Rating: 
Summary: Complex yet fulfilling fantasy
Review: The quality of writing in this book brings to mind certain revered old fantasy series- e.g. LOTR, Narnia, the EarthSea series... its deep and thoughtful at times, yet certainly not lacking in events. The book is a sensuous rush of events that carries along the reader effortlessly to the final pages. At no point do we retreat back into the tired old fantasy norms, or have to struggle through pages of filler- you definitely get the feeling that not a word was wasted. Its all fresh, and all interesting.The plot itself is more than enough to carry the book, but when the main protagonist is a very interesting and courageous young girl, you have the makings of a classic. The story is about Lyra, the afore-mentioned young girl, who finds herself, through various events, on a journey North, where she's always wanted to go. The original reason for her going is to rescue some missing children, but eventually more and more is revealed until we a very complex fantasy setting on our hands, and the book's plot never lets down for a moment, rushing from breathtaking scene to scene until the ending. The ending is sad, yet theres an overwhelming sense of wonder and grandeur that promises an epic ahead. My only complaint is that Pulmman uses deux ex machina a bit too much for my taste. But its nothing major. The book leads into one of the (if not the) best fantasy works I have ever read, and suffice to say that the books ahead are even better than this one, both in terms of emotional complexity and in sheer awe-inspiring quality. Any fantasy fan will want to pick this book up, and I suspect many non-fantasy readers will enjoy it too.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Intriguing
Review: I'll be honest: I wanted a subsitute for Harry Potter...Did I ever get it! Golden Compass is almost better than Harry Potter. I am into the second book of this series right now and it's incredible. The imagination Pullman has is magic. Harry Potter and this series are wonderful books for fantasy lovers. The beginning will be a little confusing, of course but by the second/third chapter you will know *exactly* what's going on and will be able to go on the adventure with Lyra. I hear the third book (Amber Spyglass) is even better than the first two books in the series..and I'm really looking forward to buy it! The series is incredible. You really should have a go at it.
Rating: 
Summary: verbose and unoriginal
Review: I read The Golden Compass on the recommendation of the New York Times. It has received much attention because the latest 2 books take a stance against religion and the church - my interest was piqued. Unfortunately, it was not piqued for long. The Golden Compass is insipid and poorly written. Pullman sets the story in a bizarre land which is some contorted fusion of reality and imagination. It's the industrial age in the thriving metropolis of London, England; scientific research is obsessed with subatomic particles; and (here's where it gets weird) every person has a physical manifestation of their soul, a daemon, which takes the form of an animal; magic abounds; and polar bears talk. this fusion wouldn't be so bad if it were pulled off correctly. but everything about it seemed to offend me instead of excite me. for one, pullman fills his pages with paragraph after paragraph of mangled speech in his attempts to convey the accents of speakers. more importantly, his 'original' idea of representing souls as animal-friends is infused with stereotype and manipulation. this is supposed to be a fantasy novel, and yet every 'type' of person has a predictable 'type' of animal. smart people have cats as their souls. stupid people have chickens. goofy people have goofy animals. it's inane. and it's also cheap and manipulative. pullman spends the first 3/4 of the book setting up the importance of the human-daemon bond. and the horror! the shock! of the last 1/4 is that evil people are trying to disturb that bond! if pullman's establishment of the human-daemon bond were at all convincing, the plot might have some resonance. but it doesn't. when it comes down to it, most fantasy books establish their own world, characters, and some sort of crisis or motivation for the plot. since a fantasy is, well, a fantasy, its value ultimately rests in how much it entertains its readers, as opposed to how much it educates them. in this case pullman fails to create interesting characters, sticking instead with stereotypes; he contrives the 'novelty' of the human-daemon bond to give his story originality and motivation, but he does it in a heavy-handed and transparent way. reading the book is simply an exercis in page turning - it is not exciting. this is coming from a veteran fantasy reader - favorites of mine are david eddings and david gemmell. pullman does not have the touch. if he spent less time simulating accents and more on the story, this book might be worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Amazon.com Scores!
Review: A personalized Amazon.com recommendation pays off! Golden Compass is a soaring and scary book, a captivating many-layered tale of a classic Great Quest (aside from momentary stumbles into simplicity). Yet the tale is modern in tone because the ultimate goal is not made clear, and is only incompletely revealed in small steps in this first book of a trilogy. Even the scintillating conclusion here is only a sunlit precipice edging on a vague promise. The clever authorial misdirection parallels the growth in experience of the determined heroine, Lyra, as she passes through increasingly grand and chilling events beyond her youthful ken, or ours. The fantasy and magic here is far more in Pullman's imagining and skillful writing than in the grittily mundane, yet alien and strangely distorted, Victorian mechanical age from which the story is built. This pb edition is very nicely composed and printed, but its paper may not survive to the heirloom status it deserves. The trilogy might take its place in the firmament of classics for the young at heart like My Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, or A Wrinkle in Time. Another English series, Harry Potter, is more contemporary and droll, and explicitly magicked, than this. I wouldn't want to be without either.
Rating:
Summary: Superb, Sophisticated
Review: This book is the first of three excellent, brilliantly written books -- they are, however, more sophisticated than the Harry Potter books, so they are less suitable for the average 10-year-old. I enjoyed them tremendously, but they are not exactly easy to read. The characters and plots are far more complex and ambiguous than the somewhat black-and-white characters and plots of the Potter books. (Malfoy and Voldemort are so blatantly and flatly bad, for instance, that I find them boring.) The Golden Compass, for contrast, has one character trying to poison another, and you can't figure out for quite a long time which one is the "good" guy and which the "bad" -- and ultimately, neither is one is flatly one way or the other, but each a genuine and complex person. And it's not frustrating try to figure out who to root for, it's just a good read! The fantasy elements are so beautifully blended in that they feel quite real in a matter of pages or even sentences. It seems simply right that people have a part of themselves that appears separate and in animal form(called a daemon), and simply right that children's daemons can change form and adult daemons can't. As another reviewer remarked, even though you've never encountered the concept of "intercision" before reading these books, the mere thought of it is frightening and revolting. And it was fascinating to find some fantasy books that actually address real issues of religion. Deeply religious readers, who don't like religion being examined or questioned, however, beware. Pullman is basically acting out the rather unusual and difficult theology of William Blake(an English poet/artist/engraver/ philospher of the late 18th century) -- which is a pretty amazing feat, if you know anything about Blake! If you are devoutly Catholic, you should probably stay away from these books, as, per Blake, they are quite down on organized Christianity and perceive Catholicism in particular to be one long regime of oppression and cruelty. I'm quite religious, myself, but I could take these books as an exploration of some interesting ideas without feeling personally offended.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it a lot!~
Review: I thought that this was a VERY good book. Even though I am not an adult I understand somewhat why some people would not give it to their kids to read. I do NOT think that it was violent at all. You just have to realize that the reader must be mature enough to take it in and understand the deamons, and witches, and unreal objects and not think that they are real. They must be able to realize that it is a book. And as for the story-line I couldnt put it down! It was suspensful and that is JUST what I like! ;)
Rating:
Summary: Review of audio cassette version
Review: After reading all the Harry Potter books we started in on those audio tapes (our boys are 4 and 7, so a reminder course in the events helps them retain the story). On a chance we picked up the audio version of The Golden Compass as a follow-up. It is the single best audio book we've ever played. Acted as much as read (a cast of a dozen+ actors), it vividly brings Lyra's adventures to life. I've got adults in my office listening to it now, so I can safely say it spans all ages from 4 to at least 40+. (Completely unabridged.) Great if you're a reader who wants to share the book with the family, excellent way to kick-start an older child into reading books 2 and 3, and much more interesting than the usual kid recordings. (Frankly, a better book than the Potter series, overall, but the recording is truly head and shoulders above even most adult audio fare). And just because you've done the audio, doesn't mean the book won't work as a follow-up read-aloud--for younger kids the familiarity after the recording makes it possible for them to follow the complex story, at the slow, chapter-a-night pace of family read-aloud.
Rating:
Summary: Super Book
Review: I bought this book for my 11-year old daughter. She could not put it down. Upon completion, she asked me to read it so we could discuss it. I am impressed with my daughter's choice of reading material (I have often purchased a book for her that she has started and given up)! The only specific item she wanted for Christmas was the sequel A Subtle Knife. We presently are "sharing" that book and thoroughly enjoying it also.
Rating:
Summary: What a wondrous book!
Review: After several false starts when I just couldn't get past the first page because the suspension of belief was too much for a "realist" like me (Daemons! What bosh! thought I), Lyra's world finally worked its magic on me. Murder, politics, theology, kidnapping - it's not surprising that the "His Dark Materials" trilogy enthralls readers of all ages. (I do wonder, however, how many folks in the 10 - 15 age group grasp the religious and mythical themes woven into Philip Pullman's deceptively simple narrative. Then again, does it matter?) The Golden Compass is not my typical fare (just look at the other titles I've reviewed), but I am now busy with its sequel, The Subtle Knife, and I look forward to the third book, The Amber Spyglass. Readers who have long appreciated the fantasy genre will think my remarks a bit vapid for I have little to compare Compass to... except, perhaps the Harry Potter collection, which I have enjoyed with my children but have deemed rather undemanding and not a little formulaic. For me, Compass is an epic reminiscent of the work of C.S. Lewis or even (dare I say it?) Tolkien. While the Potter series now enjoys an "instant classic" status (now there's an oxymoron) that is not part of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy buzz, I think Pullman's work -- not J.K. Rowling's -- will prove to have the sort of shelf endurance that the Perelandra and Lord of the Rings books enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Bound to be a classic....
Review: Philip Pullman has drawn you into a story that although obviously a fantasy still convinces you into believing that it's real. He draws you into Lyra's world and really makes you think from the first page all the way to the last. Obviously a very structured and well planned book that doesn't fail to surprise as you flip through the pages. You won't be able to put this book down. It really demands a lot of the reader's imagination and asks you to question some of your beliefs as well. Very creative and original book...there is not another book like it.
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