

It is just thing “thing” that we are told about at the start but through the book but we begin to see the significance of it. The author does very little to explain this. These take on the form of an animal that is representative of the person, for example someone who is enthusiastic and friendly has a colourful cat whereas as solider has a wolf or a hound. The world Pullman has created is physically intertwined with our own there are references to cities and countries in which his idea has been planted.Įach human has a daemon that is essentially their soul. This book retains all the classic elements of fantasy: magic, mythical creatures and supernatural phenomena. There was an anchor an hourglass surmounted by a skull a bull, a beehive….Thirty-six altogether and she couldn’t even guess what they meant." She turned the dial around to look at them all. It was very much like a clock, or a compass, for there were hands pointing around the dial, but instead of the hours or the points of a compass there were several little pictures with extraordinary precision, as if on ivory with the slenderest sable brush.

"It lay heavily in her hands,the crystal face gleaming, the brass body exquisitely machined. This is initially described as a lie detector but it is apparent that the depths of its power have not been fully explored. Her adventure sees her befriend an armoured polar bear and become the wielder of the golden compass. For her, this book is a journey of self-discovery: a way of exploring the limits of her character and potential. She spends her days enjoying her youth and harassing those that turn out to be some of her greatest allies. She has grown up in an Oxford College and has developed a detachment to her guardians. The protagonist of the book is Lyra, a young girl, who is parentless and seemingly friendless. This is high praise indeed, and this novel is worthy of it. Before I go into the depths of character and plot, let me start by saying this book is up there with other fantasy hard hitters: by this I mean books like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia: the books that define the genre. This novel is an absolute work of pure genius, and is in my top ten reads of all time. An international sensation from the moment it was published, The Golden Compass comes to spectacular new life in this unabridged recording, narrated by Philip Pullman himself, with the support of some of the finest actors of the London stage." Lyra will need all her street-learned wiles if she and Pan are to survive.


But truth is a precious commodity, and before long Lyra and Pan are running for their lives, the object of an obsessive hunt by mysterious forces who have been stealing children for dark purposes that no one understands. Coulter-and in possession of a strange device called the alethiometer, a "golden compass" that reads not true worth, but truth itself. Though she has been reised at the college in an atmosphere of benign neglect that has allowed her to become a half-wild child of the streets, Lyra soon finds herself apprenticed to the elegant Mrs. It is executive produced by Andrew Miano and Paul Weitz ("In Good Company").When Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon decide to spy on a presentation her uncle, the commanding Lord Asriel, is making to the elders of Jordan College they have no idea that they will become witnesses to an attempted murder-and even less that they are taking the first steps in a journey that will lead them into danger and adventure unlike anything Lyra's unfettered imagination has conjured up. The film is written and directed by Chris Weitz ("About A Boy," "Antz") and produced by Deborah Forte and Bill Carraro ("Frequency"). "The Golden Compass" stars an ensemble cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, and Ian McShane. At the center of the story is Lyra (played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), a 12-year-old girl who starts out trying to rescue a friend who's been kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Gobblers - and winds up on an epic quest to save not only her world, but ours as well. "The Golden Compass" is an exciting fantasy adventure, set in an alternative world where people's souls manifest themselves as animals, talking bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches co-exist. Based on author Philip Pullman's bestselling and award-winning novel, "The Golden Compass" tells the first story in Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy.
