Northern Lights - Philip Pullman Reviews

Northern lights is the book that the film The Golden Compass was based on. It is by Phillip Pullman and was published in 1995. Lyra Belacqua lives in Oxford in a parallel universe to our own. It is alike ours in a lot of way but there are some small and a few huge differences. The main one is that every person in Lyra's world has a ...  Read the complete review

I am nearing the end of this wonderful, imaginative book (the first in a trilogy) and I can not recommend it enough. Although the writing style takes a while to get used to (the previous set of books I read were the super-flowing masterworks of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series) it is well worth it. Pullman has the ability to not only ...  Read the complete review

This has been on my mental TBR pile for years, but despite all the recommendations from just about everyone, I remained slightly wary as I am not a great fan of the fantasy genre. In fact, I'm not really a fan of it at all. I love Douglas Adams, but his unique brand of comic fantasy is not exactly typical of the genre, which has a tendency in my ...  Read the complete review

Northern Lights, or the Golden Compass as it is known in America, is the first of the His Dark Materials series by Pullman. The first book was turned into a film in 2007 but failed to generate the expected returns and the rest of the films are unlikely to now be made. The series has however won numerous awards since it was written in ...  Read the complete review

Northern Lights is the first of 3 books in a trilogy by Philip Pullman. I would say the style is similar to Harry Potter, not plot wise, but in whom it's written for. Although found in the Teenage section this book is by no means childish. The book is a fantasy set in a world strikingly similar yet parallel to ours. Young orphaned Lyra ...  Read the complete review

This book is one of my all time favourite reads. It can take a while for some people to get into, but once you do you are completely absorbed into a Lyra's world of daemons and her quest to the North. Philip Pullman is a creative genius if you ask me! This book is in some ways far out in its ideas, but somehow totally believable. It ...  Read the complete review

This is the first book in the trilogy "His Dark Materials", and from the first few pages of The Northern Lights you will find yourself transported into Oxford - Lyras Oxford that is. Lyra the main character in the book is a tenacious, headstrong unruly girl who lives within Jordan Collage in oxford. Along with her band of urchin ...  Read the complete review

Forget the Chronicles of Narnia - this is the first book in possibly the best trilogy ever written... or at least the best written since Lord of the Rings. It tells the story of Lyra, a young orphan girl, and her daemon, Pan. This is a universe very like our own, with both subtle and vast differences, maybe the biggest one being daemon's. ...  Read the complete review

This book goes under the name "The Golden Compass" also and is the first book in a trilogy known as "His Dark Materials". The author is Phillip Pullman a well known atheist. The first book features Lyra Belacqua as the central figure. She lives in a parallel universe to us where people's conscience (or soul) is an ...  Read the complete review

Once, when I was about 16, a man with one leg (actually he had four if you count the prosthetics) decided I needed to read this book. So he thrust the Trilogy it's part of at me. And read I did. The first thing I loved about these books were the artwork on the front. What? So I judge books by their covers. Are you really THAT shocked?? ...  Read the complete review

The Northern Lights is the first book in the outstanding 'his dark materials' trilogy by Phillip Pullman. This was the first book i read my this author and i was blown away by how good he was. This book as do the other 2 and many other of Pullman's books have brilliant imaginitive ideas brought to life by perfect descriptions that let you feel ...  Read the complete review

This a fascinating book, based on the principle of multiple worlds. In a world similar, but in some ways incredibly different to ours, an iresistabley irripressible child called Lyra stumbles upon an adventure she never could of imagined when she stops her uncle from being poisoned whilst sneaking around Jordan college, in Her Oxford. She gets ...  Read the complete review

Much has been made of Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy. In 2005 it was voted the Cilip Awards best ever book(s). It is a critically acclaimed series, and the focus has come to the fore again with the emergence of 'The Golden Compass', the film adaption of 'Northern Lights', the first in the trilogy. Upon starting the book, I was aware of the ...  Read the complete review

The story is about Lyra's - a rebellious girl rom Jordon College in Oxford. Set in a world very similar, yet very different to our own, Lyra sets out on a journey to Save her uncle, the children being kidnapped and discover the significance and importance of Dust. This is the first in a series of 3 books - "His Dark ...  Read the complete review

In the first part of Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, we find Lyra, a troublesome youth whose world is about to change. Set in an alternate universe, Lyra finds herself in the midst of an epic journey to the North, after her friend Roger is kidnapped by the mysterious gobblers. Helped along the way by Iorek Byrnison an armoured bear ...  Read the complete review

I first came across this book when I was about 13,as an Auntie bought it one Christmas for me,I loved it immediatly and being a big book lover this is quite a commpliment. I have re-written this review about 3 times now,trying to come up with the right way to discibe it,and so far the sentance that sums it up most clearly is: "A ...  Read the complete review

***Introduction*** Over the years I’ve had mixed experiences with the fantasy genre. From the highs of Clive Barker and even James Herbert when he veers away from out and out horror to the lows of failing with Tolkien and Raymond E Feist. Having recently read "Sabriel" by Garth Nix it was suggested that I have a go at the now famous ...  Read the complete review

I'm a bit late getting to this one, it seems ~ although I could hardly have been unaware of the hype built up the His Dark Materials series, it's taken until this last week for me to get round to reading this. Despite having had this, the first of the trilogy, for about eight years, I had never given it more than a few minute's rather distracted ...  Read the complete review

Whilst talking to a friend about the types of books we liked, I happened to mention that I had read all the Harry Potter books. “In that case,” she said, “You’d love Philip Pullman.” “I’ve never heard of him.” I said. So she offered me his Dark Materials Trilogy. The first in the series of 3 books is The Northern Lights. (Also known as ...  Read the complete review

A gripping adventure - Advantages: Gripping, Exiting, Dark - Disadvantages: N/A