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The Golden Compass

(His Dark Materials, Book 1)

By Philip Pullman

(473)

| Hardcover | 9780679879244

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Book Description

In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall. Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the aContinue

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THE GOLDEN COMPASS

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teenreads published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

The Golden Compass By Philip Pullman

If the prospect of a car trip with the kids puts your mood on the skids, turn to tapes! A good story can make the time go fast and make the trip a blast. A new full-cast recording of Philip Pullman's modern fantasy classic, The Golden Compass, will k ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Tue, 14 Sep 2010

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22 Reviews

3 people find this helpful

This is the kind of writing that gives the fantasy genre a good name. Pullman's His Dark materials trilogy is a cracking read for all ages.

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Secondstreet said on May 16, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

First in a trilogy - His Dark Materials

Okay, I admit it. I was curious about this because of all the hype. I trudged through maybe half of it before giving up - I just could not get through it. For me, it had nothing to do with the controversy surrounding it. It was partly my inability to relate at all to the main character (a very yo ... (continue)

Okay, I admit it. I was curious about this because of all the hype. I trudged through maybe half of it before giving up - I just could not get through it. For me, it had nothing to do with the controversy surrounding it. It was partly my inability to relate at all to the main character (a very young, uneducated girl), and partly because of the author's use of "made up" words. This alternate reality looked a lot like ours, only with different words for everything - and no explanations. It was just too weird for me.

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Bashful said on Sep 29, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

What a book! I haven't enjoyed a book so much since I read the last one of the Harry Potter series.
I had seen the film before reading the book and although by then I roughly knew the story, I was amazed by all the details the book contained. It was like reading something completely new, the film wa ... (continue)

What a book! I haven't enjoyed a book so much since I read the last one of the Harry Potter series.
I had seen the film before reading the book and although by then I roughly knew the story, I was amazed by all the details the book contained. It was like reading something completely new, the film was just a shadow of what the book eventually revealed.
I strongly suggest this book for its story, for its unexpected details and subtleties, for the beauty and richness of phrases and paragraphs used to describe surroundings, characters, ideas and emotions.

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Acquafortis said on Jun 5, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

One of the best birthday presents ever. Couldn't bear to put it down for a minute.
It could be read on so many levels it's overwhelming. Even if the reader, for any reason or belief (it has been criticized by many catholic associations) , would try to ignore the religious perspective there's so much ... (continue)

One of the best birthday presents ever. Couldn't bear to put it down for a minute.
It could be read on so many levels it's overwhelming. Even if the reader, for any reason or belief (it has been criticized by many catholic associations) , would try to ignore the religious perspective there's so much more to it. The description of Human-Daemon relationship, the values in the Bear fights. The Dust possibly having more than one meaning. And the story has no dead-times, no holding back, it just grows more and more exciting.

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BansheeSmile said on Sep 3, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

The Golden Compass

This book was alright, the story was intriguing, however I found the voice flat sometimes.

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Liaformenti said on Mar 9, 2011 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

The first book I read after I moved to London. Brilliant. The movies kind of sucks, so read the book first, or read it even if you didn't like the movie, but read it in english, as this man's a genius in the use of language!

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Viollka said on May 28, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback