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Summary: One Heck of a Fantasy Novel!
Review: This is my absolute favorite book! I definently reccomend this book for anyone. It's easy to understand, easy to read, and it will have you captivated in an illustrious fantasy world. A MUST HAVE for a teen who is somewhat interested in reading. Phillip Pullman wrote a masterpiece and all i have for it are praises! Even though the book is long, it will have you flipping page after page to find out more until you have a headache! Pullman takes you alongside Lyra and her daemon as she goes from Jordan College to helping a polar bear and caged daemons in an Artic area in the North. Learn more about her magical compass and fall in love with this novel!
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Summary: Still one of the best books ever, even the third time around
Review: This book is a truly original classic. I read it for the first time when I was about twelve, and while some parts of it were a bit much for me then, I loved it! I read it twice after that, and now that I'm fifteen a lot that I didn't get before has come much clearer to me. The book lost none of it's suspensfullnes or generally exciting theme, so that at some points I was litterally sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if maybe this time would turn out differently. Also, I've been an avid reader of fantasy for as long as I could read, (and even before that) so I have read all the old cleshaes, but this book would have none of it. Completely in a league of it's own! Anyway, this book is set in an alternative universe, where everyone has their own daemon, (basically a physical embodiment of the person's soul in the form of whatever animal they themselves are most like) and through the Aurora flows the magical Dust, which is the subject of much contraversy. Young Lyra Belaqua, abandoned by her parents at a young age lives at Jordon College in Oxford, and accidentally hears her uncle and the college masters talking about Dust, and before she knows it, she is launched into the adventure of a lifetime. Traveling to the North with the help of Gyptions, armored bears, witches and the like, Lyra comes to realize some pretty startling things about herself and Dust, and how it all ties into the Gobblers, who steal children to cut their Daemons away from them. By the end of the first chapter of this book I was thouroghly engrossed, and by the end of the book I was longing for my own Daemon! Anyway, I would recommend this book not just to children but to adults as well, since I doubt any child under twelve would be able to read it anyway. This book is gory at some points, and some of the things this book hints at can be pretty disturbing, another reason why I recommend this book mostly to adults and teenagers. I garentee though, once you read this book you will be hooked for the trilogy. I've been waiting for The Amber Spyglass (the final book in the trilogy) to come out for two years, and I finally have it (one reason why I read this book once again) and intend to read it as soon as I finish The Subtle Knife for the second time.
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Summary: Simply phenomenal!
Review: I bought this book about five years ago and it got lost when I moved so I bought it again. If you are a lover of adventure and magical creatures this book is definitely for you. I have read it over and over again and can't seem to get enough of it. Pullman is an intriguing writer who folds his words into the most intricate origami for the imagination. Buy this book, it is simply phenomenal!
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Summary: A Girl and a Book
Review: My friend and I love this book so much we are costently talking about Lyra and her adventures! It is a very exciting story and I would permit ANYONE to read this cool story. I think it is cool because of the world, surroundings, and Lrya herslef.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for All the Wrong Reasons
Review: This is a powerful and interesting page turner that should appeal to all fans of fantasy. Be forewarned though that Pullman isn't just writing a great tale he's deconstructing the "childrens fantasy" genre by turning all the old Narnian assumptions around. This trilogy is as much about being against older Tolkien and Lewis style fantasy as about a great story. If you like fantasy you'll like this but its not really for children as much as young adults, in that sense its far better than the "Harry Potter" books but a bit less than "Lord Of The Rings".
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Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ!!
Review: My favorite character was by far Lyra.I've always loved the Artic and together with this gripping novels mystery and destinies to be found it makes a book that you can't put down!!
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Summary: Compelling
Review: I agree with most reviewers who say that this is an exceptional book. One of the most remarkable things for me as a reader was to read and have the world of Lyra's Oxford be familiar and then suddenly to realize that this world is slightly out of kilter with our own world. I also thought that the concept of daemons as the manifestation of the soul was wonderful--especially since virtually all daemons are the opposite gender than their humans. That's a nice Jungian touch, I think. As for the story, it is quite often heart-rending. This is a children's book but not for really young children. It reminds me a bit of Susan Cooper's books, in terms of age appropriateness. I think they are children's books that grow with you into adulthood.
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Summary: great pageturner
Review: This book is not just for teens, but grownup with a sense for fantasy will love it too. It's a real page turner and hard to put down
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Summary: A step up from Harry Potter - well crafted and dark
Review: I picked up The Golden Compass thinking that it'd be a nice diversion until Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out - I was soon totally absorbed in Philip Pullman's excellent "His Dark Materials" trilogy and eager for more. The Golden Compass is the story of a young tomboy named Lyra, a child of absentee parents; her mother disappeared at an early age, and her father travels extensively doing research for Oxford University, in a world very similar to our own. But not quite - early on, you begin to see differences: every person has a personal daemon, an extension of their own soul and life, with which they can communicate and experience things. The bond between Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, is the one thing that Lyra holds dear. All else is a street-urchin's life, lived in back alleys and rooftops, and mud fights. That is, until the day that her father returns home with mysterious results of some research he has been doing in the far North. Those results spur a secret attempt to kill Lyra's father, which Lyra uncovers. Thus begins Lyra's trip into a world that she thought she could avoid: the world of early adulthood. Unlike the Harry Potter books, where even the dark corners are lit (a little), Philip Pullman's books start out dark and get darker. Lyra's journey is hard, and met with challenges, fear, and failure. Pullman doesn't write down to you, and doesn't always give the reader the easy way out. It can be a tough read for the first fifty or so pages, but from then on it's all action and adventure, with a real cliffhanger ending that will have you running back to the bookstore for the also excellent, "The Subtle Knife." Instead of breathlessly waiting for the next Harry Potter book, you'll be reading Philip Pullman.
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Summary: Wow. I am thunderstruck.
Review: My 10 year old sister has been bugging me to read "The Golden Compass" for ages. I finally got around to reading it and I'm dumbstruck. This book belongs on a shelf with Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." It is at times amusing, thought-provoking, frightening, spell-binding, gripping, and fascinating. The ideas are unique and original. I especially like the panserbjorne, armored polar bear mercenaries who are anything but cute and cuddly. And the idea of daemons, animal manifestations of your soul, is captivating. I found myself wishing I had a daemon. Pullman manages to keep the story exciting, enthralling, rich with vivid prose and ideas. I have to say, this is the third best fantasy book I've read (and I've read quite a few). The top five are 1)"The Lord of the Rings" 2) "The Amber Spyglass" (the third book of the trilogy of which the Golden Compass is the first book) 3)"The Golden Compass" 4)"The Subtle Knife", the sequel to "The Golden Compass" and "The Hobbit"I highly recommend "The Golden Compass" to anyone who can read them and is ten and up (some of the ideas are too frightening and complex for anyone who is younger). The same goes for "The Subtle Knife." I wouldn't recommend "The Amber Spyglass" for anyone under 12, because the plot is more complicated than the first two books. Five stars.
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