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)

not good for listening the car

Plenty of reviews will tell you about the wonderful story. This performance is full cast audio. I feel like the mixing was off though. Some voices are very clear, but the voice of the narrator (Phillip Pullman) is oddly...muffled. It's fine to listen to while going for a walk or doing quiet things at home. It's often quite difficult to follow while in the car though. His voice (or the mixing thereof) just doesn't work well with road noise even in a relatively quiet car. Just a note for those who are looking for things to while away the long drives.

Yay for a female heroine!

I love that the heroine of this book,12-year-old Lyra, is a feisty girl who knows more about acting humanely than most of the adults in this novel. The world she lives is similar to the present day with some twists – namely talking polar bears, witches, daemons, and a splash of Norwegian folk-lore. The mix of reality and fantasy reminded me somewhat of “The Amulet of Samarkand,” by Jonathan Stroud, although if you know anything about the Stroud series you’d see profound differences regarding the role of daemons. Daemons in this novel are attached to each character and a reflection of their soul. The full-cast narration was superb and a joy to listen to. There are many great ambiguous moments regarding the decisions Lyra must make and you soon see that all is not as it seems. This is the first book in a series.

Couldn't Be Better

Don't be put off by the "Young Adults" designation--anyone who loves The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter should read or listen to all three of these excellent books. I can't think of any books that I could recommend with more enthusiasm for a worthwhile excursion beyond the mundane.

This book brought my love for fantasy back to life

After being bored to tears slogging my way through Goodkind, Robert Jordan, and the Game of Thrones guy along with countless others I'd pretty much decided that my love for fantasy must have just fizzled out in my late 20's. Boy am I glad I decided to give it one more shot. I'd never heard of this book or the author but with the good reviews and one more book balance this month I thought "What the heck, one more shot" WOW was I blown away. This guy is just amazing. Unique story, unusual characters, great setting,pacing, plot twists. I can't quite put my finger on any one thing. It's just magic. And the narration! I don't know what the 3 star reviewer was smoking but this is simply the best. I wish all fantasy books we're brought to life by this talented group of actors. Mad, MAD props to Philip!! He brought the magic back!!

Brilliant

This book is a masterpiece. I'm a writer myself; I don't say that lightly. This is literature at its finest. The plot is absolutely engrossing, but what's truly remarkable is that the characters are so rich and real, their conflicts so beautifully dramatized, and the writing itself! Every sentence is crafted like a poem pushing the story on and on. Every word counts. The author make religious and scientific ideas thrilling. And the worlds he creates! Vivid, beautiful.

The audiobooks production is the best I've heard. The author narrates the book with actors playing the dialogue. The actress who plays Lyra uses an irritating voice and it isn't right. It sounds like an adult actress playing a one-note stupid, squeeky six year old, not a multidimensional scrappy 11 year old. But the rest of the voices are terrific, expecially Philip Pullman's, the author and narrator. I can't imagine reading the book after hearing such a beautiful rendition. No movie has ever swept me away more than this audiobook did.

Great Book for Everyone

The Golden Compass and all of the books in the His Dark Materials series are really wonderful! Philip Pullman is a master of layered nuances and clever plot twists. These books are great for all ages, with a great adventure on the surface and multiple deeper levels below that touch upon issues important to all humanity. Pulman manages to use some of the most interesting concepts in physics and theology in an understandable, clever way. The author narrates the book himself and does it well. The full cast reading the rest also does a wonderful job.

A Real Page Turner

Exciting read, excellent and varied cast narration. Twists and turns in the plot.

Fantastic!

This is one of my favorite stories and it *is* my favorite audio production. The use of a full cast of actors for the dialogue and the Author as narrator is brilliant! The world building is rich and complex, and the characters are believable. There is quite a lot of violence in the series, as well as complex themes and issues- especially in the second and third books- so I'd say it's more of a "young adult" series than a "children's" series, but I would recommend this series highly. It's amazing! Regarding the current controversy surrounding these books I can only say: read or listen to them yourself and make up your own mind.

High;y Recommended

I've read the trilogy before, but after reading up on the background I wanted to read it again, but since I love audibooks I decided to listen to it instead. It is a very good performance and if you buy this one you have to be ready to buy the other two!

Very enjoyable!

What makes this book so much fun is that the author is the narrator and the characters' parts are done by actors. A wonderful fantasy world, or rather worlds in which to enjoy true story telling. A very well done audible experience.