#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “MARVELOUS.”—The New Yorker • An Entertainment Weekly All-Time Greatest Novel • A Newsweek Top 100 Book of All Time • Winner of the Carnegie Medal • The Inspiration for the HBO Original Series His Dark Materials
DON’T MISS THE EPIC FINALE TO LYRA’S STORY: THE ROSE FIELD, AVAILABLE NOW!Discover the modern fantasy classic that kicked off the epic trilogies His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust—a world where humans have animal familiars and parallel universes are within reach.“Pullman is quite possibly a genius.”—NewsweekA war is brewing in Lyra’s world between those who would keep people in ignorance and those willing to fight for freedom. Lyra is thrust into the middle of the conflict when her uncle Asriel comes to Oxford, fomenting rebellion, and when her best friend, Roger, suddenly disappears.
Lyra learns that Roger was kidnapped by a shadowy organization that is rumored to experiment on children. To find him, she will travel to the cold, far North, where armored bears and witch clans rule—and where Asriel is attempting to build a bridge to a parallel world.
What Lyra doesn’t know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other—and that her actions will have consequences not just in her world, but in all the worlds beyond.
Look for the modern fantasy classics of HIS DARK MATERIALS:The Golden Compass • The Subtle Knife • The Amber Spyglass
And Lyra’s adventures continue in THE BOOK OF DUST:La Belle Sauvage • The Secret Commonwealth • The Rose Field
Philip Pullman is one of the most acclaimed writers working today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy (
The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and
The Amber Spyglass), which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by
Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by
Entertainment Weekly. He is also the author of another trilogy set in the same world, The Book of Dust (
La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth, and
The Rose Field) as well as numerous other much-loved novels, a collection of fairy tales, and a volume of essays and speeches on writing. He has won many distinguished prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread (now Costa) Award, Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Pullman was knighted for services to literature in the New Years Honours 2019. He lives in Oxford, England.
“Extraordinary storytelling at its very best.”
—The Detroit Free Press “Superb . . . all-stops-out thrilling.”
—The Washington Post "Very grand indeed."
—The New York Times "Powerful […] a fantasy adventure that sparkles with childlike wonder."
—The Boston Sunday Globe "Marvelous […] the writing is elegant and challenging."
—The New Yorker "Arguably the best juvenile fantasy novel of the past twenty years […] If [
The Subtle Knife] is as good as
The Golden Compass, we'll be two thirds of the way to the completion of a modern fantasy classic."
—The Washington Post Book World “Pullman is quite possibly a genius…using the lineaments of fantasy to tell the truth about the universal experience of growing up.” —
Newsweek"Masterful storytelling […] with a cast of instantly beguiling characters."
—The Dallas Morning News “The most magnificent fantasy series since Lord of the Rings.” —
The Oregonian
“Pullman has created the last great fantasy masterpiece of the twentieth century. An astounding achievement.” —
The Cincinnati Enquirer
"Once in a lifetime a children's author emerges who is so extraordinary that the imagination of generations is altered. Lewis Carroll, E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien were all of this cast. So, too, is Philip Pullman, whose Dark Materials trilogy will be devoured by anyone between eight and eighty. The most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings, it is as intellectually thrilling as it is magnificently written."
— New Statesman "Thrillingly paced and exotic […] breathtaking."
— Columbus Dispatch “[…] a rare few have minds capacious enough to engage in vast cosmos-making, imagining realms and inventing universes. I am thinking of Dante and Milton and Blake. We may now add Philip Pullman.”
—Parents Choice (online) "
The Golden Compass is one of the best fantasy/adventure stories that I have read in years. This is a book no one should miss." —Terry Brooks, author of
The Sword of Shannara "As always, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterizations and seamless plotting, maintaining a crackling pace to create scene upon scene of almost unbearable tension. This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next installment of Lyra's adventures."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“This first fantastic installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy propels readers along with horror and high adventure, a shattering tale that begins with a promise and delivers an entire universe.”
– Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"This first fantastic installment propels readers along with horror and high adventure […] A shattering tale that begins with a promise and delivers an entire universe."
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
“The characters of Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coutler, and Iorek Byrnison and the cold and beautiful Northern setting are captivating; the constantly twisting plot and escalating suspense are riveting; and Lyra and Pantalaimon are among the gutsiest and wiliest of adventurers. Touching, exciting, and mysterious by turns, this is a splendid work.” —
The Horn Book Magazine, Starred
“Glorious. And what an ending — simply operatic.” —
School Library Journal, Top 100 Children’s Novels (#28)
"This is a captivating fantasy, filled with excitement, suspense, and unusual characters."
—School Library Journal "A totally involving, intricately plotted fantasy that will leave readers clamoring for the sequels."
—Booklist, Starred review “Glorious. . . .
The Golden Compass is one of those lyrical suspensions like
Alice in Wonderland and
The Lord of the Rings that crosses all age lines and intertwines mythologies and legends with seamless beauty.” —
BookPage
