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Ok... my issues with the book...

(minor spoilers)

First off, I think Phillip Pullman has a great command of the english language. In other words he writes well. His descriptions are vivid, and I appreciate that he expects his readers to be smart enough to catch on to the setting and culture of Lyra's world without spoon feeding them information. It makes the worlds he creates a bit more vibrant and living, as if he knows that all he has to do is show you them and you'll accept them.

The second thing I admire about him is his plot. I started reading The Golden Compass (which mine actually reads "the Northern Lights" since I bought it in London) and was fascinated by the plot. I got to the end and I literally had to buy The Subtle Knife the next day because I had to know how the plot worked out. The ideas supporting the plot were well reasoned and rational. It felt like an adventure built upon a solid acedemic base which made for a very tightly knit story.

The problem? I dislike almost every character.

To me the characters have very little life. They are buoyed by the plot, and don't present many reasons for the reader to support them. I find Lyra unengaging and cold, and in fact everyone from her world seemed unsympathetic. By the end of the book I really didn't care what was going to happen to her. I was hoping that the addition of a boy from "our" world would be a better, more engaging character but Will is similarly distant.

In fact the only character I even tried to make a connection with was Lee Scoresby... who dies t the end of the Subtle Knife. At that point I threw the book across my flat where it lay unceremoniously under the bed and has ever since.

I can appreciate Pullman's skill.. but I find it a very difficult read when all of the characters seem statuesque or distant from the reader.

So... here's my real curiousity... debate on this? smile

It's worth a read, and alot of people like it.