disgusting grape juice that actually made me gag, and I told my sister that I was not afraid to punch the sixty year old priest (who was sobbing at the time) if he laid his hand on my forehead like he was doing to other people. I was not a happy camper.

Back to the book, I think Pullman expertly writes about everything wrong with the Church, and killing a god always seems like a great idea, but there are other aspects of the book that are also really interesting. I liked the details about the culture of the gypsies, witches, and the polar bears. The interaction between the people and their daemons was also fascinating, our heroines emotional growth was very moving, and the plot itself was pretty awesome with a lot of twists that had you wondering which characters you could actually trust.

I know most people like to focus on the "sacrilegious" parts of the book, but if you'd look past the giant elephant in the room you'd see that the book had a lot more to offer then religious critique.

[Nyanka]

Hoche wrote: "unaware of the raging controversy, i read the book and interpreted its story for what it is: a fantasy. it's quite enjoyable if you read it without any prejudices. although why the author called th..."

Daemons
1.(in ancient Greek belief) A divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans.

[Claire]

Speaking as a reader, I enjoyed this series. Speaking as a Christian, I still enjoyed this series.

Rising up against tyrants, seeking the truth and destroying false idols, a well-intentioned religion becoming corrupt as its power grows, free will, love, compassion, understanding, peace, redemption, making tough decisions for the good of all...those are all pretty universal themes that can be found in both The Golden Compass AND Christian scripture.

Even though Pullman is an athiest, he does not denounce Christianity as a whole or faith in general in these books. Rather, he denounces the powerlust and desire to enslave people ideologically that tends to be associated with powerful, organized religions (especially Catholicism). Make of that what you will, but don't be a sore loser about it.

And let's all be honest with ourselves. Christianity, if you look at history, has not had the cleanest track record. We need books like this to remind us of what evil we are capable of, and what we can do to prevent that evil.

[Firstname]

Claire wrote: "Speaking as a reader, I enjoyed this series. Speaking as a Christian, I still enjoyed this series.

Rising up against tyrants, seeking the truth and destroying false idols, a well-intentioned relig..."

*jaw drop*

Well put.