Book Lovers....
"There are worlds beyond our own-the compass will show the way.."
Sounds familier? No!?
Welcome to you all.....to a quest...in search for truth and adventure that will take you to a hidden destination and fearful ordinances.....
Yes! I am talking about PHILIP PULLMAN's Trilogy~~ HIS DARK MATERIALS.
The trilogy consists of three books:
Northern Lights
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass
The Northern Lights has been complied into a mega motion picture called THE GOLDEN COMPASS.
| The Golden Compass | |
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chris Weitz |
|---|---|
| Written by | Philip Pullman (novel) Chris Weitz |
| Starring | Dakota Blue Richards Nicole Kidman Daniel Craig Ian McKellen Ian McShane Sam Elliott Eva Green |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Henry Braham |
| Editing by | Anne V. Coates |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | UK December 5, 2007 USA December 7, 2007 AUS December 26, 2007 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English Icelandic Russian |
| Budget | US$180 million — US$205 million |
| Gross revenue | $372.23 million (as of July 6, 2008) |
The Golden Compass is a fantasy film based on Northern Lights (published as The Golden Compass in the U.S.), the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials, and was released on December 5, 2007 by New Line Cinema. It stars Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and Dakota Blue Richards. The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of recent adaptations of other fantasy epics, but troubles over the script and the selection of a director caused significant delays. At US$180 million, it was one of New Line's most expensive projects ever, and its middling success in the US contributed to New Line's February 2008 restructuring.
First edition cover | |
| Author | Philip Pullman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Philip Pullman and David Scutt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | His Dark Materials |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy, Steampunk |
| Publisher | Scholastic Point |
| Publication date | 1995 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 399 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-590-66054-3 |
| Preceded by | Once Upon a Time in the North |
| Followed by | The Subtle Knife |
The story begins when Lyra Belacqua— a supposedly orphaned, twelve-year-old girl residing at Jordan College, Oxford—secretly enters and hides in the 'Retiring Room' in the college, despite resistance from her dmon, Pantalaimon — an animal-formed, shape-shifting manifestation of her soul. Hidden behind an armchair, Lyra and "Pan" see the Master of the college putting poison into wine intended for the visiting Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle, in an attempt to assassinate him. Lord Asriel later enters after the Master of the college has left and Lyra, having by now hidden in a wardrobe, bursts out and immediately warns him that the wine is poisoned. Rather than punishing her for being where she should not, he allows her to stay hidden if she will spy on the other attendees at his upcoming meeting. When the meeting commences, Lord Asriel shows the resident scholars pictures of the Aurora Borealis (the 'Northern Lights' of the title) and the mysterious elementary particles called Dust. Shortly after, Lord Asriel travels to the Arctic North, and Lyra continues her studies at the college.
When "the Gobblers," who have become a recent urban legend, kidnap her friend Roger, Lyra vows to rescue him. But instead, an important visitor, a woman named Mrs. Marisa Coulter, offers to take Lyra away from Jordan College to become her apprentice. Lyra assents, but before she leaves, the Master of the college entrusts her with a priceless object (with the condition that she keep it absolutely secret): an alethiometer. Resembling a golden, many-handed pocket-watch, it can answer any question asked by the user. Although initially unable to read or understand its complex symbols, Lyra takes it with her to Mrs. Coulter's flat. Soon after, Lyra becomes suspicious of Mrs. Coulter's motives when her dmon (a golden monkey named Ozymandias) searches Lyra's room for the alethiometer.
At a cocktail party hosted by Mrs. Coulter, Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter heads an organization known as the "General Oblation Board" and that this board is, in fact, the "Gobblers" who have been kidnapping children. Horrified, Lyra flees Mrs. Coulter's flat during the party.
While being pursued by the "Gobblers", Lyra is rescued by the Gyptians, nomadic, canal-boat-dwelling people, who afterwards reveal that Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are none other than Lyra's father and mother. She also learns that many children like Roger have been disappearing from among the Gyptians, and that the Gyptians are planning an expedition to the north to rescue them. During her time with the Gyptians, Lyra intuitively begins to learn how to operate the alethiometer.
En route, Lyra enlists the help of a sentient, armoured bear called Iorek Byrnison. Iorek is an exiled bear prince who is a perfect example of his culture.
Lyra is captured by a party of hunters who take her to an experimentation facility in Bolvangar, where she discovers that the children are being subjected to an experimental process called "intercision." This process severs the tie that binds them to their daemons, effectively removing their soul. Inside, she locates Roger and devises an escape plan. She is caught spying and narrowly escapes suffering the intercision process herself; she is rescued, unfortunately, by Mrs. Coulter, who tries to take the alethiometer. Narrowly escaping her clutches once again, Lyra leads the other children from the facility and is rescued by Lee Scoresby in his hydrogen balloon. With them are Roger and Iorek Byrnison.
Having found Roger, Lyra now determines to deliver the alethiometer to Lord Asriel, believing that he needs it for his purposes. He is imprisoned at Svalbard, the armoured bears' fortress, because the church opposes his experiments on Dust. As they travel to Svalbard, bat-like cliff-ghasts attack the balloon; Lyra is thrown out but lands safely, only to be captured by the armoured bears. She tricks the usurping bear-king, Iofur Raknison, into fighting Iorek Byrnison, who regains his throne. Thereafter, she travels to Lord Asriel's cabin, accompanied by Iorek and Roger.
Despite being imprisoned, Lord Asriel has become so influential that he has accumulated the necessary equipment to continue his experiments on Dust. After explaining to Lyra the nature of Dust, an emanation from another world, and the existence of parallel universes, he departs, taking Roger and much scientific equipment. Lyra pursues them, having discovered that she has indeed brought her father what he wanted, though not in the way she thought. It was not the alethiometer he needed, but Roger: the severing of the child-daemon tie releases an enormous amount of energy, which Lord Asriel needs to complete his task. Roger dies when Lord Asriel separates him from his dmon, and with the enormous energy released -- combined with his specialized equipment -- Lord Asriel is able to tear a hole through the sky into a parallel world. Lord Asriel walks through into the new world. On Pantalaimon's advice, Lyra follows. This concludes the first novel, with the trilogy continuing in the next book, The Subtle Knife.
A feature film adaptation of the novel, titled The Golden Compass, produced by New Line Cinema with a budget of $180 million, was released December 5, 2007. The novel was adapted by Chris Weitz, who directed the film. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards, in her film debut, as Lyra. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Ian McKellen, Sam Elliott, Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee also star.
A video game of the movie adaptation of the book, titled The Golden Compass, published by Sega and developed by Shiny Entertainment, was released December 4, 2007. Players assume the role of Lyra as she travels through the frozen wastes of the North in an attempt to rescue her friend kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Gobblers. Travelling with her are an armoured polar bear and her dmon Pantalaimon (Pan). Together, they must use a truth-telling alethiometer and other items to explore the land and fight their way through confrontations in order to help Lyra's friend. The Golden Compass features a mix of fighting and puzzle solving with three characters. First edition cover | |
| Author | Philip Pullman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Philip Pullman & David Scutt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | His Dark Materials |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic Point |
| Publication date | 1997 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 341 pp |
| ISBN | 0-590-11289-9 |
| Preceded by | Northern Lights |
| Followed by | The Amber Spyglass |
The story begins with twelve-year-old Will Parry killing a man. In his efforts to escape the police, he discovers a portal that leads to Cittgazze, a city in another world. The city looks recently deserted, and Will chooses a house to find food. It is here that he meets 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon, who came here after entering the hole in the sky that her father, Lord Asriel, created at the end of Northern Lights.
Meanwhile, the witch Serafina Pekkala, who was separated from Lyra during a battle in Northern Lights, is searching for her. She discovers that the Magisterium and Lyra's mother, Mrs. Coulter, have learned of the prophecy surrounding Lyra and plan to destroy her. She calls a meeting of the witches council. The witches vote to band together and join Lyra's father, Lord Asriel, in his fight against the Magisterium. Scoresby ventures out to find the explorer Stanislaus Grumman, who is rumored to know of an object that gives protection to whomever holds it.
Back in Cittgazze, Will and Lyra become allies; they also discover they come from parallel Oxfords. Will and Lyra decide to travel back into Will's world to gather more information: Will is seeking information about his father, while Lyra is looking for Scholars who know about Dust. The alethiometer tells Lyra where to find her Scholar, but informs her that she should put her mind to helping Will find his father. However, Lyra is curious to learn more about the nature of Dust and goes to Oxford University to find the scholar, Dr. Mary Malone. Dr. Malone shares Lyra's interest in Dust, which she calls "shadows." Lyra returns with Will to Cittgazze.
Despite the alethiometer's message, Lyra revisits Dr. Malone the next day. She escapes from a trap and is offered a ride by a man she had met the previous day, Sir Charles Latrom. To her dismay, Lyra soon discovers that Sir Charles has stolen her alethiometer and she asks Will to help her retrieve it. When Lyra and Will confront Sir Charles, he admits that he has stolen the alethiometer. He makes an agreement with the pair that if they retrieve a certain knife from Cittgazze and give it to him, he will return the alethiometer to Lyra. The pair successfully retrieve the knife, but Will loses the last two fingers on his left hand. This signifies that he is the new bearer of the Subtle Knife, a tool that can create portals between worlds and can cut easily through anything.
Realizing that Sir Charles is not trustworthy, Lyra and Will decide to use the knife to steal the alethiometer. While doing so, Lyra sees that Sir Charles is meeting with Mrs. Coulter, who Sir Charles has brought from Lyra's world. She realizes that Sir Charles is really Lord Boreal, a friend of Mrs. Coulter who came to Will's world long ago and established himself in a position of power. Will, overhearing their conversation, also hears news of his father, who had discovered a doorway between the worlds. Will and Lyra return to Cittagazze, where they are found by Serafina Pekkala. She attempts to heal Will's wound with a spell, but fails. They then continue on to find Will's father.
Back in Will's world, Dr. Malone is visited by Sir Charles, who tells them that their funding will be discontinued if they do not cooperate. Dr. Malone quits her job, but returns later that night and takes Lyra's suggestion to attempt to talk to the Dark Matter using "words." She discovers that she is to play the "serpent" and all her life's work has led to this. The Dust also tells her where to begin her journey and instructs her to destroy her work.
Lee Scoresby finally finds Grumman living as a shaman known as Jopari. Grumman, who summoned Scoresby, knows of the Subtle Knife and how the bearer can help Lord Asriel's cause, which will save them all. They set off in Scoresby's hot-air balloon and Grumman explains that the Subtle Knife is also how the Spectres came into the world. Upon reaching Cittgazze, however, they are caught by the Magisterium's army. Scoresby dies while holding off the soldiers, giving Grumman a chance to escape.
Mrs. Coulter tricks Sir Charles into revealing the secret of the knife. After murdering him, she catches a witch and tortures her, causing her to reveal not only Will and Lyra's location and their protectors, but that Lyra is fated to be the second Eve. Mrs. Coulter states her intention to destroy Lyra rather than risk a second Fall.
Serafina goes to aid Scoresby, having heard his last plea for help. The rest of the party continues on. Will, unable to sleep one night, wanders up a mountain and finds Grumman, who staunches the bleeding in his hand and instructs him to take the knife to Lord Asriel, as it is the tool Asriel needs to win the great war that he is preparing against The Authority. They have a brief moment in which they realize they are actually father and son, but then a vengeful witch who loved Grumman murders him, as he had not returned her love.
Will returns to camp to find a pair of angels, Balthamos and Baruch, waiting to guide him to Lord Asriel. He agrees and goes to awaken Lyra, but discovers that she is missing. Will grabs Lyra's altheiometer that was left behind and goes with the angels.
| The Amber Spyglass | |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Philip Pullman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Philip Pullman & David Scutt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | His Dark Materials |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic Point |
| Publication date | 2000 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 518 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-439-99358-X |
| Preceded by | The Subtle Knife |
| Followed by | Lyra's Oxford |
At the end of The Subtle Knife, Marisa Coulter kidnapped her daughter, Lyra. She has now relocated her to a remote cave to hide her from the Magisterium, who are determined to kill Lyra before she yields to original sin. In order to keep her hidden, Marisa forces Lyra to drink drugged tea. While passed out, Lyra dreams that she is in a wasteland (later realized as the land of the dead) talking to her deceased friend Roger Parslow, who she promises to help.
In Cittgazze, two angels, Balthamos and Baruch, tell Will, the bearer of the Subtle Knife, that they are taking him to Lord Asriel. Will refuses to go until Lyra is rescued, to which the two assent. However, they are attacked by a soldier of the archangel Metatron, and Will uses the knife to cut a window into another world to escape. Baruch flies to Lord Asriel to tell him what has happened and to get help.
Lord Asriel sends a small army to Lyra's cave to counteract the zeppelins from the Consistorial Court. He also sends two Gallivespian spies, the Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia, to protect Lyra. Gallivespians resemble humans, but are approximately four inches tall.
Meanwhile, an assassin is dispatched from the Magisterium, as they have determined that Dr. Mary Malone is the "Tempter" (see Fall of Man). Mary, who has stepped through a window from her own world (assumed to be the readers' world/Will's world) into Cittgazze, eventually enters another window into a stranger world. There she meets elephantine creatures who call themselves mulefa and use large seedpods attached to their feet as wheels. These creatures have a complex culture, intricate language, and an infectious laugh. Although from completely different worlds, Mary and the Mulefa establish a rapport which results in Mary's acceptance into Mulefa community, where she learns that the trees from which the seedpods are gathered have gradually been going extinct for about 300 years. Mary uses the tree sap lacquer and accidentally constructs a telescope (the 'amber spyglass' of the title) that allows her to see the elementary particles known as Dust. Dust adheres to all life-forms that have attained a level of intelligence associated with building civilizations. She sees that Dust is flying away in large streams rather than falling on and nourishing the trees on which the mulefa mutually depend.
In his quest to rescue Lyra, Will meets Iorek Byrnison, the bear king of the armoured Panserbjrne, who are migrating south to avoid the Arctic melt caused by the effects of Lord Asriel's bridge (created at the end of Northern Lights). After challenging the bear to single combat to stop a raid on a nearby village, Will demonstrates the Knife on Iorek's armor; Iorek, seeing his helmet reduced to slivers in moments, begs defeat. Iorek agrees to help rescue his beloved Lyra. Here, global warming is associated with similar disasters taking place throughout many worlds as a result of the upheavals regarding Dust.
Three forces — Will, Iorek, and Balthamos; Lord Asriel's army; and the army of the Magisterium — converge on Mrs. Coulter's cave, where Will is able to wake Lyra. He is cutting a window into another world when Mrs. Coulter turns and looks directly at him. For a moment, Will is reminded of his own mother; as a result, his concentration falters, and the knife shatters, having been unable to sever his affection. Because the window he has cut is open, Will, Lyra, and the Gallivespian spies manage to escape to another world.
Although reluctant, Iorek Byrnison repairs the Subtle Knife. Because Lyra promised Roger that she would help him, Will, Lyra, Tialys, and Salmakia travel and enter the world of the dead. They are forced to leave their dmons behind, which is painful and akin to death. Although Will, Salmakia, and Tialys do not have corporal dmons like Lyra, they possess something similar. Their entry into the world of the dead reflects Greek mythology when an aged boatman (not named in the novel, but presumably representing Charon) ferries souls across a river to a dark, joyless realm where the many worlds' dead are tormented by harpies. Lyra finds Roger's ghost among the other ghosts. Will, Lyra, and the Gallivespians decide to free all the ghosts, and strike a deal with the harpies; with their help, they travel to the highest land point where Will cuts a door into another world. The ghosts step through and dissolve: they are freed and their atoms reunite with nature, their daemons' atoms, and the world.
Lord Asriel's forces capture Mrs. Coulter, but she escapes and flies off to warn the Consistorial Court. The Consistorial Court of Discipline arrests Mrs. Coulter; therefore, she allies herself with Asriel. She is also realizing the strength and depth of a mother's love for her child. Lord Asriel and Marisa talk, revealing that Asriel believes "sin" is simply enjoying life, which would be quelled by the Magisterium's desire for purity. Asriel has formed an army from all the worlds to conquer the Authority, who is the first angel created and thinks himself as god of the multiverse, and represents, in Asriel's mind, all the oppression that the Magisterium has caused.
The final battle begins. Will and Lyra must return to this realm (Asriel's) to retrieve their daemons. John Parry/Stanislaus Grumman/Will's father and Lee Scoresby go with them; instead of dissolving with the other ghosts, they and other ghosts decide to temporarily remain intact in order to join Lord Asriel's army to fight the Spectres, wraith-like creatures that devour adult souls in various worlds.
Mrs. Coulter enters the Clouded Mountain, citadel of the Authority, where she meets Regent Metatron. She offers to betray Asriel, letting Metatron think he will be able to kill him and get Lyra; but her ultimate hope is that he will destroy himself in the process. When she leads Metatron to Asriel, Mrs. Coulter is able to confess her scheme to him, and they unite to save Lyra and attack Metatron. All three fall into an Abyss and cease to exist. Ironically, the Authority dies of his own frailty when Will and Lyra unknowingly free him from the crystal prison where Metatron trapped him.
Lyra and Will, with the help of Gallivespians, Iorek's bear army, and the ghosts, find their daemons and escape the battle, entering into the mulefa world. Here they encounter Mary, who Lyra had met earlier in Will's world. They all exchange stories of what has happened, and Mary's story of why she decided not to be a nun anymore plants a seed in Lyra's mind. One day, while Will and Lyra are picnicking in the wood near their camp, they share their first kiss and admit their true love. The flow of Dust escaping is considerably slowed, and the new couple is enveloped in it. However, both the witch, Serafina Pekkala, and the female angel, Xaphania, pay them visits, each revealing news they do not want to hear. To their dismay, Xaphania reveals that all the openings between worlds - with the sole exception of the one leading out of the world of the dead to that of the mulefa's - must be closed because each opening allows Dust to escape into oblivion, and each creation of a new opening generates a new Spectre. Lyra and Will must return to their own home worlds, as they are unable to survive more than ten years in any world but their own. The two protagonists make an emotional farewell, promising to come each year to a place in each world that corresponds to one in the other, to be together in this way.
Lyra returns to Jordan College. Having suddenly lost the subconscious grace that enabled her to read the alethiometer by instinct, she decides to study alethiometry at a special school. Hereinafter, she and dmon Pantalaimon (who has taken the permanent form of a pine marten) will follow John Parry's (and Will's) suggestion to build the idealised Republic of Heaven at home. Will, too, returns to his world, accompanied by Mary Malone, who remains his friend and ally. During the return, Mary learns how to see her own daemon, who takes the form of a black Alpine chough.
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