The Golden Compass cover art

The Golden Compass

His Dark Materials, Book 1

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of 900K+ titles.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto-renews for $8.99/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Golden Compass

Written by: Philip Pullman
Narrated by: Philip Pullman, Joanna Wyatt, Rupert Degas, Alison Dowling, Douglas Blackwell, Jill Shilling, Stephen Thorne, Sean Barrett, Garrick Hagon, John O'Connor, Susan Sheridan, Full Cast
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.48

Buy Now for $31.48

About this listen

 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “MARVELOUS.”—The New Yorker • An Entertainment Weekly All-Time Greatest Novel • A Newsweek Top 100 Book of All Time • Winner of the Carnegie Medal • The Inspiration for the HBO Original Series His Dark Materials

DON’T MISS THE EPIC FINALE TO LYRA’S STORY: THE ROSE FIELD, AVAILABLE NOW!

Discover the modern fantasy classic that kicked off the epic trilogies His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust—a world where humans have animal familiars and parallel universes are within reach.

“Pullman is quite possibly a genius.”—Newsweek

A war is brewing in Lyra’s world between those who would keep people in ignorance and those willing to fight for freedom. Lyra is thrust into the middle of the conflict when her uncle Asriel comes to Oxford, fomenting rebellion, and when her best friend, Roger, suddenly disappears.

Lyra learns that Roger was kidnapped by a shadowy organization that is rumored to experiment on children. To find him, she will travel to the cold, far North, where armored bears and witch clans rule—and where Asriel is attempting to build a bridge to a parallel world.

What Lyra doesn’t know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other—and that her actions will have consequences not just in her world, but in all the worlds beyond.

Look for the modern fantasy classics of HIS DARK MATERIALS:
The Golden Compass • The Subtle Knife • The Amber Spyglass

And Lyra’s adventures continue in THE BOOK OF DUST:
La Belle Sauvage • The Secret Commonwealth • The Rose Field©1995 Philip Pullman; (P)1999 Random House, Inc. Action & Adventure Classics Explore the World Fantasy & Magic Fiction Geography & Cultures Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Epic Fantasy Funny

What the critics say

“As always, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterizations and seamless plotting, maintaining a crackling pace to create scene upon scene of almost unbearable tension. This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next installment of Lyra’s adventures.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred

“Extraordinary storytelling at its very best.”—The Detroit Free Press

“Superb . . . all-stops-out thrilling.”—The Washington Post

Featured Article: 20 of the Best Strong Fictional Female Lead Characters Who Will Inspire You

From feisty fiery females to women warriors, this list of audiobooks features the best stories and epic tales with strong fictional female lead characters that will inspire you.

Featured Article: 20 of the Best Strong Fictional Female Lead Characters Who Will Inspire You
All stars
Most Relevant
I've always loved this series and have read all three books many times, but listening to it as an audiobook was an entirely different experience - and SO enjoyable! I love that Pullman is the narrator, and the entire cast is spectacular! The voice performances are superb throughout the entire audiobook, and really bring something special to the story that you'd never get from just reading. I was completely immersed, even though I've read the book more times than I can count. This is by far my favourite fiction audiobook that I've listened to yet, and I definitely recommend it, to new readers of the His Dark Materials series and old alike!

Most enjoyable "read" of this book yet!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There is only one complaint, I found it difficult when there was no pause at the end of a Chapter before saying Chapter __ (sorry Philip) the story and the performances were amazing, I cannot wait to listen to the next book.

Excellent story Amazing Performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Couldn't have enjoyed it more. Narration was perfect; story was riveting. So tempted to just buy the whole series.

Incredible narration at the perfect pace.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a fantastic narration, the best I’ve heard! Excellent cast! Looking forward to the next one.

Awesome!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is my first time "reading" this book and it hooked me. The performances are very well done as well.

Incredible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews