I watched the movie "The golden compass" when it first came out, although I haven't had read the book at the time, and was very disappointed in it. I thought it could have been much more. So I was hesitant to read the books.

A year ago as I was browsing the book store I found the whole trilogy for a very good price and I could not resist buying it. Forward one year , I was low on reading material so I grabbed it and I was pleasantly surprised! I was kicking myself for not reading them sooner.

I just have finished reading His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass).

The trilogy is geared towards children but I have to say that it needs a level of maturity to be read. I believe that maybe the kids should be at least 11- 13 to read it since it does contain some information that could be hard to process.

In the books we get to know the 11 year old brave girl Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon who live in a parallel world to ours in Oxford. Lyra takes us with her on her adventure were we get to meet many interesting beings who become her closest friends and allies.

What I found surprising (and I truly did not expect in the books) was the religious (or anti religious as some people would say) aspect of it. It talks about how religion corrupts and how it could turn people into evil beings. It talks about angles and death. It talks about how the soul occupies not only us, but the whole world. It talks about God and the idea of God .

All of these things existence and purpose are questioned and searched.

Truly a thought-provoking trilogy, surprisingly philosophical. The author is truly talented when it comes to creating all these fantasy parallel worlds to ours.

Wether you are a person of faith or not I encourage you to read it. The trilogy is very well written and very thought-provoking.

Well, I finished the entire 3 book set in just over a week, and I have to say Philip Pullman's ability to tell a fascinating story full of adventure is second only to J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert Ludwig and Tom Clancy.
The Characters were well thought out, and the story was well planed, but the biggest downside to the entire story was Pullman's unfortunate prejudices, which are more than evident throughout.
Pullman seems to believe it is impossible to have a stable, healthy relationship between a husband and a wife. In fact the best marriage relationship we see in the novels is between Will's mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Parry. And the fact that John Parry is said to have basically abandoned his family(whether intentional or not) sums up that relationship fully. In fact, every other relationships mentioned in the Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass (aside from the pseudo romantic embraces of adolescent children) is adulterous at best. We have Lyra's parents who gave birth to her out of an affair and the witches who continually seduce whomever they please then go on their way when something more important comes up. The only person who shows a shred of morality when it comes to having a relationship is John Parry, Wills father. Who refuses to sleep with a witch because he never gave up his vows to his wife. And while this is truly a noble act, it is far outweighed by the rest of the books.
Next we have the main character, who's known best for her ability to lie through her teeth with there rarely being any consequences.
We also have the Magisterium, basically Lyra's worlds version of the church, which seems to be run by people who most would lump into the same category as Adolf Hitler and Ted Bundy.
An easy way to quickly sum up these novels is, put simply like this. Where great authors such as Tom Clancy, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien all have written stories including references and symbolism towards things that they love,(ie. Tom Clancy loves the navy, and J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are both Christian authors) Philip Pullman seems to have filled his story with with references, attacks and symbolism towards things he absolutely hates. It's unfortunate when an author has to drop to such low standards as to attack things he doesn't understand or hates.
When it comes down to it, I do think the story is worth reading, but it is definitely not for the age group that most publishers have marketed the book towards. It has so many questionable moral attributes that I just can't see a 9-14 year old reading this book and not either being confused, or walk away with a severely corrupted understanding of the world and how things should work.
Philip Pullman definitely knows how to write a story that can captivate the hearts of his readers, but he either needs to get his moral compass straight, or start writing for an older audience. And that's why I gave this 3 out of 5 stars.

An enchanting fiction story of the most important little girl and her destiny. This trilogy is an hymn to the love and beauty of our world, a true heroic quest.

Like Potter, the use of a child as the central character in a deeply developed plot pitting good vs evil is enough to keep adults entertained. The young Lyra is tomboyish enough to make it cool for boys to read it and of the knife wielding, street smart Will is a rad hero.

Rich in detail and carefully thought out, Pullman is able to capture the imagination and hold it as we are drawn deeper and deeper into a world with Oxford as a centre of many universes. He has a remarkable ability to challenge everything that we know, to make the impossible seem possible and maybe even appear normal.

Note to Parents
If possible, parents should steer their kids away from the Hollywood adaptations of great works of fiction like this as it does not do them justice, or at the very least make them read the books before they watch the movies. Doing this helps to create life long readers who appreciate the written word far more than a directors take on it.

I often wonder if, "back in the day", when J.R.R. Tolkien or a C.S. Lewis were turning out what would become their signature series of juvenile novels one carefully crafted book at a time, they knew on some level they were creating a masterpiece - something that would only gain in strength and resonance long after their own lives had passed.

Besides being wonderfully entertaining sagas pitting good against the darkest of forces, both of these series shared some pretty BIG themes, many of which parallel those that form the doctrine of the Christian faith. These have been thoroughly discussed and examined by academics for decades, so I will let that sleeping dog be.

In his wildly popular trilogy "His Dark Materials", Philip Pullman has also created a rousing adventure rich with characters and page-turning action, resting on a foundation of the most classic of conflicts: Good vs. Evil. However, it is here that Pullman becomes more Dan Brown than C.S. Lewis, as the antagonists are no other than the organization of the Church, loosely disguised by the title of "the Magistrate", and the faulty "God" they serve, known as "The Authority".

Do I have a problem with this? Not at all. The past and present abuses of the Church and crimes committed in the name of religion are well documented in history and sales of this trilogy and the novels of Dan Brown are unprecedented. Nevertheless, Church bashing and conspiracy theories seem to be a modern phenomena and I have to wonder how the attack on the secular aspects of religion in these novels with stack up in the long run against the "high road" taken by Lewis and Tolkien.

Having said all that, of the three series, I found Pullman's to be the most entertaining - complex enough to engross adults, while remaining accessible for the teens. I recommend reading book one, "The Golden Compass", before renting the recently released movie. While the movie is good, there have been many changes to key facts and it ends at a point several chapters from the end of the book. I can only assume the next movie will pick up from where the last left off.

But be warned, the books are very much intertwined, so if you do start with book one, you may feel compelled to press on without interruption to the end of book three. So, you may as well save some money and buy the entire set now.

Another series great for all ages. I liked the first novel the best, to be honest, but they were all great.
I did not see the movie, so I cannot make comparisons.
While there is some controversy over the novels regarding religion and the meaning behind the novels, I feel this book could still be enjoyed by everyone. After all, Harry Potter to this day still has a lot of criticisms.
A definite read, whether you are 9 or 30!

An extremely interesting and well written read. Amazingly thought provoking for a children's read. I couldn't stop reading. All three books in the series are great. Even as an adult, I was completely satisfied with the storyline and characters. I think that anyone could enjoy this book. I can't say enough about how much I liked it. I definitely recommend it.

I did not find this trilogy offensive at all. You need to read the entire trilogy to understand the story. I would suggest that some sceptics did not read the books in their entirety. The Demons DB described are really Daemons - which are semantically different in the novels as well as in most dictionaries. God is not killed in the last book; it was the impersonator of God who is killed. The Bible speaks of a similiar topic. I think the people who find the books offensive, are offended because the fight against evil was waged and won by the free-willed and open minded creatures, vs. the church indoctrinated ones, who (in the books) faithfully but blindly followed the false God and his churches into defeat. The books are not anti-God, but might be considered anti-church, especially certain very hierarchical churches. Churches, to gain legitimacy and control, try to link the two - but the two are very different. Pullman attempts to explore this. Pullman's trilogy had some annoyances too, of course - I kept thinking of The Force (Star Wars) and The Matrix. Also, I thought Pullman's writing started running out of steam by the last book - almost like he got tired of it and wanted to rush it through. Inevitably, people will compare this trilogy with Tolkien's LOTR and CS Lewis' Narnia books. I really liked LOTR when I was 16 or so. The Narnia books were well written, but I thought some of the books had too much racial/skin colour/cultural prejudice undertones.

I think that this is the most amazing series that I have ever read in my young life. The idea of this book is just so abstract but so amazingly put together. I enjoyed every page of this magical masterpiece. This book had just the right amount of fantasy in it but also kept to the real world. If you liked Harry Potter I would definitely recommend this book to you fantasy lovers out there. The only problem that I didn't like was how this book was located in the kids’ section of the library, some of the things in this trilogy young kids don't need to know about. Over all I felt that this was a truly spellbinding book to be enjoyed by all adults and teens.

Having seen the first movie and then started in on reading the trilogy, I was unprepared for the great places Philip Pullman took the story. The scope of the work rivals anything I've ever written. Inspiring! Bravo!

This series of books was amazing. The character development was thorough and the story was intellectually stimulating. I read all three books in 3 days - I couldn't put it down.

Poetic, moving and thoughtful. Phillip Pullman has an excellent imagination and a deep humanity. This is a coming of age story, a creation myth, and a call to action. I have heard this series called "The Atheist's Answer to C.S. Lewis", but it is even more so the Humanist answer to the beloved Chronicles of Narnia. C.S. Lewis showed us how the imagination can play on a Christian stage; Pullman shows us what it looks like on a humanist one. These beautiful stories deserve to be read and enjoyed -- they do not deserve the censorship and condemnation they have sometimes received.

A book that will captivate all ages.
Addressing both curuption and sacrifice. The books almost read themselves.

As a teacher I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting books for my students. This series is one I highly recommend for kids and adults of all ages. It is exciting and mysterious and doesn't stop until the very end. It's nice to find children's books that not only entertain but can challenge kids to think and wonder about the world in which we live. These books do just that. I hope the controversy now surrounding them only serves to attract more readers.

A great read for young or old! Suggest it to everyone and anyone that enjoys thinking outside of the box.

Most horibble book that you could ever encounter. Some athiest writing a series because he hates christianity. I mean get a life! It is very offensive. The first book suggests that each person has a demon as a soul. I know it's spelt differently but still, you can tell what it means. I would not recommend this book to anyone who is Christian. I mean he kills God in the third book! It's just awful. Writing about something you love is one thing but writing about something you hate, and writing it because you want people to hate something good... well... that's just not good!

This may be classified as a children's series, but it has a depth to it that makes it just as intriguing for adults. Echoes of Paradise Lost, combined with a cast of truly unique characters, makes for a book that children can enjoy for it's exciting plot and fantastical elements, and which adults can appreciate for it's profound message. Written skilfully, and with ingenuity (comparable to Milton himself), this has become my favourite trilogy. Number three on BBC- The Big Read- Top 100 books, nominated by a nation, they are an obvious favourite, which reader's hold close to heart. Truly a heart-wrenching read; I would recommend it as an essential on anyone's 'has read' shelf.

That's exactly what this, a series of books that can appeal to every type of reader, no matter what your age is, what kind of books you like or anything. You can enjoy this book for so many different reasons, so it appeals to everyone. As a child you like the action and the adventure. As a teenager you could enjoy the politics, the romance, or like me, the content about religion. Philip Pullman introduced to me a part of religion I had no idea about, characters that existed within religion but I didn't know they were there. But most of all, he made an excellent book that can allow you to learn more about the christian faith, but not fall asleep or get bored to death while doing so. It has every feature of a great book, and the inspiration behind the book is equally good. Everything you could want, is in this boxed set.

This trilogy is the absolute best I have ever read. I found that all elements of a good book are present, including diversity of genres (somehow mixed): adventure, action, war, politics, mysticism, romance, tragedy, fantasy, mystery...and more. One thing I disagree with, though, is the age rating. I am 15, first read it at 13, and I say that this is one of those stories, in which you enjot it at every age - when small, all the action and adventure appeals to you. As you grow up, you see more and more in the story - you find something new every time you read it. Once again, I say it's flawless.

This series contains a few of the rare contemporary youth targeted novels that don't dumb down the content for a child audience, nor fall into the void of teen targeted novels that all share the same genaric theme of angst and stereotypical, overdone and tedious teen issues (such as the boy meets girl complex that has plaugued the pages of far too many short novels). 'His Dark Materials' series tells an indepth and captivating epic tale that I could read over and over again and never grow bored of. Phillip Pullman is a marvolous storyteller.