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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This is one of the most evocative, magical books I have ever read in my life. It tells the story of a young girl named Lyra Belacqua who goes out in search for a particle called Dust, which can reveal the answers to amazing mysteries. Along the way, more questions are posed that keep you wanting to turn the pages to find the answers. This book is like no other I have ever read. The plot twists keep on coming, and the similarities and differences between the world Lyra lives in and our world provide endless fascination. I don't know what other way to say it. This book is beautiful, but most certainly not for young children. Christians may take offense at some of the undertones that Pullman writes of in his book, such as the Christian church being portrayed as evil. But what everyone must remember with The Golden Compass, as with any fantasy novel, is that it is just that, a fantasy. Fantasies are only true in our dreams, and then only if we allow them to be. A young adult or adult can discern between fantasy and reality, and know they are different, though sometimes I wish with all my heart that they are not...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book, but don't bother to read 2 & 3
Review: The Golden COmpass is excellent. It is well written, it has believeable charecters, multiple demensions, fascinating storylines interwoven together as only a master can.The Prevailing theme in the last two books however, is quite disturbing. There is no God, the Church is evil, etc etc etc. EXCUSE ME, MR. PULLMAN! Before I read books 2 & 3, I held The Golden Compass in far higher esteem. Before I read all that trash about fighting against God, and the evilness of the church, The Golden Compass was like a bright lamp shining against the typical humdrum of Children's fantasies, always there for me to re-read, to hold in breathless anticipation, to almost believe as I read. Phillip Pullam can write a story, I assure you that. He can seamlessly weave it together like a tapestry. However, if the tapestry has something aweful that makes you want to turn away, it is no good. His writing is excellent, his charecters believable, his action well-paced. However, if the series had been written with a slight twist [ex: the "church" leaders were some sort of creatures who believed there was no God, or there primary function was not to worship God but to move against his will, et cetera. If the idea of the story was not that God is not real and the Church is evil] I would have injoyed it much more. The first book is much better then the others. Remembering that Phillip Pullan's story is exactly that, and that there is such thing as faith, this book is a very good one.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Read
Review: This series was recommended to me by an independent bookseller when I was reading the Harry Potter series. I'm not sure why - the only thing that they have in common is that they are fantasy and the writers are English. I liked the fact that in the Harry Potter books the characters were not "all good" or "all bad." The characters in _The Golden Compass_ seem much more "black and white" to me. However, I do not think of this as a "children's" book like I did the Harry Potter series. This is a much darker world, and I think the reader has to have a degree of maturity to analyze the point of view of the author. Much of the book feels "medieval" - in that the world is controlled by the Church. Other technology makes one think of late 1800s-early 1900s. And then there is the interjection of quantum physics. It's an interesting hodge-podge, and for the most part, a rich and interesting world. I suppose I'll learn more about the daemons in book two. And for the Harry Potter fans reading this - I suggest you go buy Terry Pratchett!
Rating:
Summary: From DUST thou art!
Review: Whew! I just finished reading all three of Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" books in a little over a week (I couldn't put them down!), and I'm still trying to absorb all of this. My initial reaction: this is going to be an all-time classic, and certainly not just of "young adult" or "fantasy" books (Phillip Pullman himself has stated many times that he can't read "fantasy," because it "doesn't tell [him] anything interesting about being a human being." While it is certainly different than the "Lord of the Rings," it is NOT AT ALL ridiculous to place Pullman's creation in the same pantheon as Tolkien's, which is something I swear I never thought that I would say. Anyway, the bottom line is that this trilogy is an amazing, mind-blowing, fascinating, exciting, heartbreaking, work of transcendent brilliance, and it starts with the story of Lyra, somewhat inaccurately titled, "The Golden Compass" (I guess that sounds better than "The Alethiometer" or "Lyra vs. the Gobblers" or something, but I strongly prefer the British title, "Northern Lights"). Also, the marketing of this book is very strange - if you look at the cover you might think this was some warm, fuzzy children's adventure story about a girl and her pet bear. Not!!! Instead, how about Phillip Pullman's dark take on creation and extended riff on multiple themes raised in John Milton's "Paradise Lost" and the Book of Genesis. The bottom line: if Phillip Pullman is mainly for children, than so are John Milton and the Bible! I don't think so.... Anyway, "The Golden Compass"/"Northern Lights" tells the story of a plucky, wild, courageous, amazing 12-year old girl named Lyra Belacqua, her beloved daemon Pantalaimon, her alethiometer (and all that it helps her discover about "Dust" -- and other things), her powerful, ambitious, complex, and dangerous parents (Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter), political intrigue in a world VERY much like our own in crucial ways, evil experiments on kidnapped children and their daemons, fascinating people called "gyptians" (water gypsies), theology and the Church, a window on a parallel universe (and the quest to find out what exists there), angels, witches, and an amazing bear named Iorek Byrnison. Is that enough material for you for one book? And how about put all that material into the hands of an author who is a great storyteller! The result, as I've said before: a CLASSIC!! Just three other points. First, this trilogy inevitably is going to be compared to (and possibly overshadowed by) another "young adult" series out these days, which you might have heard of...I think it's called, uh, "Harry Potter" or something like that. Anyway, not to disparage "Harry Potter" or anything, because that's a pretty good series of books, but "Harry Potter" is merely a cute, whimsical, well-told tale of a boy and his adventures compared to Phllip Pullman's very dark, amazing, even disturbing creation (especially if you have a closed mind towards explorations of God, religion, the Church and the nature of man - all the interesting and important things, in other words)! Second, I absolutely love Pullman's writing style (what a great storyteller!), as well as his use of words and names. He apparently has put a LOT of thought into this! For instance, take the main character, Lyra. I looked it up in the dictionary and found that "Lyra" is a constellation in the NORTHERN Hemisphere near Cygnus ("northern CROSS") and Hercules (child of the highest Greek God, Zeus, and Alcmene, a hero of extraordinary strength who won immortality by performing the 12 labors demanded by Hera). Interesting... Also, the constellation "Lyra" is located near the Corona BOREALIS. Finally, "Lyra" sounds awfully much like "liar," which is Lyra Belacqua's main skill (besides reading the alethiometer), and one in which she takes great pride. Coincidence? Hmmmm...I don't think so! Also, just to intrigue us further, Pullman names his Lyra's father "Asriel," which is similar to "Israel", which according to my dictionary is the name given to Jacob by the angel with whom he wrestled; perhaps literally "God struggles"). Double hmmmmm! Finally, we've got Mrs. "Coulter," and guess what that means? Well, according to my trusty dictionary again, a "coulter" is a BLADE or wheel on a plow for making VERTICAL CUTS in the sod (from Latin culter, KNIFE). Cool! Third, maybe we all should read (or reread) Milton's "Paradise Lost" (and the Book of Genesis) before/after we read "The Golden Compass", because there's no doubt that Phillip Pullman has borrowed freely from Milton's all-time classic take on Creation, God, Satan, free will, the temptation in the Garden of Eden, and the "Fall" of man into "Sin" (among other things). Before the book even begins, we have an epigraph from "Paradise Lost," specifically the scene where Satan surveys the unformed potential of the Creator. Given this, it should not be surprising to anyone familiar with "Paradise Lost" (or the Bible, for that matter) that "The Golden Compass" leads us ever northwards, since the rebel angel, Satan, repaired to the NORTHERN realms. Meanwhile, don't forget that in "Paradise Lost" the angels (at God's command) tilt the Earth's axis so that man will have to endure extreme hot and cold seasons, instead of the constant temperate climate which existed before the Fall. Meanwhile, in "Paradise Lost," Sin and Death construct - with God's permission -- a bridge (window?) for easy passageway between Hell and Earth, through which they promise to infect the Earth and to corrupt all living things with Death and Sin. Veeeerrrry interesting!!! In interviews, Phillip Pullman has confirmed that the biblical Creation story, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and "Paradise Lost" are major sources for "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and that the title itself comes from the following quote: "Unless the almighty maker them ordain / His dark materials to create more worlds." Read "The Golden Compass" if you want a great story, if you want to be challenged, amazed, intrigued, and moved (as long as you're not one of these strange, closed-minded, disturbing, Oblation Board types who I see here and there on this site criticizing Pullman for "bigotry" or "blasphemy" or some other ridiculous thing!). And OF COURSE read it if you're curious to know more about "dust" -- "our final rest and native home..."
Rating: 
Summary: this book doesn't deserve the attention it's been getting
Review: I find that this is a good story only for those people who have not used their imaginations in a long, long, time and therefore can not take a very imaginative story just yet. The story is only okay, and as far as fantasy goes, it's not great- I'll take Harry Potter anyday. At several points the story gets very boring.
Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: The Golden Compass is held by many to be marvelous, entertaining, and imaginative children's books. Fond of fantasy and children's books, I decided to try the book out. After reading it, I was a little bit depressed. While the tale is suspenseful, I didn't find the storyline quite so interesting. Another thing I didn't really like about it was that the book was not written with the reader in mind. I know that this is the author's writing style, but I find that this style of writing is not helpful in a children's fantasy book. I want to be drawn into the story. Pullman's story left me out. (I would say an author like Roald Dahl draws the reader in.) And lastly, for a fantasy book, the tale was not very imaginative. There weren't many made up creatures, or events inexplicable by modern means. So overall, I found the tale satisfactory, but certainly not thrilling. I suppose I will get to the next book in the series eventually, though.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, complex, and heartbreaking
Review: I marvel at this work. The last time I read something that was simultaneously intelligent and for children (and was THIS BRILLIANT) was the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander("The Book of Three", "The Black Cauldron", "Taran Wanderer", etc.)--and that was around 20 years ago. Since I am one of the few humans who has yet to read about Harry Potter's adventures, I don't know how Pullman stands up to Rowling; but I am very happy that these two "new" authors are here to give us fresh tales of intelligent children and high fantasy. Anyway, back to Pullman. He has created a wonderfully strange world of armored polar bears, animal familiars called "daemons", witches (good ones and bad) and a topography that reminds me of Jules Verne's mechanical dreamscapes-- sizzling with anbaric power and illuminated with softly glowing naphtha lamplight. Timewise, Pullman's alternate reality left me happily puzzled. One minute, I thought I was in Victorian London with dusty Scholars and linen-bedecked tea trays. The next, there are cars and machine guns. For once, I didn't mind the wild juxtapositions. It just made for a richer atmosphere. I could feel the damp of London and the knife-edged cold of the Northern European winters. On characters, Pullman fills out a detailed roster of the good, the bad and the downright evil. Lyra as the girl hero, along with her daemon, Pantalaimon, are terrific. While she is brave, stubborn, and smart, Lyra is very far from perfect. Her mistakes have terrible consequences, and she will be required to live the guilt. Iorek Byrnison, the noble bear with a painful secret, is my idea of a true warrior. Although Pullman imbues his bears with anthropomorphic intelligence, he does not make them completely human. In fact, Iorek fights to keep his identity just like Lyra does in her fight against "the Gobblers". As for villians, Pullman has created the scariest kind--creatures who rarely raise their voice and can manipulate with pain. Very, very good reading!
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