His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (Book 1)

By Philip Pullman

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "MARVELOUS."--The New Yorker - An Entertainment Weekly All-Time Greatest Novel - A Newsweek Top 100 Book of All Time - Winner of the Carnegie Medal - The Inspiration for the HBO Original Series His Dark Materials

DON'T MISS THE EPIC FINALE TO LYRA'S STORY: THE ROSE FIELD, AVAILABLE NOW

Discover the modern fantasy classic that kicked off the epic trilogies His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust--a world where humans have animal familiars and parallel universes are within reach.

"Pullman is quite possibly a genius."--Newsweek

A war is brewing in Lyra's world between those who would keep people in ignorance and those willing to fight for freedom. Lyra is thrust into the middle of the conflict when her uncle Asriel comes to Oxford, fomenting rebellion, and when her best friend, Roger, suddenly disappears.

Lyra learns that Roger was kidnapped by a shadowy organization that is rumored to experiment on children. To find him, she will travel to the cold, far North, where armored bears and witch clans rule--and where Asriel is attempting to build a bridge to a parallel world.

What Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other--and that her actions will have consequences not just in her world, but in all the worlds beyond.

Look for the modern fantasy classics of HIS DARK MATERIALS:
The Golden Compass - The Subtle Knife - The Amber Spyglass

And Lyra's adventures continue in THE BOOK OF DUST:
La Belle Sauvage - The Secret Commonwealth - The Rose Field

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 037582345X
• ISBN13: 9780375823459
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Such a great read in so many ways.

Such a great read in so many ways. Seen the movie, now I'm on book 2 the Subtle Knife. Might be even better book, might be disturbing for some bcz of more science fiction altered realities and religious questioning.

I love this story. Great Book I read it while recovering from surgery. Received in like - new condit

Great story for pre-teens and older. Wonderful series.

Nothern lights- a book for stary-eyed readers

I read Northern lights, because my aunty who is a school librarian told me how good the book was. She certainly was not wrong. This book offers drama, action, love, hate and a gripping storyline. The book is all about Lyra, a 12-year-old girl who goes on an amazing adventure up in the north to rescue her friend Rodger and her uncle Lord Asriel. I think this book has a brilliant story line, because as the book goes on new adventures unfold for Lyra that keeps any reader with an imagination involved in this delightful fantasy book. Throughout the book you join Lyra through her adventures to save the world from original sin. I thought that the clever twist in the book really makes it interesting and an enjoyable race against time to see whether the world shall be destroyed or saved. You will have to read the book to find out, because I am not going to tell you! Phillip Pullman is a very clever and talented writer and deserves much appreciation from his readers that have discovered a whole new universe inside a little book.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good fantasy read and something to stimulate your imagination.

A Book to Cherish

Philip Pullman's Northern Lights, first book of His Dark Materials trilogy, is an absolutely astounding book. It is centred around a girl called Lyra with a distinct personality. Readers will immediatly be drawn to her spicy attitude to life. She is made to leave her normal life with curiosity of the fact she will travel with Mrs Coulter, who seems to Lyra like an interesting person, despite her odd thoughts about `Gobblers' and the mysterious disappearances going on.It is revealed Lyra has special powers.You will be pulled face-first into Lyra's world. There are many mysteries that you will want to ponder too. If you like fantasy or adventure books, and that appeals to most people, read this book because it will thrill you the whole way through.

Magical story

This is a magical book, a truly inspirational piece of writing from Philip Pullman. It focuses on the life of a young girl named Lyra and her daemon. Lyra leaves the places she knows well and sets out on a journey, not knowing the true purpose of her trip until she is completely caught up in it. The story takes the reader completely into Lyra's world and lets you enjoy the twists of the plot, observing the life of the life of the young heroine as she grows along the way. AND...guess what...there's a sequel!