I have learned long ago that I enjoy books for the quality of the material and that I shouldn't discriminate based on the intended audience of the book. His Dark Materials
Book One-The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman is an excellent example of a fantasy novel created for young adults that transcends that category. In my opinion this Young Adult category, in its best sense, means that foul language and sexual content have been eliminated from the story. Although I enjoy a little foul language every once in a while I notice no lack in a novel when it is absent.
This novel follows a young scamp of a girl through a world that is very similar to our nineteenth century world. Lyra resides, as an orphan, at Oxford and is thrust, through her own intense curiosity, into a religious and metaphysical maze of treachery. Gradually she is able to piece together answers to a number of strange occurrences that include disappearing children and a beautiful woman with a golden monkey. You see, there is at least one big difference in this world. People have physical representations of their souls, called deamons. While children have deamons that are able to change form at their whim, adults have deamons in a fixed form. This is at the heart the novel and allows Lyra to finally begin to uncover what a mysterious substance, called Dust, really is.
Philip Pullman pulls the reader into this piece through a fantastic portrayal and adventure of a young girl that one can easily relate to amidst the strange world that she lives. I was enthralled throughout the whole book as I could never begin to guess what would happen next. The flaws in each character give this story something to sink your teeth into and allow you to truly engross yourself in this tantalizing world. One thing that intrigued me was the idea of a physical soul. Each character seems to have a deep and affectionate bond with their deamons, but I can't help but wonder what would happen to a person filled with self-loathing.

I purchased this book prior to all the controversy about it in the media. My husband read it and enjoyed it, and I was planning to read it as well. I debated about reading it when I heard about the author. After much debate, I decided to go ahead and read it. I read this book partly as a teacher and partly as a parent. Knowing I would have students who would read or wish to read the book, I wanted to be able to give them an honest perspective. Many of my students' parents have neither the time nor the inclination to preview a book before allowing their child to read it. That being said, this is not a children's book. It lists the reading level as 5.6 (grade level), but I would not give it to someone younger than 15 or 16. It deals with some very adult themes, including the killing of children. I did not sense huge atheistic undertones in this book, but my husband says they are much stronger in the 2nd and 3rd books. I did enjoy the story and am curious as to how it continues. I will most likely eventually finish the trilogy. If you are confidant about what you believe in and decide to read this book just for the sake of entertainment, then you will probably not have a problem with it, but it is much too mature for children.

Probably one of the best young adult series novels I have ever read, this is much better writing than that of Frank (Wizard of Oz) Baum or JK (Harry Potter) Rowling. Get it now and read it before the film comes out. Like LOTR, I fear this may be a scenario where the book series outshines any film presentation. This is great reading for adults --- our teenagers today are much too busy at the mall, but if ever we could pull them into this series, our poor shopkeeps may be sitting idle for quite a while. The concept of having a live animal that talks as your 'conscience' is fascinating --- what would your "daemon" be?

A strong opening into a new world and story. This book is listed as YA, but it is one of those rare fantasy stories that will capture readers both young and old on several levels.

DO NOT BE FOOLED! Our family listened to the audio of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife - enjoying the action, while still having an uncomfortable feeling in the gut. When we got to the third book in the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass - we stopped listening. For the Christian - this is NOTHING SHORT OF BLASPHEMY. The entire series is about "killing God" in the author's own words. The third book in the worst - but all are bad....trying to set the trap to ensnare kids into the fantasy world of believing all this stuff. No, the demons, witches, spectors and talking animals didn't freak us out. It was the out-and-out lies of an athiest author that turned us off. So, IF YOU ARE CHRISTIAN....DON'T BOTHER WITH THIS SERIES.

Great book- my 12 yo daughter and I both enjoyed it.

This series is pretty dark. Adults seem to be either evil or ambiguous. Also portrays the christian church as bad.

Amazon.com
Some books improve with age--the age of the reader, that is. Such is certainly the case with Philip Pullman's heroic, at times heart-wrenching novel, The Golden Compass, a story ostensibly for children but one perhaps even better appreciated by adults. The protagonist of this complex fantasy is young Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Oxford University. But it quickly becomes clear that Lyra's Oxford is not precisely like our own--nor is her world. For one thing, people there each have a personal daemon, the manifestation of their soul in animal form. For another, hers is a universe in which science, theology, and magic are closely allied:

As for what experimental theology was, Lyra had no more idea than the urchins. She had formed the notion that it was concerned with magic, with the movements of the stars and planets, with tiny particles of matter, but that was guesswork, really. Probably the stars had daemons just as humans did, and experimental theology involved talking to them.

Not that Lyra spends much time worrying about it; what she likes best is "clambering over the College roofs with Roger the kitchen boy who was her particular friend, to spit plum stones on the heads of passing Scholars or to hoot like owls outside a window where a tutorial was going on, or racing through the narrow streets, or stealing apples from the market, or waging war." But Lyra's carefree existence changes forever when she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, first prevent an assassination attempt against her uncle, the powerful Lord Asriel, and then overhear a secret discussion about a mysterious entity known as Dust. Soon she and Pan are swept up in a dangerous game involving disappearing children, a beautiful woman with a golden monkey daemon, a trip to the far north, and a set of allies ranging from "gyptians" to witches to an armor-clad polar bear.

In The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman has written a masterpiece that transcends genre. It is a children's book that will appeal to adults, a fantasy novel that will charm even the most hardened realist. Best of all, the author doesn't speak down to his audience, nor does he pull his punches; there is genuine terror in this book, and heartbreak, betrayal, and loss. There is also love, loyalty, and an abiding morality that infuses the story but never overwhelms it. This is one of those rare novels that one wishes would never end. Fortunately, its sequel, The Subtle Knife, will help put off that inevitability for a while longer.

I really liked the "His Dark Materials" series!!! SO much better than the movie they attempted to make that's for sure. The Golden Compass is a wonderfully exciting and imaginative story! It's action-packed, intense, fun, and very exciting! If you are a fan of fantasy, you should definitely read this!

A wonderful fantasy! Very clever. The movie follows closely to the book, so I thought I might find the book boring. Just the opposite - I couldn't put it down! A good read for the hammock in the summer.

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A very interesting book - with all the controversy surrounding it, I suppose I expected it to be a little more up-front with the themes that so many accused it of endorsing, most especially the anti-religion front.

But I didn't really get that feel from reading it - it is a very well-crafted book for young adults, beautifully written and descriptive and overall a good, engrossing read. Lyra is a strong young female character, which is so nice to see, and the story is full of action. The alternate world where Lyra lives is full of parallels to ours, but intriguing and different. This is truly a well-written fantasy that I really enjoyed reading.

Until recently, this series had somehow flown under my radar. It wasn’t until I saw the trailer for the upcoming The Golden Compass movie that I was introduced to Lyra’s world. The trailer made the movie look AMAZING, so naturally (as I always do), I thought…”I MUST read this book!”.

His Dark Materials creates a beautiful, vibrant world with characters as deep as if you had known them your whole life. The books themselves deal with heavy subjects. Nuclear Physics, Parallel Worlds, Quantum Particles and Theology snuggle right up against equally introspective looks at Love, Friendship, Loyalty, Family and Honor. Quite frequently, I found myself looking at the cover of these books again and again to ensure that I was indeed reading a “children’s” novel. When did this genre get so deep? I don’t remember reading anything this remarkable when I was younger. No offense to you, Encyclopedia Brown, my dear friend.

While I hesitate to compare to Potter, I want to point out one main difference which I think is very important to anyone thinking about purchasing this series for their intrepid young reader….while HP deals with the strong ideals of good vs. evil, HDM leans heavily into the actual concepts of both, dissecting each, questioning the origins, challenging the pedestals each stand on. In HP, evil is simply evil. HDM doesn’t assume any such nonsense. If there is evil, it forces the reader to consider why they think that something is evil. Is it really? Or are you just looking at it from a different perspective? Also….for those who thought the HP series was too religious, reader beware of the HDM series. Pullman isn’t vague. He labels his players in the battle of good vs. evil – calling the church, the creator and religions out by name. Note this example: In book three, this sentence appears: “The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all.” Again – I wondered if this was merely an adult book cloaked in child’s clothing (as I lapped up every word).

I thought that the struggles between the Church, The Authority, the Creator, Dust, The Council etc. were deep but thoroughly engrossing. I embraced how Pullman questioned the very beginnings of organized religion and of the creator himself. He turned everything on its ear: Ghosts, Angels, Witches and even Death. He is essentially challenging every reader, regardless of age, to look at the world around you. Why do we trust, why do we believe, what is faith, what is truth? Maybe things are different than what they seem. Perhaps there is more out there than our extremely limited view of physics, theology and cosmology is currently telling us. Maybe the world isn’t round after all. Maybe it’s infinitely layered and unbearably more beautiful than we ever knew.

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