The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials, Book 1

I've been listening to audio books for quite some time and this one by far is the best. Performed by a full cast where each actor assumes the role of one of the characters, the listener is transported into Pullman's world.

Set in the fictional past of early 20th century England, every human has what is called a "demon". As children these demons can assume any animal form, often changing depending on the mood of their child. Demons are animal representations of human souls, and no one is complete without one. After puberty, the demons assume one form and stay that way for life. Demons seem to take on the type of animal the person is in life, for example servants tend to have dogs as demons, loyal and obedient. Scholars have birds such as ravens, intelligent and far-seeing. One sailor has a dolphin or some such creature as a demon, thereby tying him forever to the ocean. Humans and their demons are mentally connected. What one feels, the other feels. They can talk to each other and cannot be away from each other, even at close distances or they feel great pain and anxiety.

Lyra, an orphaned pre-teen girl, and her demon Pan (yet to assume one form) find themselves in the middle of a political conspiracy. Unsure of who to trust and who their true allies are, their life was changed forever when they witnessed the Master of the college where they had spent all their years as a ward, attempt to poison Lyra's estranged uncle.

Her uncle, involved in some strange discoveries and experiments has returned to the college to ask for money to continue his work, investigating the origin of subatomic particles referred to as "dust". For some reason the scholars of the college are suprised to learn that this mysterious "dust" does not cling to children. After he receives the money and thwarts an attempt to poison him, he returns to his work.

What is dust? And why are children all over England disappearing? Lyra soon embarks on a journey to seek these answers.

While I don't think this is a book for children, I do think this book is amazing - the narriator is very good as well. I loved these books when I read them - and I loved them just as much while listening. You won't be disappointed.

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.

Although aimed at younger readers, like the Harry Potter books, The Golden Compass trilogy is very entertaining to adults, as well. The story follows young Lyra and her daemon Pan through adventures in an alternate universe, where magic is common and each person's soul takes on the external form of his or her daemon. Pullman's writing is brilliant and very dynamic, and this is much more than a simple children's book. While great for listeners of any age, younger children may need a little guidance, though shouldn't have too much trouble following the story. Highly recommended!

Okay, let's get this out of the way. The complaints that hard-core Christians have about this book? Well, unlike the Harry Potter books, I can sort of see their point here. I may not quite agree with them, but I can respect their opinions. (The Harry Potter haters just need to get freaking lives.)

Tha being said, I think this is a wonderful fantasy novel both for adults, and kids from about ten or eleven up. I think any younger, and the kids will miss too much (particularly in later books).

If you dislike criticism of organized religion, do not read this book. And you probably shouldn't let your kid read it, which is your right, as long as you don't try to stop MY kids from reading it.

I know they've made a movie out of this-- I saw the first commercial WHILE I was downloading the book-- but I really don't see how they'll pull it off.

In my opinion novels read by the authors are generally inferior to those read by actors, and this is a case in point. To make matters worse, the dialogue is read by actors but the editing is so poor that there is a jarring abruptness each time there is a transition from non-dialogue to dialogue, as in there is no pause at all between the two. This is a fabulous book and I recommend it highly, but this audio rendering leaves a lot to be desired.

My entire family has gotten hooked on this book, to the extent that we look for reasons to get in the car and drive with it. I was so enthralled that we ran out of gas. Imaginitive premise, interesting and well-developed characters, and many plot twists. I thought you could not top Jim Dale reading the Harry Potter stories, but this is right up there.
A word of advice: With different actors playing different characters, this did not play back well on level 2, and we almost gave up on it. Load it at the highest resolution you can play. If it seems a little slow at the start, hang in there. The characters keep getting more imaginitive, and the plot more suspensful.

All books in this series are just wonderful. The story is creative and new, the characters are complex and fascinating, and it is full of shifts and turns that keep you wondering what the author is getting at. I want to listen to the series several times to try and unfold the layers. But, other than the main characters being children, I have a hard time seeing these as children's books. Evan for a middle-aged woman who has spent considerable time mulling over religion, spirituality, and the true nature of man, the themes in the series can be unsettling and disturbing. I imagine for younger or less "mature" readers, this could be just plain confusing and distressing. If your kids are deep thinkers, and you intend to discuss the book with them, it could open the way for some very engaging exploration and discussion. But if your kids are younger, don't be fooled by the cute little "demons" and bears, this book could be very frightening, and could raise questions about God, parents, society, and life they simply may not have the life experience to sort through without help. But if you are over 21, you might as well download all three books now, and wait until you have some serious down time before you start, because these books will suck you in.

This was hard to start listening to. The voice of Lyra was sort of manic, but she grew on me. And once "knowing" her, I realized that it is her character, not just bad direction.
The plot completely drew me in, until I was at the point of not wanting to turn off my Ipod. The story, along with the full cast really made you feel the intensity of their situations.
Now for the "anti-God" thing...umm...I didn't think that it was that bad. Especially since the world that Lyra lives in is basically a "parallel" world. Yes, the Church has done some incredibly horrific things in the past. So why is it such a stretch for someone to put it into a fictional story? And for the whole thing about "killing God"??? A bit over-hyped...but that is the fundamentalist way.
Young children wouldn't understand this story very well, and some parts would scare them. Older kids I think should read/listen to it. They should recieve more credit than many are willing to give.

This is a review for the 3 book series as a whole not just the golden compass. I would give the golden compass 3 stars, the subtle knife 2 stars, and the amber spyglass 1 star.

The book starts off well with many imaginative and fresh ideas. However, pullman has problems developing characters. This is a huge issue, because the characters are dull, not likeable OR unlikeable, and underdeveloped. I felt like everyone was a stranger to everyone no matter if they were friend or enemy. I neither cared for nor hated any character in any of the 3 books. Sorry if you can't make likeable heroes or dispicable villains your book fails. Not recommended.