Of course, one can draw a distinction between being inferior per se and inferior in terms of suitability for screen adaptation.
Despite all the hullabaloo over HDM on the Downs over the years, I've never read Pullman, so I can't form an opinion, but at least one A-list screenwriter, Terry Rossio, half of the writing team behind the
Pirates franchise,
Shrek, and others, publicly opined that
Golden Compass "...wouldn't get made, or if it did get made it would have to be greatly changed, or if it did get made and wasn't changed it wouldn't succeed."
Thread
here.