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| The Golden Compass |  | Author: Philip Pullman
Publisher: Demco Media
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Rating:  645 reviews
Media: Turtleback
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Young Adult
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0606129456
EAN: 9780606129459
ASIN: 0606129456
Publication Date: May 1997
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Lyra's life is already sufficiently interesting for a novel before she eavesdrops on a presentation by her uncle Lord Asriel to his colleagues in the Jordan College faculty, Oxford. The college, famed for its leadership in experimental theology, is funding Lord Asriel's research into the heretical possibility of the existence of worlds unlike Lyra's own, where everyone is born with a familiar animal companion, magic of a kind works, the Tartars are threatening to overrun Muscovy, and the Pope is a puritanical Protestant. Set in an England familiar and strange, Philip Pullman's lively, taut story is a must-read and re-read for fantasy lovers of all ages. The world-building is outstanding, from the subtle hints of the 1898 Tokay to odd quirks of language to the panserbjorne, while determined, clever Lyra is strongly reminiscent of Joan Aiken's Dido Twite.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 640 more reviews...
 A decent but difficult children's book - (No Spoilers) August 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
To justify my score, I am reviewing this book as A CHILDREN'S BOOK and so its appeal to adults will not be considered in the review. Secondly in the Roger Ebert tradition I have tried to place the score acordingly in the correct context. Thirdly my personal oppinion is a factor. The score is a 3.5 (a 7/10).
Anyway... lets get started.
The Good:
-Imaginative Ideas and Concept:- Philip Pullman's ideas and concepts are easily the highlight of this book (and subsequent sequels) with some truly fantastic thoughts in here. This should get children's imaginations going haywire. However a lot of his "terminology" like Naphtha and Anbaric will probably confuse children.
-Some solid characters
-Flowing narrative with adequate amounts of action
-Engaging Storyline:- The story has a solid destination reached by the end of the book and the goal or "quest" (I love that word) of the protagonist is made fairly early on in the book which is good.
The Not-So-Good:
-A few weak characters: Roger is a good example
-I didn't like Lyra:- Infact I think Philip Pullman should have called her "Lie-ra" seeing that that is pretty much the only natural talent she is shown to possess in the course of this book.
-Lots of Descriptive writing:- This isn't a bad thing if you are reading adult fantasy like Lord of the Rings but this is a children's book.
-Humor (or lack thereof):-I wasn't expecting the next A.A. Mille but considering the target audience....anyway Pullman's humor was lacking in both quantity and quality.
-Its sequels are better (particularly "The Subtle Knife" which is much more focused) and there are much "faster" paced children's books out there.
-Hard to understand:- Children will not get references to peoples and locations in the real world (Svalbard, Tartars, etc). In Dracula (an adult's book) it tells you what Tokay is in the glossery, in this book it doesn't (there is not even a glossery). The only thing that makes this a children's book really is the fact that the protagonist is a child.
But do I recommend this book? Yes I do, and as I said, Pullman's ideas are really something and many children will love it. On the other hand its a pretty difficult book with all the crazy terminology readers have to learn (no glossery), its quite difficult to read and it is slightly lacking in areas.
The best is to come though, the Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass are better.
 Lifes too short! May 25, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
After the amazing reviews this book has received I was really excited to start reading it and it started off really good. However, I found Lyra a very unconvincing character and not particularly likeable and it was this character that really finished my reading of the book. I gave up about fifty pages before the end as really life is too short to waste on such a boring book.
 If you're put off by this book's "for all ages" tag, don't be, it's a classic May 22, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Firstly I have to admit I'm not a fan of books aimed at both adults and children. I've never read a Harry Potter book and have no inclination to, I just find these types of books wander too much into the realms of fairy tales and corniness for my liking. So it was with some trepidation that I decided to read this book. Despite its rave reviews, I was a little worried that a storyline that included daemons and talking animals, etc. may not be to my taste. All I can say is I'm so glad I ignored my misgivings and decided to read it! From the opening chapters it became obvious this was a story full of depth, imagination, twists and turns, plus a good dose of excitement.
Northern Lights is set in a kind of 'alternative Earth'. It's similar to our own world, but with some important differences that make it obvious this is also a world alien to our own. The most obvious manifestation of this is the 'daemon' companion that every person has. A daemon is an enchanting creature that is bonded to a human from the day they're born and remains that person's lifelong soul mate. Everyone has one, and the thought of being parted from a daemon is unthinkable, it just never happens. But suddenly the unthinkable starts happening, and a terrifying organisation nicknamed "The Gobblers" starts kidnapping children to carry out cruel experiments on them and their daemons.
Lyra is a young girl who lives a very sheltered life at Jordan College amongst all the scholars. Her life is very sedate and contented, but all that changes when she eavesdrops on her Uncle Lord Asriel giving a presentation to fellow scholars, seemingly suggesting he has proof of a possible gateway into another world. This proves to be extremely controversial and destabilising to all concerned as it undermines the foundations that many powerful institutions are built on.
Soon events start to take a dramatic turn. Lord Asriel suddenly goes missing, the Gobblers kidnap one of Lyra's close friends, and Lyra herself is put under the responsibility of the mysterious Mrs Coulter. Lyra takes it upon herself to escape from her unwanted new guardian and takes shelter with a group of tough but kind people known as The Gyptians. The Gyptians themselves have lost many of their children to the Gobblers, so when Lyra speaks of her determination to track down the Gobblers, the Gyptians lend their considerable resourcefulness to her cause and join her quest to locate the Gobblers.
From here Lyra and the Gyptians embark on an amazing journey to the North where they encounter all manner of adversaries, and allies. The excitement never lets up, and the story itself becomes more and more intriguing as we gradually learn more about the unfolding events, as well as about this fascinating world that Pullman has created.
This book is a fantastic read, full of plot twists and enigmatic characters, both human and non-human, and a storyline that will keep you guessing and guessing. A must read!
I want a daemon May 17, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is un-put-down-able; when you start reading, you can barely put it down. I read it in about a week reading two or three chapters on a school day and five chapters on a weekend. The book has 23 chapters of approximately 15 - 30 pages. Every page is exciting and adventurous and not one page is badly written - this book is brilliant! It is among my favourite books; I look forward to reading the other two books in the `His Dark Materials' trilogy. Phillip Pullman has written many books, a lot of which, I have read but this book is 10 times better than all of them (I am not saying those books are bad). The story is about a girl called Lyra whose friend, Roger, gets caught by Gobblers. She has many adventures on her way to finding him and when she does, she finds out he is not the only one to be rescued...
This book has been turned into a movie called `the Golden Compass' - that was the book's original title.
Love it then and love it still April 9, 2008
I first read this book when I was around 10 years old. I distinctly remember taking it out of the library, and then returning it 2 weeks later, having only read the first 2 pages. A few months after that, I saw it again, and you could say I was drawn to it, and I borrowed it again. This time I read all the way through, and I am so glad that I did. I don't know if I can really capture the feeling I had, reading this book at that young age. I was around the age that Lyra was, perfect to imagine myself as her, a strong spirited wild child running riot around Oxford and the North, and having these amazing adventures. The books also started my fascination with the Aurora Borealis, which has persisted to this day. It's a wonderful book, one that I loved when I was 10, and still immensely enjoy reading now, over 10 years later. It's full of everything you could ever imagine as a child - witches, armoured bears, daemons, fights, action and adventure. And there's also a good dollop of love, betrayal, joy and sadness. It is indeed a world you can get totally lost in, and I'll bet most who read the book secretly long to know their daemon, fly with the witches and sail with the gyptians.
I still read the whole "His Dark Materials" set at least once a year. And although I have read many books since, these are still my all time favourites, and this seems unlikely to change. I hope that when I have children, they will treasure the stories also.
PS Just as a side note, I didn't really like the movie either. For an example of how it really should have been made, they should have looked at the absolutely amazing Peter Pan movie (2003), and its excellent balance of action and emotion.
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