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: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

HIS DARK MATERIALS IS NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING DAFNE KEEN, RUTH WILSON, ANDREW SCOTT, AND LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!

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 #1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the Guardian Prize for Children's Fiction

Published in 40 Countries

"Arguably the best juvenile fantasy novel of the past twenty 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

"As always, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterizations and seamless plotting, maintaining a crackling pace to create scene upon scene of almost unbearable tension. This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next installment of Lyra’s adventures.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred

“Extraordinary storytelling at its very best.”—The Detroit Free Press

“Superb . . . all-stops-out thrilling.”—The Washington Post

Highly Original - Really a nice read.

I really enjoyed these three books. Mr. Pullman has created an interesting universe full of strange beings and ideas. This is the second book and the one I enjoyed the most. I enjoyed the evil characters as much as the heroines. You don't often find well developed bad guys in fantasy writing.

Unique and Addictive

This was a most unique book which borders on fanatasy and science fiction, my personal favorite genres. I am most anxious to indulge myself into book two. The concept of having an intuitive "daemon" is most appealing to the pet lover in me also. The only negative I found was the use of scripture and Bible stories which had been altered to "fit" the book's content. This could be misleading to a vulnerable person not aware of the accurate version of the scriptures and Biblical story. I feel this should and could have been excluded from the story. The story would still maintain its mystique.

fun with alternate worlds

This is a great series and well done from the audio standpoint. There is quite a cast of characters and all are very good, conveying the characters well. I find the trilogy not only entertaining but thought provoking. Worldly knowledge, one's soul, all are part of this most interesting journey taken by a young girl who you can't help but admire.

Amazing

First of all, I must say that this book is great to begin with. It is well written and amazingly touching. Aside from that, the quality of the audio here is unsurpassed. This is the first book I have purchased here and I must admit I was a bit hesitant. I was worried that I was going to get a dull narrator who couldn't make my own death sound interesting to me. I am ecstatic to be able to say I received the exact opposite. There are multiple characters voiced in this story and you can easily tell the difference between them all. Honestly it plays out almost like an old radio drama from the 20's. I would recommend this to anyone in a heartbeat. Bravo!

Wow!

The book has been around a while so I won't comment on the story except to say that it's entertaining, interesting, and original.

The narration of the book, complete with multiple narrators and great production values made this book a real joy to listen to. If you like Pullman, or want a book that mixes fantasy, alternative history, and social commentary, this is worth the time.

The series is incredible and the production great!

This is one of my favorite pieces of literature. I read the bound version of this series at least twice before listening to it, and the production of the audio version is excellent and enjoyable. Phillip Pullman is not only a brilliant writer, but also a scathing social critic. The story itself is compelling, rich and engaging, but becomes epic when the underlying social commentary is considered.

I read several of the many "this is an anti-God book!!" reviews written by anxious readers regarding this work. I am willing to bet that most of them haven't actually read the whole series and are simply letting either what they've heard about it, or their own discomfort about belief systems being called into question influence their opinions regarding Mr. Pullman's excellent work. If one can take a more global view of the story, it becomes apparent that it is *organized religion* that is being called to task in this series, not any actual (vs. manufactured) manifestation of spirituality itself. In particular, I think it is safe to say that Pullman is especially targeting the powerful, European based, Roman Catholic church and it's historical, well publicized abuses of power. We've all heard the phrase "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely". THAT'S what this story is really about.

So, from my perspective, there's no need to be afraid to read this book if you are a Christian or any other religious person. On the contrary, I think that it presents an interesting conceptualization of spirituality unconstrained by an over-powerful and convoluted "religious body", unshackled by the guilt and political obligation so inherent in organized religion. The characters are sharp, witty, clever and very well developed. The action is exciting and fast paced, the villains superbly villainous (yet still with some humanity intact, adding to their complexity) and the protagonists deep and committed. This author is a true wordsmith and worthy of your consideration.

obsessed!

I had a hard time putting this book down. Pullman does an amazing narration job with such passion.

LOVE THIS BOOK

i loved this book can't wait to listen to the next 2 in the trilogy!

A masterful story, masterfully realized in audio

Pullman's HDM series is unique in fantasy writing, and its scope and storytelling are wonderful and terrifying to experience. I loved my first encounter with these books so much. I'm accustomed to accepting a certain amount of carelessness in the audiobook versions of books I love. However i'm happy to report: An unusual amount of care and artistry went into the production, editing and mixing of these audiobooks. You'll love hearing the natural, deft performances of the actors on this audiobook- a surprisingly large cast, seamlessly edited and mixed to an organic sounding whole. It represents many many hours of work and care from the production team. It's an immersive experience and probably one of the most enjoyable fantasy offerings available on audible.

Multiple readers

It is important to understand that there are multiple readers. This is more of a performance than a simply read audiobook. For better or worse.