The Golden Compass

Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the Scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar, Pantalaimon, always by her side. When her uncle, Lord Asriel, returns from the North with tales of mystery and danger, it seems to have little to do with her -- even the rumor of the severed child. But his visit sets off a chain of events that draws Lyra into the heart of a terrible struggle -- a struggle that involves scientists performing hideous experiments on children, alliances with gyptians and witch clans, battles with trained mercenaries, and armored bears. And through it all, there dawns in Lyra a sense that her success or failure may mean even more than simply life or death.

The first book in a planned trilogy, Philip Pullman''s The Golden Compass is stunningly original, beautifully crafted, and thrillingly told. It is a masterwork of fantasy and storytelling that heralds the arrival of a classic.