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)

Glad to have read it again

Read it when I was younger. Really glad to have gotten back into it!

Perfect for car rides

It’s an absolute must for long car trips as the story keeps you enticed the whole way through with clear and well spoken dialogue from the full cast

great book but skip the interview

Loved the book but skip the interview. it had spoilers in it. I've never read the series and if you haven't read it either, skip it.

Enjoy rereading this immensely

I enjoyed this book as a child, but I enjoyed it even more as an adult.

Do angels count as quantum observers?

I asked my friend, "in quantum science, do you think angels count as observers?"

He answered, "you should read His Dark Materials"

I was not disappointed! Having finished the series, I would answer that question the exact same way.

Fantastic

Read this book as a high school student and fell in love with this book. And rereading it again in my thirties this book hasn’t lost its enchantment.

fantastic Book

Although this book is billed as being written for young adults, it should have great appeal for adults too. Pullman creates a rich tapestry of characters and setting, liberally sprinkled with meta-physics.

It's OK

I have to say that, as a fantasy, this book is just OK. I could never get into it as well as I could get into Harry Potter, etc... but it is imaginative.

..and for all of those people railing against it because it is "anti-God", get a grip. You have your Left Behind and Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Here is a fantasy that just takes those beliefs and turns them upside down.... of course, there are those who believe those are fantasy, as well. I don't remember seeing a "discussion section" at the end of the Left Behind Series that gave any credence to evolution or human secularism. Enjoy the book or don't.

Good adventure, complex characters

Toward the end of The Golden Compass, Lord Asriel makes comments pretty negative to "the church." The Magisterium, which seems to be an organization created by "the church" to deal with the problem of other worlds and official church doctrine, seems to be modeled after the Catholic Church.

I guess this is why so many consider this book anti-Catholic or even anti-Christian. I don't consider it to be any more anti-Christian than any fantasy built off of familiar institutions. Some feel that Harry Potter books are anti-Christian because they present wizardry as real.

People shouldn't be so sensitive. I understand Philip Pullman has stated outright that he isn't a believer in the Christian sense. He seems to be grounded in the natural world rather than the supernatural. Do authors have to adopt foreign world views to write novels? He's written about a world in which a church has gone wrong. Various religious institutions have gone on power trips over our real history. Why fault this author for creating one of his own?

The story is enticing in part because its characters are complex. You'd think Lord Asriel would end up being a warm-hearted soul once Lyra finally reunites with him. He's not. He is still a cold, logical academician. I look forward to moving on to the other books in this series. I think Pullman has put enough complexity into the relationships to make these books fascinating as character studies, as well as exciting as adventure stories.

Great for Young Adults to Listen to in Class

Probably one of the best read alouds to young adults. I am an elementary principal and I listened to this and the presentation had me hooked. Wow, this is great for grade 5 through 8 students to listen to and have quite the adventure. If you are an intermediate educator, utilize this wonderful audio with your students, before you see the movie!