Lyra's life is already sufficiently interesting for a novel before she eavesdrops on a presentation by her uncle Lord Asriel to his colleagues in the Jordan College faculty, Oxford. The college, famed for its leadership in experimental theology, is funding Lord Asriel's research into the heretical possibility of the existence of worlds unlike Lyra's own, where everyone is born with a familiar animal companion, magic of a kind works, the Tartars are threatening to overrun Muscovy, and the Pope is a puritanical Protestant. Set in an England familiar and strange, Philip Pullman's lively, taut story is a must-read and re-read for fantasy lovers of all ages. The world-building is outstanding, from the subtle hints of the 1898 Tokay to odd quirks of language to the panserbjorne, while determined, clever Lyra is strongly reminiscent of Joan Aiken's Dido Twite.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to PJW as part of the Fantasy Swap at www.bookrelay.com!

Received in the mail yesterday. Thank you, MissyZ.

Did you know that the American title of this book is The Golden Compass? I sure didn't. I finally picked this book out of my box of "to be read"s, only to discover I'd already read it a month ago. Oops. It was a good book, though. I'll be looking for a copy of The Subtle Knife soon.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I mailed this book to my mom, along with non-BX-registered mass market paperbacks of the other two in the series, which I bought after reading this. She's not registered on BookCrossing, but I'll let her know to journal it when she's done reading it.