Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60024 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-05
• Released on: 2007-11-05
• Format: Audiobook
• Binding: Audio CD

Amazon.co.uk Review
Lyra's life is already sufficiently interesting for a novel before she eavesdrops on a presentation by her uncle Lord Asriel to his colleagues in the Jordan College faculty, Oxford. The college, famed for its leadership in experimental theology, is funding Lord Asriel's research into the heretical possibility of the existence of worlds unlike Lyra's own, where everyone is born with a familiar animal companion, magic of a kind works, the Tartars are threatening to overrun Muscovy, and the Pope is a puritanical Protestant. Set in an England familiar and strange, Philip Pullman's lively, taut story is a must-read and re-read for fantasy lovers of all ages. The world-building is outstanding, from the subtle hints of the 1898 Tokay to odd quirks of language to the panserbjorne, while determined, clever Lyra is strongly reminiscent of Joan Aiken's Dido Twite.

Synopsis
Set in a parallel world very similar to our own, 'Northern Lights' tells the compelling story of 12-year-old lyra's quest to rescue her friend and find her father, aided by her daemon, an armoured bear, and a witch-queen. This prize-winning tale is narrated with vigour and dynamism by the author and a full cast. It is written and read by Philip Pullman.

Customer Reviews

Lifes too short!
After the amazing reviews this book has received I was really excited to start reading it and it started off really good. However, I found Lyra a very unconvincing character and not particularly likeable and it was this character that really finished my reading of the book. I gave up about fifty pages before the end as really life is too short to waste on such a boring book.

If you're put off by this book's "for all ages" tag, don't be, it's a classic
Firstly I have to admit I'm not a fan of books aimed at both adults and children. I've never read a Harry Potter book and have no inclination to, I just find these types of books wander too much into the realms of fairy tales and corniness for my liking. So it was with some trepidation that I decided to read this book. Despite its rave reviews, I was a little worried that a storyline that included daemons and talking animals, etc. may not be to my taste. All I can say is I'm so glad I ignored my misgivings and decided to read it! From the opening chapters it became obvious this was a story full of depth, imagination, twists and turns, plus a good dose of excitement.

Northern Lights is set in a kind of 'alternative Earth'. It's similar to our own world, but with some important differences that make it obvious this is also a world alien to our own. The most obvious manifestation of this is the 'daemon' companion that every person has. A daemon is an enchanting creature that is bonded to a human from the day they're born and remains that person's lifelong soul mate. Everyone has one, and the thought of being parted from a daemon is unthinkable, it just never happens. But suddenly the unthinkable starts happening, and a terrifying organisation nicknamed "The Gobblers" starts kidnapping children to carry out cruel experiments on them and their daemons.

Lyra is a young girl who lives a very sheltered life at Jordan College amongst all the scholars. Her life is very sedate and contented, but all that changes when she eavesdrops on her Uncle Lord Asriel giving a presentation to fellow scholars, seemingly suggesting he has proof of a possible gateway into another world. This proves to be extremely controversial and destabilising to all concerned as it undermines the foundations that many powerful institutions are built on.

Soon events start to take a dramatic turn. Lord Asriel suddenly goes missing, the Gobblers kidnap one of Lyra's close friends, and Lyra herself is put under the responsibility of the mysterious Mrs Coulter. Lyra takes it upon herself to escape from her unwanted new guardian and takes shelter with a group of tough but kind people known as The Gyptians. The Gyptians themselves have lost many of their children to the Gobblers, so when Lyra speaks of her determination to track down the Gobblers, the Gyptians lend their considerable resourcefulness to her cause and join her quest to locate the Gobblers.

From here Lyra and the Gyptians embark on an amazing journey to the North where they encounter all manner of adversaries, and allies. The excitement never lets up, and the story itself becomes more and more intriguing as we gradually learn more about the unfolding events, as well as about this fascinating world that Pullman has created.

This book is a fantastic read, full of plot twists and enigmatic characters, both human and non-human, and a storyline that will keep you guessing and guessing. A must read!

I want a daemon
This book is un-put-down-able; when you start reading, you can barely put it down. I read it in about a week reading two or three chapters on a school day and five chapters on a weekend. The book has 23 chapters of approximately 15 - 30 pages. Every page is exciting and adventurous and not one page is badly written - this book is brilliant! It is among my favourite books; I look forward to reading the other two books in the `His Dark Materials' trilogy. Phillip Pullman has written many books, a lot of which, I have read but this book is 10 times better than all of them (I am not saying those books are bad). The story is about a girl called Lyra whose friend, Roger, gets caught by Gobblers. She has many adventures on her way to finding him and when she does, she finds out he is not the only one to be rescued...
This book has been turned into a movie called `the Golden Compass' - that was the book's original title.