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Summary: Don't miss this one
Review: Absolutely the best story I have ever read. Thought provoking, entertaining, endearing, and enthralling. I'm sad that I've finished these books, but I couldn't put them down. I laughed, I cried, and I bit my nails (unfortunately) every page of the way. I fell in love with the characters, the story, and the settings. I just can't say enough about this wonderful series. Great trilogy for adults even though these books were written for young adults. I would not recommend these books for children under 13 as they may have some difficulty following the themes. If you haven't read these books, I envy you. You have a whole new world to delve in to.
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Summary: best. series. EVER!
Review: I bought the first two books of this trilogy several years ago for my brother for Christmas. He neglected them for a long time, so I decided to pick up The Golden Compass and give it a try. It took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked. As soon as I finished the Golden Compass I picked up The Subtle Knife, and finished reading it in about 3 days (which is really fast for me, considering I'm not too big on reading) I then borrowed The Amber Spyglass from a friend of mine. This is the only book that has ever made me cry. Pullman is an extraordinary writer, I got so connected to the characters. Any words of praise I have for these books cannot possible do them justice, that's how good they are. This is definitly my favorite series of all time. It is a good investment for anyone who is into fantasy, and anyone who isn't.
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Summary: Trilogy fans something is new
Review: Greating trilogy fans. If you are really looking for an enjoyable series of books that will keep you up all night try The Last Gentile Trilogy. The Last Gentile, Deacon's Horn and The Final Witness.
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Summary: Out of the blue to become one of my favorite books.
Review: I stumbled across this series totally by accident. Thinking that they were just going to be the typical teen fantasy, I wrote them off and didn't give them a chance. Until one day, I decided to try it. I'm not a good writer so my review won't do this series justice. I won't go into the plot of this book but to say that it follow a young girl's adventures and this statement is far too simple to describe this series. No matter your age, this book grabs your attention, pulls you in, and makes you think! Be prepare for a good surprise. This series isn't what you think it is. It's sooo much more than some teenager fantasy. I still find that my mind wonders back to this series quite often. There are plenty of other reviews to say more of the books, but I have to say that Mr. Pullman is a genius. Thank you for writing this superb series.
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Summary: I can't believe what I have just read........
Review: I have just this moment finished the final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. I honestly don't know what it was, but this trilogy has blown my mind.
Imagine plodding through the first book of a trilogy, not too impressed at all with it. Throughout the second half of the book, I'm thinking of going back on my plan to read through all three books, back to back. Whereas I once thought how nice the trilogy would look in my bookshelf, I was now thinking of who I might give them to once I finished. Then, I reach the end of that first book. It finishes on a high point, with a final chapter which is intriguing enough to send me to the first chapter of book two. And then the series takes an interesting turn... It turns out that the world in which the first book took place was merely a small part of the universe encompassed in the entire trilogy. Without expecting it, I am captivated by the story which bored me at points. I tear through the second book in a little over a week (quick for someone with not much time to read), and then read the astonishing third book in a little less than two weeks. In reading the final pages of the third book, I have finished a trilogy which I now consider to be one of the best stories I have ever read, one which I am likely to return to more than once. It is not Lord of the Rings. It is not Harry Potter. Nor should it be compared to either of the two. It has some similarities, but is an entirely different creature. Characters I was iffy on at the beginning have become very dear to my heart. Most amazingly, I am very anxious to reread the first book. Knowing what I now know about the rest of story, the events in the first book, as well as the other two, will take on some whole new meanings. I don't expect people to feel as I do, but I would recommend this book to just about anybody. And I would tell them to throw out all of their expectations of what they think the story will be like. Throw out all preconcieved comparisons to any other stories until the end of the last book, at which time they can make their own comparisons. I would warn them that these are NOT children's books, even though some articles make them out to be. The religious and emotional issues dealt with are too deep for almost anyone below high school level. And some of the violence is definitely not for the young. Lastly, the only type of person I would not recommend these books to is someone who is not open minded in terms of God and religion. Deeply religious people might be offended at some of the ideas presented in the story, unless they can objectively differentiate fiction from non. So there you go. It saddens me to be away from the worlds inside this story. I can only hope Philip Pullman, still being alive, might continue with a new story set in this world at some point in the future.
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Summary: great books
Review: these were great books. i read it before Harry Potter, and it was no comparison; this book is awesome. ypou leanrn about Lyra, who never fits in at Oxford. then is swept into politics by Ms. Coulter, the leader of an experament which is based on ripping childrens daemons, their souls, away from them. with Pan, her daemon, Lyra experiances betrayal, and love when she meets Will, who is from another world. this was an awesome series, and i could not put any one of the books down. accompinied by mary, thwe scientist, will, the murderer, and others, Lyra Silvertonge sets out to save dust, and ends up saving the world, as Eve.
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Summary: By Far
Review: This is, by far, one of the great books I have ever read. My brother read it before my and kept going on and on about how wonderful it was. He wouldn't shut up about it, and, so, I picked it up, and don't regret doing it a bit. By the time I finished The Golden Compass, I was captured.
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Summary: Darn good trilogy
Review: Holy wow!! Thses books were recommended to me by a sales associate to tide me over until Harry Potter the 5th book was to come out. What a good set!!It has geat characters and settings. However, these books are not for those whom do not have a vivid imagination. Worlds are taken apart and put back together - both spiritualy and physically! Be prepared to use your imagination and get ready for a great story.
Rating: 
Summary: multidimensional characters
Review: Complex ideas; strong, credible, multidimensional (in every sense) characters - this knocks Harry Potter into a cocked hat.
The first book (Northern Lights here in Britain, The Golden Compass in the US) is the most perfectly realised. Lyra's world is a place of wonder & grandeur & the balance of plot, action & character had me racing to the end.
Book two, The Subtle Knife, suffers slightly from being largely set in our own mundane world, and the writing is comparatively flat & plot-driven. But there's much to treasure & the third book would be incomprehensible without reading this first.
The Amber Spyglass, last & longest, introduces great new characters, places & concepts, exceeds the ambition & in places the execution of Northern Lights and if it's flabby here & there, it more often achieves the epic richness the story deserves.
Pullman's creations will live in children's & adults' imaginations for a long time: apart from the 12-year-old main protagonists, wily Lyra & fearless Will, there's the exquisitely villainous Marisa Coulter & her malevolent golden monkey, the ambiguous antihero Lord Asriel (think Magneto in the X-Men), the noble bear Iorek Byrnison, gyptian king John Faa, the gay angels Baruch & Balthamos & numerous others.
These are supremely moral books; Pullman doesn't flinch from confronting his heroes' failings (as well as society's) but they usually do the right thing. He's unsentimental, yet Iorek's farewell to Lyra had me blubbing. The chapter in The Amber Spyglass where Mary befriends the alien mulefa is beautiful & haunting.
Pullman has said that separating his child-heroes from their parents is chiefly a storytelling device to allow them to operate independently, but here the parentage of both Lyra & Will is central to the story. And he effortlessly absolves himself from accusations of "too many coincidences" by establishing early on a sense that everything is happening because it is ordained to happen.
As a sidenote, Pullman is a patron of the National Secular Society in Britain & it's clear he doesn't think much of organised religion. As I said, a sound moral influence for our kids. ;-)
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Summary: Wandering Plot, unsympathetic characters,no racial diversity
Review: I found this series mildly entertaining primarily due to the author's use of alternate worlds and the adventures encountered by the witches, wizards, bad guys, gypsies and the other assortment of characters. Unfortunately the primary character, 11 year-old Lyra, is dreadfully difficult to care about. She is unfailingly rude, disobedient and unpleasant. The few forays into an attempt to show her vulnerable, agreeable side are handled clumsily and in some cases outside the realm of logic. The author insists on making her ally exclusively herself with boys rather than other girls, perhaps to emphasize that she is a tomboy. Adding fuel to the male-good, female-bad fire is the fact that her mother is portrayed as Satan herself and many of the adult male characters are drawn as heroic and self-sacrificing. The plot also veers a bit, people appear and leave, sometimes forever, without explanation. Quests become interrupted or foiled and are never reattempted or concluded. Finally, unlike Harry Potter, there is an amazing lack of racial diversity in these books. Except for some northern dwellers who may or may not be Inuit, everyone is described as white.It seems with this author whatever world you happen to find yourself color will be confined to sunsets and the northern lights.
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