Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: A beautiful, imaginative book with characters of depth and
integrity, a reality painted with vivid strokes in colours
from the full range of the spectrum - and a true heroine,
free from the pitfalls of parody.
This author is mercifully timeless; he has not succumbed to
this decade's bleak and paralyzing fear of archetypes, and
I will certainly be looking for his other publications.
Rating: 
Summary: Derivative and full of traditional fantasy biases.
Review: Although the writing is good, The Golden Compass fails
to go beyond the most elementary re-imagining of the fantasy world: Pullman lost me in Chapter One, where
he casually informs the reader that all servants'
daemons are dogs. Presumably domestic workers everywhere have the same personality? By the time I got to his child-stealing beautiful lady I was too tired to go on. There's nothing original about this kind of
Anglophilic sexism and classism.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest fantasy books in a long, long time.
Review: This has got to be one of the best books I have every read.
If you liked anything of the Shannara books, this will knock
your socks off. Be sure to look out for the sequel!!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful characters & story!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I occasionally had questions,
such as the "familiars" everyone seems to have. But now I believe
he'd ruin the narration of the story if all aspects of the characters were explained. It keeps you thinking which I believe
a book should do.
I'm looking forward to books 2 & 3! Write Faster Please!
Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: This is one of the best new books to come out in a long time. I didn't always understand what was happening, but I couldn't put it down. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series
Rating: 
Summary: Good but does not yet have sticking power
Review: Pullman writes well, so this work is great fun to read.
I must say that I did not find the work very compelling,
in contrast to, for instance, "The Crock of Gold"
or the Narnia series, or the Alvin Maker series. The book just did not stick with me much. I will certainly read the
sequels; however, I will (as I did the first book) check them out from the library. They will probably not join Lord of the Rings, The Deed of Paksenarrion, and the Riddle-Master of Hed on my "keepers" bookshelf.
Rating: 
Summary: Praise for THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Review: "One of the best fantasy/adventure stories I have read in years" (Terry Brooks)
"Very grand indeed...There is scene after scene of power and beauty." (New York Times Book Review)
"Superb...Offers moral complexity as well as heart-stopping adventures." (Washington Post Book World)
"A fantasy-adventure that sparkles with childlike wonder but is overlaid with a darker, enigmatic intensity." (Boston Sunday Globe)
"Extraordinary storytelling at its very best." (Detroit Free Press)
"Nothing short of breathtaking...This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next installment" (Publishers Weekly)
"A shattering tale that begins with a promise and delivers an entire universe" (Kirkus Reviews)
"An astonishing, compelling fantasy...Touching, exciting, and mysterious by turns, this is a splendid work" (Horn Book Magazine)
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy, drama, mystery, soon-to-be classic, adventure!!!
Review: Lyra Belacqua, a precocious adolescent of unknown
background, lives in the care of the scholars at Jordan
College of Oxford University. The time period is ambiguous
and could be the distant past as easily as the future. Spunky and strong in character, Lyra discovers secrets about her own identity as she becomes involved in uncovering the hideous, clandestine research of misguided scientists. The
adventure leads Lyra to the Artic regions where the intrigue
is resolved. This is the first volume of a series which leaves the readers anxiously waiting for more. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Joe's Review
Review: Title: The Golden Compass
Author: Philip Pullman
Genre: Science Fiction The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is very well written and entertaining. This fantasy about Lyra and Pantalaimon, her daemon, is exciting, scary, and adventurous. It would be horrible if this book didn't win any awards. There is a lot of suspence especially after the chapter when Lyra meets a Gobbler, or her mother, for the first time and doesn't know it's her because Lyra was told her parents were dead. The Gobblers, or the General Oblation Board, take the children to the North where they cut them from their daemons. Lyra meets many friends that are witches, bears, ands Gyptions. They fight evil while she learns about her past and what she must do. Lyra gets the golden compass which is really an alethiometer and has to learn how it works. The alethiometer is a truthmeasure that can answer any question you ask it. Lyra uses her friends and the alethiometer to gain knowledge about her parents who both want to get into the city inside the Northern Lights and eliminate original sin. It all starts when she hides in the retiring room where girls aren't supposed to go and she spies on her father. She sees the Master try to poison her father who is also Lord Asriel. In this exciting novel Lyra gets herself into trouble and almost always gets herself out of it.
Rating:
Summary: And now for something different
Review: If you're tired of the fantasy novels that don't seem to be able to leave Tolken behind, then brace yourself. This book is the start of something wonderfully different in the fantasy genre. This epic story has it all, magic, evil, goodness, innocence, and action. I was astounded at the intricate plot, wonderful imagery, and completely unique style. Hold on as you race through this one, because once you start you won't be able to put it down until you've read all three.
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