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Summary: I really Loved it
Review: I really love Philip Pullman's work, and I think this is probably my favorite. I loved how he created a whole alternate world, almost like ours but not quite. Lyra is a believable character, who wants to know where her friend was taken so she can rescue him. Watch out for the surprise at the end. It will sneak up on you and you'll never see it coming.
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Summary: Will Goodness and Truth Triumph over Evil and Deception?
Review: Lyra Belacqua's idyllic existence at Jordan College, where she is being raised by the Scholars, is thrown into chaos when the Gobblers kidnap her best friend, Roger, the kitchen boy. Rumor has it that the missing children are being taken north to Bolvangar and subjected to hideous experiments. Lyra and her irrepressible daemon, Pantamalion, vow to rescue Roger and the other children with the help of an eclectic group of mercenaries. Fraught with mystical references to a mysterious substance called "dust", and allusions to an alternate universe, Philip Pullman has woven a tale of terror, triumph, and a young girl's quest for the truth about her past. I was slowly drawn into this book one page at a time, until I became thoroughly captured by its unusual setting, uncommon characters, and unexpected plot twists. An excellent read!
Rating: 
Summary: Pullman at his finest!
Review: The Golden Compass- best book ever! Just the way it's written, with politics, religon, and emotion combined in one, The Golden Compass definatley reaches the top of my list of superb books. Pullman writes about a child, Lyra Silvertongue, who goes from England to the North Pole, on an adventure that let's her see who she really is. Lyra journeys to the North to give her father an alethiometer, a truth measurer, only to find a-whole-nother adventure that's out of this world. If written any simpler, The Golden Compass would've ended up being an absurd book, but it's written so earnestly, that anyone can find it intriguing.
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Summary: "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven..."
Review: This is, ostensibly, a book for older children. In reality the themes are adult as is some of the content and yet the principal actor in the narrative is a child, Lyra, raised wild in Jordan College, Oxford. The world of the book is like ours in many ways, yet different. There are scholars and there is a universal and oppressive Church with Cardinals and instantly recognisable paraphernalia. Yet instead of science as we know it there is "experimental theology" of which Lord Asriel, introduced as Lyra's uncle, is a supreme exponent.Lyra's world is turned upside down as children begin to disappear, rumoured to have been taken by a sinister group known as the Gobblers. What happens when Lyra determines to find the children is exciting and shocking and makes absolutely compulsive reading. The strangeness of the creatures she encounters and the mystery of "Dust" dominates the text. And the ending is deeply moving as well as leaving the reader hanging by a thread, thirsty for the next instalment. This book will appeal to all adults who enjoy rich prose infused by a knowledge of theology and physics. If you've not done so already, read this book now. You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: Daemons , Dust , and Alithiometers...
Review: Daemons are kind of animal guardians that fallow you around and you can consult about answers to questions and talk to about your feelings. They also share your soul and mind, so they can kind of hear what your thinking! The Golden Compass is full of detail and magical exsperiences. In it you will meet many freash new charecters. Such as:Lyra, Pantalaimon, Iorek, Farder Coram ,and good old Roger. All these charecters come into play right on cue! Daemons, Dust, Alithiometers,and Lyra are four clues to solving the books puzzle but you going to have to read it to find out how they all fit together.
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Summary: A must read
Review: Definitely one of the best books I've ever read, I found that it captivated me and from about the halfway point it was incredibly hard to put down for any reason. I recommended it to all my friends and every one who read it agrees with me. I would say it has everything a good book should have, well built likeable characters, a convincing set of ''villains'', and a well thought out plot. If you like suspense and mystery this book is for you regardless of your age.
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Summary: An exciting and excellent novel!
Review: Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass is an exceptional start to the new series that is currently in development with the 3rd book soon to be available. The story is about a young girl named Lyra who lives in Jordan College amongst many scholors and friends. Her only known relative is her frightening uncle, Lord Asriel who visits her periodically. Everything is normal for Lyra, until she hides in a room for scholors and overhears conversations about many strange things, including the mysterious Dust and infamous Gobblers. Soon afterward, she finds she is to be leaving Jordan College and is secretely presented an alethiometer which she alone must discover how to use. From there she, and the reader along with her, is swept away into a new dangerous and exciting world, filled with mystery and excitement. She must learn how to use the alethiometer to save a number of children and friends, along with herself. A wonderful story, you will find yourself pondering the cliff-hanger ending for long after you're done reading. I highly recommend it!
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Summary: Amazing!
Review: This book, The Golden Compass, is one of the best sci/fi fantasy books I have ever read. It's like the author threw a net over me and dragged me into a whole new universe. Everything in the book was so real, so discriptive. I recieved this book as a present a few years back, and I thought it would turn out to be a dull read. Now I read this book at least twice a year- sometimes more if I get bored with a current read. I can almost guarantee that any fiction reader will fall in love with this book, and therefore, this trilogy. This book is a definate good buy.
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Summary: Beautifully Crafted
Review: I have read many many books in my life, most of them being fantasy, they never came close to the beauty of Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass. The book is about a girl named Lyra who live in Jordan College with old and wise scholars in Oxford, England. We soon learn that this is not the same Oxford as ours. Animal daemons, or the human's spirit, follow the human around. Lyra's daemon is called Pantamalion or Pan. Lyra has a carefree life, most of the time going to the rooftops with her friend Roger, the kitchen boy. She enjoys throwing plums from the roof toward the scholar's heads, hooting like an owl when various tutoriols are going on in the college, and challenging other children to wars and such, most of them being the children of gyptians. But then her amazing and carefree life turns upside down. Her uncle, the Lord Asriel, a powerful figure in their world, shows the scholars slides with Dust and a severed child, and Lyra just happens to be there. Reports of missing children grow larger and larger. Lyra is taken to Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful lady who is not what she seems to be. Lyra runs away and goes on a voyage to the north to rescue the children on a Gyptian ship. Will she find them? I recommend this book to anybody over 8. It can be a bit confusing at times, though.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely incredible
Review: Every time someone asks me, "Do you like the Harry Potter books", I respond,"yes, but not as much as the Golden Compass." Philip Pullman has a great touch in his writing that seems to leave you on the edge of your seat. His imaginative style is very creative and leaves you wanting more. This book is a mix between fantasy and sci-fi, and a little mystery. Very unpredictable, you never know what's around the next bend, which to me is a good quality. This book is great and has a cliffhanger ending. I won't tell you the storyline so I won't spoil it for you, and so it will make you so curious that you'll go and buy it. I hope you enjoy the Golden Compass as much as I did. When you're done reading it, be sure to check out the Subtle Knife, the second in the trilogy.
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