Once in a lifetime a children's author emerges who is so extraordinary that the imagination of generations is altered. Lewis Carroll, E. Nesbit, C. S. Lewis, and Tolkien were all of this cast. So, too, is Philip Pullman,whose Dark Materials trilogy will be devoured by anyone between eight and eighty. The most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings, it is as intellectually thrilling as it is magnificently written.

Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her dlrmon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsonle uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle--a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle.

Philip Pullman's award-winning The Golden Compass is a masterwork of storytelling and suspense, critically acclaimed and bailed as a modern fantasy classic.

PART ONE: OXFORD

 ONE The Decanter ofT okay 3

 TWO The Idea of North 17

 THREE Lyra'sJordan 33

 FOUR The Alethiometer 66

 FIVE The Cocktail Party 81

 SIX The Throwing Nets 98

 SEVEN JohnFaa 110

 EIGHT Frustration 130

 NINE The Spies 141

PART TWO: BOLVAnAR

 TEN The Consul and the Bear 163

 ELEVEN Armor 183

 TWELVE The Lost Boy 204

 THIRTEEN Fencing 214

 FOURTEEN BolvangarLights 230

 FIFTEEN The Daemon Cages 247

 SIXTEEN The Silver Guillotine 265

 SEVENTEEN The Witches 280

PART THREE: SVALBARD

 EIGHTEEN Fog and Ice 307

 NINETEEN Captivity 325

 TWENTY Mortal Combat 344

 TWENTY-ONE Lord Asriel's Welcome 361

 TWENTY-TWO Betrayal 379

 TWENTY-THREE The Bridge to the Stars 389