Golden Compass, the (Lib)(CD) (His Dark Materials)
Our Price: $65.00
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks
Buy Used: from $5.56 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Reader: full castPerformer: Philip Pullman
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Running Time: 360 unknown-units
Published: 2002-09
ISBN: 0807210498
Publisher: Listening Library
Summary of Golden Compass, the (Lib)(CD) (His Dark Materials)
Part one of Philip Pullman's masterpiece comes alive in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. The award-winning "His Dark Materials" trilogy is a breathtaking epic adventure spanning a multitude of worlds. "Northern Lights", the opening instalment, sees Lyra and her shape-changing daemon embark on a dangerous quest. In Oxford, Lyra learns that children are being kidnapped by the mysterious Gobblers. When her friend Roger vanishes she determines to find him, and is given a powerful alethiometer which can reveal the truth in all things. After discovering that the adults around her are not what they seem, Lyra and Pantalaimon join forces with a band of gyptians. Travelling north they encounter witch-queens and armoured bears, before being captured and taken to Bolvangar - where children are being used in terrible and secret experiments. The three novels in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" sequence are bestsellers around the world and were dramatised for a sell-out play at the National Theatre. "Northern Lights" has won the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Award, the Children's Book of the Year, and was made into "The Golden Compass" motion picture starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. "Northern Lights" has an all-star cast including Terence Stamp, Emma Fielding, Bill Paterson, Kenneth Cranham and Ray Fearon.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. --Alix Wilber
Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
Heart of Valorby L. J. Smith
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1990-11-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $35.00
The NIGHT OF THE SOLSTICEby L. J. Smith
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1987-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Deathbird Storiesby Harlan Ellison
Collier Books; Published: 1990-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.00
Where Demons Dare. Kim Harrisonby Kim Harrison
Harper Voyager; Published: 2008-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.59
Price in other shops:
Last Battle 7 (Chronicles of Narnia Adult Jkt)by C S Lewis
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-06-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.05
Tree and Leafby J R R Tolkien
Tolkien; Published: 2001-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.38
Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings) (Vol 1)by J R R Tolkien
Harpercollins; Published: 2002-09-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $28.59
Lord of the Rings (Collins Modern Classics) (Vol 3)by J R R Tolkien
Harper Collins Childs; Published: 2001-09-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Bone Dolls Twin (Tamir Triad Trilogy 1)by Lynn Flewelling
Voyager Classics; Published: 2002-06-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $34.78
Pilgrim (Wayfarer Redemption)by Sara Douglass
Voyager; Published: 2000-10-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Similar Books and other products
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)by Philip Pullman
Laurel Leaf; Published: 2003-09-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #1) [Unabridged 8-CD Set] Image](/images/The-Subtle-Knife-His-Dark-Materials-1-Unabridged-8-CD-Set-B002XGF5I6-X.jpg)
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #1) [Unabridged 8-CD Set]by Philip (Author); Pullman
Published: 2006; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $39.09
The Golden Compass, Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition (His Dark Materials, Book 1)(Rough-cut)by Philip Pullman
Dutton; Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2006-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.60
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)by J.K. Rowling
Listening Library (Audio); Listening Library (Audio); Published: 2003-06; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $39.00
Price in other shops:
Once Upon a Time in the North (His Dark Materials)by Philip Pullman
Listening Library (Audio); Published: 2008-04-08; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.42
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2)by J.K. Rowling
Listening Library (Audio); Listening Library (Audio); Published: 1999-12-01; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $25.93
Price in other shops:
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)by Philip Pullman
Books; Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2007-08-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.00
Price in other shops:
The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)by Philip Pullman
Listening Library (Audio); Published: 2001-05-27; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $33.58
Price in other shops:
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2)by Philip Pullman
Listening Library (Audio); Published: 2004-09-28; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $24.47
Price in other shops:
The Golden CompassRelease date: 2010-07-30; Amazon Instant Video; Movie
Best price: $2.99