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

Wonderful

I was gifted this book many months ago and I didn't get to listen until the holidays, but I wish I had listened much sooner. The story, the characters, and how masterfully the author stitches everything together made me listen and listen until I was done.
Read this book if you are looking for fantasy full of details, full of rich features that entertain at the same time that is thought provoking. I often found myself wondering how amazingly clever the author was portraying a critique of our world in this book.
The plot has its dark moments, but there is always a sense that hope will eventually triumph and good will beat evil. Don't read this book if you're looking for a story with dark undertones where characters continuously struggle and narrowly beat the odds. There are moments in this book where it does seem like the main character might be having a difficult time, but then again there is always a prevailing sentiment that somehow everything will be alright.

exciting

well-acted and dramatic. Interesting idea, that original sin is the accumulation of "dust" that collects on humans as they mature.

Great book, not the best audiobook

Getting straight to the point, I'm not the first to say the sound editor made mistakes. There's no pause between people speaking, and it's pretty bad. It's gets better by midway through the book.
That's my only real complaint. The church in this book is FICTION, and to rob your children of this story by religious zealots attacking this book would be a shame.
There's death, alcohol, and gore in this book, if you don't want your kids to hear that, that is a fair reason to hold off.
But it's a good book, worth paying for, and if a better edited version comes out, get that one instead.

Great story, but poor narration.

Great story, but wish the author wasn't a narrator. Has annoying whispery low voice.

Enchanted

A fabulous reading of a most treasured book
I could listen over and over again
Enjoy this wonderful awesome book

My Childhood in a Nutshell

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. There is a child in all of us - and that child will not be able to put this down.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Golden Compass?

The image of Lyra walking into the sky. It's as striking and poetic as The Girl on Fire...or any other scene where the character of someone is made manifest in a single, beautiful moment.

Which character – as performed by Philip Pullman and full cast – was your favorite?

Lee Scoresby.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both. You will become emotionally invested in these characters. You have been warned.

What's the big deal?

Where does The Golden Compass rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a fun and adventurous book. I don't get into wild journey stories like this very ofter, so it was quite refreshing in comparison.

What did you like best about this story?

It's just a whole other world that isn't too different from ours, making it easy to grip, but just strange enough to bring on the imagination.

Which character – as performed by Philip Pullman and full cast – was your favorite?

Iorek Byrnison

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The fight between Iorek and the King of the Bears.

Any additional comments?

This is a great adventure book, with talking bears, witches and magic compasses, what more could you ask for? What's that? You want to question authority and religion too? Well okay, you get some of that too! I just really enjoyed this book, it was fun and emotional and exciting.

Great story!

Not at all like the movie in most ways and it's much more detailed. It answered questions I still had

So good!!

Too bad the Christian's try to ban this. They could learn something! This book is a great adventure built on science and philosophy while providing a great adventure. It's dark but the message is good. Well read and written. This is an amazing series!

wonderful

I love that this is narrated by the author and has a cast of voices.