The Golden Compass

His Dark Materials, Book 1

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Philip Pullman, Joanna Wyatt, Rupert Degas, Alison Dowling, Douglas Blackwell, Jill Shilling, Stephen Thorne, Sean Barrett, Garrick Hagon, John O'Connor, Susan Sheridan, Full Cast

Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

His Dark Materials is now an HBO original series starring Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, James Mcavoy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda!

Featuring an exclusive bonus interview between the author, Philip Pullman, and His Dark Materials star Ruth Wilson.

The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an “All-Time Greatest Novel” and Newsweek hailed as a “Top 100 Book of All Time”.

Philip Pullman takes listeners to a world where humans have animal familiars and where parallel universes are within reach.

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal - including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want.

But what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other....

A masterwork of storytelling and suspense, Philip Pullman's award-winning The Golden Compass is the first in the His Dark Materials series, which continues with The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

A number one New York Times best seller

Winner of the Guardian Prize for Children's Fiction

Published in 40 countries

"Arguably the best juvenile fantasy novel of the past 20 years." (The Washington Post)

"Very grand indeed." (The New York Times)

"Pullman is quite possibly a genius." (Newsweek)

Don't miss Philip Pullman's epic new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials, the Book of Dust:

• La Belle Sauvage
• The Secret Commonwealth

Listen to the rest of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.

©1995 Philip Pullman (P)1999 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Superb.... Wonder-filled." (Washington Post Book World)

"Very grand indeed.... Scene after scene of power and beauty." (The New York Times)

"A rousing, page-turning adventure that promises to please fantasy readers of all ages." (Library Journal)

Great story

I wanted to listen to this book because I watch the TV series on HBO and books are usually more detailed then TV shows so I found the book and wanted to listen to it and I liked all the different actors in this book they almost sounded exactly like the TV actors on the show The show was almost exactly like the book but there was more detail in the book then the TV show I like books that have TV shows because it’s like more story content to watch and listen to I thought this book was very well read

Thrilling adventure that captures the imagination

What are unique and beautiful story that totally capture the imagination. I’ve always wanted to read the story and didn’t get the opportunity until recently. I Donely seen the movie but the book blows that away and leaves you wanting for more. The ending was bittersweet /Heart rending and literally and figuratively left you on the Cliff’s edge.

Great voice acting and a full cast, great.

The voice acting and accents where nicely done. For me it was a new experience to listen to a full cast audio book but it was a great and emersive book.

Love love love!

Amazing series! Couldnt put it down, would reccomend for anyone who gets lost in Harry Potter or Narnia.

Wonderful!

This book is great, everything an audio book should be!. The story is great, the narrator and the full cast are marvellous. I can't wait to listen to part 2. I am an addict!

10/10

great story, very engaging, great cast and a great deal dark. loved every moment of it

Story filled with imagination and spirituality

Novel filled with great characters, worldbuilding, and encourages listeners to seek out the goodness in their own souls and strive to increase the artistry, imagination, and spirituality that we bring to existence and that is a part of our being.

Stunning production

My favorite YA book in a fabulous performance. The use of so many superb actors and actresses brought the book to vivid life.

The narrator was often hard to understand..

It was as though he spoke too closely to the mic and was mumbling. He also didn't properly pause and read quickly and blandly like you would a news paper.

Great book, not so great audio

The golden compass is a wonderful young adult novel that stimulates the mind and can bring some healthy skepticism into how we view the world. I loved reading the book as a teenager, and enjoyed it again as an adult. However, I was unimpressed by the audio in this story. The multitude of different voices made following the plot difficult at times, and the bass so loud that I had a hard time understanding what was being said. So great book, not so great audio.