Rating: 
Summary: ABSOLUTLEY STUNNING
Review: This book is probably one of the best that I have ever read. It is not a little kid's book; I think that teenagers and adults would enjoy it the most. I myself am thirteen years old, and my sister and dad have both read it. The Golden Compass is absolutley riveting. From the very beginning, it pulls you into the mind of Lyra Belaqua, a young and reckless girl who is living in Oxford. Suddenly, she must move in with Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful explorer of the dangerous North, where she begins her quest about Dust-- a newly discovered elementary particle that is making even the most respectable scholars shiver.
Rating:
Summary: GO LYRA!!!!!!
Review: This boook is one of my favorite books. If you like action, well i promise you this book has LOTS of action. This book starts out with a girl named Lyra form Jorden College, her home. Her uncle Lord Asrial, studies dust and is currently trying to find a way to get to another world. Later Lyra runs into a woman named Mrs.Coulter, a bad BAD woman. Lyra doesn't know two things at first about this woman, one, she is her mother, and two, she cuts children away from their demons. Lyra really likes this woman at first, and so Mrs.Coulter adopts Lyra. When Lyra is about to leave, a professor gives her this althiometer. The althiometer tells her the the truth. Her adventure starts here. Her mission is to stop whatever Mrs.Coulter is doing and also stop Lord Asrial from opening that path to another world. Can she do it? Read more to find out!
Rating:
Summary: Lyra's First Journey
Review: Lyra is an eleven year old girl who seems unaware of the world around her. She lives in a world full of daemons (life companions attached to the very soul of every human), an alethiometer (an instrument used by only the enlightened that can tell no lies and answer any question), witches, gyptians, panserbjornes (armored bears), and of course the infamous Dust (an elementary particle found only in the North that has many people worried). However, Lyra is pleasantly oblivious to this until her eyes are opened when she views pictures from her "Uncle" Asriel trip to the North. She then begins to yearn for the North. She feels almost a duty to go to the North and find out the meaning of Dust. But, while Lyra is feeling this obligation to the North, the Gobblers (or the Obligation Board to the few who are informed) are stealing children and performing horrible experiments with the child, their daemons, and Dust. The laboratory where they perform these experiments is far to the North as well. Then, one day Lyra's best friend Roger, a kitchen boy from the college where she lives, is taken by the Gobblers. Lyra then leaves the college where she was previously spending her life, to live with an enchanting woman by the name of Mrs. Coulter. Lyra idolizes Mrs. Coulter and her sophisticated way of life. After all, Mrs. Coulter has even been to the North, where she did important research on Dust! Things seem to be too good to be true, which they are. Lyra soon discovers that Mrs. Coulter is the founding member of the obligation board and was responsible for the loss of her dearest Roger. Lyra then decides to run away from Mrs. Coulter's up-scale apartment and try to make sense of her world. Lyra is then taken in by a gyptian family, whom she had had a long past with. The gyptians took her on their boat to the North where they planned to find the lost children and rescue them from further harm. However, Mrs. Coulter had everyone on the look out for Lyra, so Lyra couldn't be seen outside of the boat, for fear of being turned back in to Mrs. Coulter. Lyra meets many new and interesting people, animals, and things. Lyra is lead on a journey to find out what this mysterious Dust is, where her friend Roger has been taken, and to rescue her "Uncle" from the grasp of the panserbjornes. Will Lyra be able to succeed with the help from her alethiometer and her newly found friends? Or, will the world perish from Lyra's failing? Only time can tell.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for younger readers, but I was not swept away
Review: I picked up The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman because I'd heard a lot of great reviews about it, and that it was recommended as a book for younger readers. It quickly became clear to me that, like the Potter series, this book is targeted at younger readers. The language and tone of the text are straightforward and have that compelling pull that draws the younger reader in, as if the author is sharing a secret story. The story is that of a young orphan-of-sorts girl, Lyra, who has been allowed to mostly run wild and free in Oxford, among a bunch of dusty scholars. It begins with Lyra's unstoppable curiosity to see one of the "forbidden" rooms, where she finds herself trapped in a closet sneaking peaks and hearing tidbits of information that don't make a whole lot of sense to her. When playing with Roger and their gyptian friends, Lyra starts to hear stories about Gobblers that kidnap children. Not much later, she is suddenly taken away from Oxford by Mrs Coulter, a beautiful lady unknown to Lyra. She enjoys staying with Mrs Coulter in London for a while, but all the beautiful surroundings have a dark undertone. It is up to Lyra to discover the secret behind the Gobblers and save the missing children - or that's what she thinks, anyway. There is a dark twist to the story at the end. And of course there is the rest of the series to read if you want to know what happened after the cliffhanger left by Pullman. The book is certainly compelling and unique in it storyline. It is a children's story in that it features mainly children and Lyra, a child, is the heroine. That's not to say that many adults won't enjoy the series (many adults also read Harry Potter). Personnally, I was not entirely swept away by the book, in spite of all the positive points above. Maybe it's because the story is meant to be told to children. For example, Lyra often has the tendency to fall asleep, which I found somewhat annoying and thought could have been edited more thoughtfully. The overall tone and approach of the book did not sit well with me, but I think that's a matter of personal taste. I would certainly recommend this book to younger readers, especially those with a passion for fantasy. As with all good stories, there are dark corners in this book, but I think that makes it stand out. Life isn't all roses, so why should books be? A good story requires danger and obstacles to overcome, and if Lyra fell asleep a little less often she might actually make a convincing heroine.
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Summary: "A book no one should miss"
Review: Publisher's Weekly calls it "breathtaking." Terry Brooks, author of The Sword of Shannara, says "...This is a book no one should miss." And I agree entirely.
The heroine of The Golden Compass is Lyra, a half-civilized girl who wild in the streets of Oxford. And not just the streets -- she clambers over the rooftops of Jordan College as well. Lyra was raised in Oxford by the Scholars of Jordan College, and while this might make her sound like an inaccessible heroine, she's suprisingly real.
Despite her prestigious home(she lives in a room on the top of Staircase Twelve in the back quad at Jordan), Lyra spends her time playing with her friends in the streets. She's far from perfect -- she forgets things, does not-so-smart things, and, despite her seeming bravery, she's afraid of night-ghasts. She doesn't have to go to school even though she's eleven, but on a few occasions a Scholar would be instructed to catch Lyra and teach her about something. Those lessons usually lasted about a week or so -- until Lyra "forgot" to show up.
And sometimes the Scholar, being human, would forget what he was supposed to teach her, and instead tell her about the subject of his current research. So her knowledge was filled with holes; she knew about elementary particles and atoms, but nothing about the solar system.
However, most of her time was spent in the mire of politics, alliances, and feuds that were everyday life for Oxford children. With the children of Jordan servants and young servants, she waged war on the children of other colleges. Yet all enmities between colleges were forgotten when they attacked the town children, an ancient rivalry.
But even that was forgotten when collegers and townies alike banded together to attack the brickburner's children and the gyptians. In fact, once Lyra and some of her friends captured a gyptian's narrowboat and nearly sailed it to Abingdon.
Lyra also loved to climb the rooftops with her friend, Roger, the kitchen boy. They could get nearly everywhere; in fact, they could get everywhere expect Sheldon Building.
The other place they explored was the cellars of Jordan. Beneath the college buildings was a labyrinth of wine cellars and crypts simply awaiting discovery by two curious children.
Roger was not Lyra's only companion, however. Lyra's world, Lyra's Oxford, Lyra's Jordan, all are not part of this universe. She lives in a parallel universe where people can talk to their dæmons -- or their conscience, as we call that part of ourselves here. So Lyra's other companion was her Pantalaimon, her Pan, her beloved dæmon.
Thus did the life of Lyra Belaqua run, until the Gobblers came.
Children began to disappear. This didn't affect Lyra's life much, except as a source of inspiration for games.
But then one day the Gobblers came to Oxford. Several children disappeared, vanished mysteriously in plain daylight. And it didn't take Lyra long to realize that....
She hadn't seen Roger all day!
Frantic, she began to search all over for him, to no avail. Being surrounded by adults, when she was told to the Master of Jordan College wanted her to be at a dinner party that night, she had no choice but to attend. There she met the beautiful Mrs. Coulter, whose wondrous tales of the North fascinated her.
After the dinner party, the Master told Lyra that she was going to live with none other than the fabulous Mrs. Coulter herself. Lyra was overjoyed.
But the next morning, the Master wanted to speak with her -- at an extremely early hour. He gave her a black velvet pouch with something inside: an alethiometer, an antique golden instrument that resembles a compass, with instructions to keep it secret from Mrs. Coulter and a half-finished sentence about Lord Asriel, her uncle. Lyra complies and keeps it safe, but wonders why the Master is being so secretive.
As Lyra begins her travels to the place that will bring an end to destiny, her story -- the story of a determined girl -- is told in brilliant prose. It begins in Oxford ..... it will end in another universe.
Philip Pullman's lyrically told novel will captivate you, leave you wishing for more and, on the last page, have you asking yourself: "This en't the end already?"
Rating:
Summary: The Brave Little Girl
Review: Lyra Belacqua, along with her daemon Pantalaimon were content living amongst the scholars of Jordan College. They spent their days playing with Roger and the gyptian children. That all changed when children began missing after Lord Asriel came to town speaking of the north, dust, and of other worlds. Lyra is drawn into the adventure to the north along with the gyptians, armored bears, and witches. With the help of the alethiometer (a truth telling device) she saves the children from a procedure certain to end their lives.
The Golden Compass is an intriguing fantasy book that coninuously reveals information, holding the reader in a state of suspense. Lyra is a character that you can't help but fall in love with. Her free spirit and brave nature are so real you nearly feel the danger and happiness as she feels it.
This story is even harder to believe because neither Lyra's mother nor father cared for her in a parental way; they didn't show Lyra any feeling of love. "You're my father, en't you?" "Yes. So what?" "So you should have told me before, that's what." (p.367)
This is without a doubt the best fantasy/adventure book i have read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the thrill of suspense and action. The Golden Compass is an enjoyable and origional book. It is well written and has many layers full of suspense that will keep you guessing. This is a book that sucks you in and leaves you wanting more.
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Summary: great beginning, fantastic middle, dwindling end
Review: The Golden Compass is a story if Lyra Belacqua, whose destiny doesn't lie in her present world but in a place entirely different from what she has known. While Philip Pullman is a master for his play of words and fantastic imagery, the ending of The Golden Compass proves to be anti-climactic. There were many great and exciting scenes in The Golden Compass, filled with interesting characters but, sad to say, I feel the book went downhill towards the end. Discussions about theology suddenly appeared, matched with a small love story, which readers may be left wondering where did these come from.
Rating: 
Summary: a good start...
Review: this is unlike any fantasy i've ever read before. most fantasies have a specific time period (medieval, or sci-fi), even if they are alternative realities in our own world. the thing about this book is that pullman never bothers to explain what his world is all about. It is geographically our own earth, yet the political atmposphere and the names for countries, races, regions and even stuff like electricity (which is called anbaric force) are all different. I think what makes people like or hate this book is as simple as their reaction to pullman's unforgiving style of narrating as though this is a familiar world to us all, with not even a page of explanation as to what this universe is all about, or precisely what daemons are. I found it irritating yet admirable at the same time. While i was impatient that i could only learn about this world slowly and subtly, i was impressed by this very subtlety. For example, the first time the word 'anbaric' came up, I had no idea what it meant. Yet, Pullman used it again and again very strategically so as to leave no doubt that it referred to electricity. Similarly, the new moniker for gypsies (gyptians) was subtly expressed. A minor fault with the book is its characters. Lyra is far too bright to be realistic. The trouble is she's not the Artemis-Fowl-type bright either. She's a street child who can just understand in one blink complicated and subjective concepts like 'original sin' that I had to read twice to take in. She has a mind like an adult, yet the constitution of a child. Also, I felt pullman didn't delve deeply enough into some of his other characters such as the witches or Iorek Byrnison. Otherwise, this book is a good read, with a very good plot and satisfying, yet suspenseful, ending. A caution though; this book can be very dark in some places and may not be appropriate for very young children.
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Summary: Get over it people!
Review: First off, I want to say something to all the people who disagree with me. GET OVER IT! Books aren't always supposed to agree with religion, so don't take it personally. I don't agree with a lot of convictions in books sometimes, but who doesn't? That's the magic of reading fantasy and sci-fi novels! If they offend you, PUT THEM DOWN!!! It's not that hard! But like me, even if you don't agree with some of the ideas, most of the time the book is outstanding anyway! I respect your opinions, and if you want to debate me, catch me on AIM at Groovy70sChic42. I'll be glad to share my point of view with you. Secondly, I just want to say that The Golden Compass and the Subtle Knife (I still have to get around to reading the Amber Spyglass, but I hear it's the best!) are the most original novels I have ever read, and I've read a lot of novels. The way that Philip Pullman leaves you hanging and aching for more at the end of each book is amazing, and I feel a need to read on. When I put the book down for a day I think, "Where does he come up with these ideas? How many people would be so original in their writing?" I think these books can put even Harry Potter to shame.
Rating:
Summary: It was okay
Review: This book is good. The story is good and the writing style certainly captivates you. However, I give this book 4 stars as I see it is targeted for young adults. This is NOT a book for young adults. Maybe 16 years and up, sure. But anyone younger than that, no way. This book is super dark and although I haven't read the entire trilogy, I hear it gets even darker. I would not recommend this for children. There are some graphic moments in the book and the issues it deals with are much too complicated and twisted for younger readers.
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