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Northern Lights: His Dark Materials Trilogy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Philip Pullman, full cast
- Series: His Dark Materials, Book 1
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Categories: Children's Audiobooks, Literature & Fiction
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Summary
Captivating, fast-paced and brought to life in glorious detail, the world contained within this audiobook is one that, despite its fantastical nature, feels almost too real to be a work of fiction.
This is the first book in the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials, from Philip Pullman.
Set in a parallel world very similar to our own, Northern Lights tells the compelling story of 12-year-old Lyra's quest to rescue her friend and find her father, aided by her daemon, an armoured bear, and a witch-queen. This prize-winning tale is narrated with vigour and dynamism by the author and a full cast. Written and read by Philip Pullman.
What listeners say about Northern Lights: His Dark Materials Trilogy, Book 1
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nia
- 19-11-18
Good but didn't like the narration
I love this series, but the way the narration is done I just couldn't get into it
25 people found this helpful
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- Rachel
- 04-11-18
My favourite books - done terribly
Listening to a good audiobook is amazing, and the voice actors make it come to life. Unfortunately this just sounds like it is being read from a script, or like listening to my annoying English GCSE teacher putting on an accent in class. It is flat and irritating. Such a shame - get some good actors next time, and keep Philip Pullman Narrating.
23 people found this helpful
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- Becca
- 07-08-18
Not impressed
I would have preferred this if it had just been read by Pullman. The dramatisation was just plain annoying and Lyras voice so pathetic and fake girly - I hated it.
18 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-02-18
Wonderful book ruined by voice acting
Wish whole book had been read by Phillip Pullman, as the description suggests. The full cast voice acting is heavy-handed and hammy, and Lyra, to my great disappointment, is teeth-grindingly annoying. Also the editing between narrator and actors is rushed and unnatural. Please get Michael Sheen in, who has done such a wonderful job with the prequel Book of Dust. He is able to both narrate, and voice any character convincingly, from a teenage scullery maid to Lord Asriel, and bring Pullman's world to life. Sticking to print for His Dark Materials.
81 people found this helpful
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- Clair
- 16-10-07
BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT BRILLIANT
This is a fantastic dramatization of the book. I heard this on tape and wanted to buy the cds from audible, they didn't have it at that time so I bought the other version - a big mistake! This version is superior in every way. The author Philip Pullman is a brilliant narrator and the characters are great too especially Lyra. I cannot recommend this highly enough. For adult and older children, you will not want it to end! Can we have the next 2 cds soon!! I can,t wait.
125 people found this helpful
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- Samuel W.
- 23-03-10
Excellent Listen
I really enjoyed Northern Lights and the other two his Dark Materials books. It is rare for an audio book to be read by different voice actors. Phillip Pullman isn?t bad at all as the main reader and the other voice actors are good. I have heard the radio series of all three books and think that the unabridged versions are miles better. I felt that Terrance Stamp, who played Lord Asriel in the radio series, had more of the ferocity that you would expect from him. However, I felt Sean Barrett sounded more bear like when he played Iorek Byrnison than Steve Hodson. The consepts in the book are very interesting, such as the human sole as an animal and the idea of dust being the name for original sin. Even though it is seen as a book for children, I believe it can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Overall, a highly recommended book.
22 people found this helpful
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- Gordon
- 03-12-07
One of my favourite books ever!
I read the book, listened to the dramatised version and then the unabridged version here on Audible. This helped while away the commute very nicely thanks. Pullman?s narration is perfect and his creation in this trilogy is incredible. His invention of the Alethiometer is fascinating, the out-of-kilter world that Lyra lives in and the rest of the cast of characters and their daemons are superb. Once I have listened to these I don?t know what I am going to do as I will miss them so much!
28 people found this helpful
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- Robert West
- 11-09-17
Gripping story but mediocre dramatisation
I love this series and Pullman is a good narrator but I found the dramatisation jarring and detrimental to the experience. I much prefer a narrator who can effectively play all the parts.
18 people found this helpful
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- Paula
- 22-10-07
One for your Collection!!
This is fantastic! Pullman is excellent as the narrator and the characters bring the whole story to life. You feel as if you are on the sidelines watching as the story unfolds.
This is definately one to listen to and lose yourself in. Great for adults and older children.
44 people found this helpful
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- Pamela
- 01-05-08
Fantastic Entertainment
This is one of the most entertaining audiobooks I have ever listened to. I say one of the most because the two sequels in this trilogy The Subtle Knife (Unabridged) and The Amber Spyglass (Unabridged) are the other most entertaining audiobooks. Northern Lights is a fantastic tale which has undoubtedly been perfected by having the story narrated by the author and a full cast to play the characters. Philip Pullman has a soothing voice which makes listening to him speak a pleasure. The cast are also excellent at bringing this recording to life which makes you feel like you are right in the middle of the action which I?m afraid you will never experience while reading the book. This recording is definitely five stars and this is a story that I will return again and again and I will never get bored of listening to it. If you want to experience a magical audiobook then you must definitely listen to this one.
42 people found this helpful
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- Luna
- 02-06-19
Better than the movie
I started reading this because I wanted to know what happened after the movie, The Golden Compass, since none of the sequels were filmed. I thought it would be more of a children's book and was pleasantly surprised that it can be enjoyed by all ages, not just children. In fact, the sequels are even too dark for young children I would say. I never expected that I would be as hooked as I was. The movie definitely didn't do it justice. The series is much deeper than a simple fairytale. Questions of right and wrong, religion vs. beliefs and how the universe is made are raised, urging us to ask ourselves why we believe what we believe and to think for ourselves, not to necessarily reject religion, but rather to not let others dictate our worldview and instead take responsibilty and go deeper. That is what an adult might get out of it, while a child would probably enjoy the fantasy without necessarily grasping the philosophical aspect of it. I would recommend it for ages 12/13 and up.
7 people found this helpful
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- Vinutha
- 20-12-17
Simply amazing and addictive.
The story itself will make you cling towards it until it's end. The narrative (audio book) makes it even more interesting.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mitchell
- 29-07-18
Golden comps
I love lira and pan we even named our dog pan after him this trilogy is wonderful
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 13-12-18
Philip Pullman leest eigen werk voor!
Ik moest wennen aan de snelheid van de opname. Ik vond het heel leuk dat alle stemmen voor acteurs zijn ingesproken maar nog leuker dat Philip Pullman zijn eigen prachtige werk voorleest.
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- Jessica
- 06-07-18
Great Reading of a Much Loved Book
I first read The Northern Lights as an eleven year old, and it continues to be one of those stories that stays with me. I had a tradition of re-reading it every year or so right up until I was 18, and found that every time I did, I got something more out of it. So much of it had gone over my head when I was younger, but that was part of the draw. Reading these books where like spying on the adults in the other room. I was thrilled to listen to it once again. The reading is wonderful. The full cast is a treat. What a lovely way to revisit a much loved story from my childhood. Give it a listen.
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- Amazon Customer
- 14-08-17
Great reading of a great book
When you listen to an audio book of your favourite childhood work there is a very reasonable fear that the performance will not meet your expectations. That is not the case here at all. Pullman and cast did a fantastic job of bringing this piece to life
1 person found this helpful
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- James
- 07-01-15
Great listen, great cast
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman is a great listen with a great cast and one the best stories ever written. I absolutely loved it. I wish it was possible for more stories to be read this way, it just makes the story so much better. His Dark Materials is probably one of the greatest stories out there that is available to young readers, and audible has provided a fun way to listen to the story at bedtime.
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- NATALIE LANGLEY
- 13-02-15
Exceptional
Fantastic book worked well in the audible format. Good acting and lovely narration from Pullman. Thoroughly enjoyed it and was better than anticipated.
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- Frank
- 23-01-18
rubbish
the narration is "full cast". the story is so wishy-washy it gets. there is nothing in the main character that is appealing
1 person found this helpful