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Summary: The beginning
Review: The Golden Compass is a book that is a cliffhanger, but you will be able to find out what happens in the other two books (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass). The book?s main character is a girl named Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantamalion. When the book begins, they are in the study that the scholars go into after dinner. They watch the head master of Jordon College put a type of poison in the wine of Lyra?s uncle, Lord Asriel. When Lyra saves her uncle?s life, she is entrusted to watch the master of the college. After that, the next major event is that Lyra acquires an alethiometer, a device that tells the truth when you ask it a question. Then she meets Mrs. Colter, who is Lyra?s role model at first. At one off her parties, Mrs. Colter shows her true self to Lyra. There are many other well-developed characters in this book, but you are going to have to read the book to find out. The Golden Compass is the most suspenseful out of the three books, so read this book!
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Summary: Great fantasy elements, great story, over all a good read
Review: I'd like to start off saying this is a great read, Phillip Pullman is a master story teller. His wolrd is colorful and the story itself is gripping and enthralling, it'll be hard for any reader to put it down. The fantasy elements are one of two things that should be highlighted in this book, the witches, the armored bears, and most of all the daemons are all unique and imaginative creations, not to mention you'll find yourself wondering what kind of deamon you'd have.
The second highlight isa bit different. For all those readers who don't want to trouble with a kids book, I recommend it anyway. Though it may seem a simple story, it underlines a profound outlook on the idea of the 'authority,' the higher being that rules our destiny, does it control us utterly? in the end can we truthfully escape destiny? There are a couple of other ideas present in the book, yet better than my telling you what these are would be that you read this book and find them yourself ;)
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Summary: A great read
Review: This is one of my all time favorites. I love fantasy books, and this is one that will really keep you interested. I enjoyed Pullmans vision of a world like ours but so fundamentally different. The whole idea really appealed to my curiousity.I read this whole series before I read Harry Potter, and while they have a lot in common, The Golden Compass and the rest of the triology are really for more mature readers. Pullman's views on religion really don't come out so much in this book, but once you read this one, you will definately want to continue, so beware. I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone under 13. All in all, a thought provoking and entertaining book.
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Summary: It's been two days and I'm still thinking about the ending.
Review: ... The first 200 pages things seemed kind of slow and being a boy I wasn't so much into the tomboy character of Lra. There's a lot of time spent on describing the suroundings that I think can be boring. ... But I will say that when Golden picks up, you can't put it down. And the ending of this book is brilliant. It leaves you with such wonder and excitment that you'll want to dive right into the next book.
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Summary: One of the Best......
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. A great plot, and great detail. If you liked the Harry Potter series, you are going to like this. As Phillip Pullman leads you and Lyra, one of the main characters, you will really undersatnd what he is writing and can imagaine what is happening looks like. From the start of her adventure, to the end that leaves you coming back for more, this is a wonderfully imaginable book. You can really see what thier world looks like and everything tat happenes. Some books leave out parts, for instance, one page they are in the US next, Antartica. Here though, there is never a detail left out. Lyra is a young girl. She has a deamon like everyone else. But she is different. From here wanting to go to the north to when she getts there, you reaqlize why the fate of the world may hang on her.
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Summary: Best Series Ever!
Review: WOW! This book was incredable. It is fast, easy reading. It is a great plot with great characters. It gets you hooked from the begining. You'll want to read it again and again. When my sister tried to read it, I stole it from her so I could read it again. The sequals are just as good, too. This book should be on everyone's must read list.
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Summary: Terrific sf-fantasy for young readers *OR* adults . . .
Review: Partly because I'm a librarian, I've been reading children's literature and young adult books all my life, and the mark of a successful YA story is that it's just as enjoyable and satisfying for an adult as for a kid. In this first volume of a trilogy, Pullman definitely meets that standard. It's described as a "fantasy," but it's actually an alternate universe tale, and that becomes explicit late in the book. Lyra Belacqua is an eleven-year-old terror living in Jordan College in her world's version of Oxford University, lording it over the servant-class kids, staging mud battles with the "gyptian" kids who work the narrowboats on the river, and generally having a good old time. Then (by being where she shouldn't be) she overhears her uncle, Lord Asriel, an extremely dominating character, tell the Jordan Scholars about the Aurora in the far north, and the origin of Dust, and the possibility of building a bridge to the other world that's visible through the Aurora. And Lyra's life suddenly becomes much more interesting and dangerous (and cold). She's marked out by her special abilities with the alethiometer, which always tells the truth, and by her ability to get around anyone. Pullman has created some terrific characters here, especially Iorek Byrnison, the king of the armored bears, and the viciously evil Mrs. Coulter, and Serafina Pekkala, the witch queen. The evil forces in this book come from the Church, which I don't find at all difficult to accept. (Pullman has been condemned by numerous established religious groups for his opinions and viewpoints.) Most fascinating of all, though, is the concept of the daemon, a sort of human soul outside the person, which takes the shape of an animal and which is intimately connected with its human in a way that's difficult for the daemon-less to fully understand. But having a daemon is what defines a human being and it's the most fundamental difference between Lyra's world and ours.
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Summary: wow
Review: wow is what I said after I finished this first novel in a series of three, it was just imaginative and a fantastic journey into the unknown. This first book sets up what is to come but you don't know just what will come about by it. I don't want to spoil any of the plot but Lyra is a fantastic character that you want to follow for the rest of your life.
The words bring up vivid visions of landscapes and places and events. I recommend it to everyone.
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Summary: a good book...
Review: i really liked "the golden compass"... fascinating, exciting and suspenseful, you'll remember it for a long time. It begs you to read it's sequel, "the subtle knife", tho i didn't like it as much as "the golden compass", i have yet to read "the amber spyglass". be warned tho, if you are very easily offended, especially about religion, i wouldn't recommend this book.
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Summary: A wonderful story--and not just for children!
Review: Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass", as well as the rest of the His Dark Materials series, is a wonderful, exciting, original, and fantastical ride from start to finish. It has themes for younger children, the idea of "daemons" and so forth, but in reality I feel it has more to offer adults. I absolutely LOVE the religious undertones of this book. If it "offended" you, then I'm sorry you're so closed-minded and ignorant. The idea of fallen angels rebelling against Heaven and Pullman's rather obvious implications that God is wrong and the source of all evil is intelligent, thought-provoking, and at times even made me sit down and question my own faith. I think it is wonderful to find a book that will make people question God. You should never believe in something just because someone told you to--you should always come to your own conclusions, and question everything. I love Pullman's unorthodox standpoint even though I disagree with the idea of God as the source of all evil. Like all good books, the His Dark Materials series is controversial. But moreover it is enjoyable, intelligent, sophisocated reading for people of all ages, with something for everyone. I would recommend this book to everyone regardless of age and religion because it has beautiful truths and intelligent questions to offer to the world. Pullman creates a world were the struggle between love and hate, hope and dispair, and most of all good and evil is played out on a dramatic scale. The description is so vivid, the ideas so original, and the thoughts so deep it has me wanting a daemon of my own.
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