Northern Lights cover art

Northern Lights

His Dark Materials, Book 1

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Northern Lights

By: Philip Pullman
Narrated by: Philip Pullman, Full Cast
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About this listen

The classic recording of Northern Lights, read by Philip Pullman and a full cast of narrators.

'Without this child, we shall all die.'

Lyra Belacqua lives half-wild and carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon, Pantalaimon, always by her side.

But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle - a struggle born of stolen children, witch clans and armoured bears.

As she hurtles towards danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, the biggest battle imaginable.

The full cast of narrators includes: Philip Pullman, Joanna Wyatt, Rupert Degas, Alison Dowling, Douglas Blackwell, Jill Shilling, Stephen Thorne, Sean Barrett, Garrick Hagon, John O'Connor and Susan Sheridan.


Brought to you by Penguin.

©1995 Philip Pullman (P)2021 Penguin Audio Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Witchcraft

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Critic reviews

"Read by Pullman himself and a full cast including Julian Glover and Stephen Thorne, this is glorious listening." (Sunday Express)
Most relevant  
Avoid listening to any of the interview with the author at the end. Thought it was a pretty cool bonus for book ONE, but got served with a big old end of the story spoiler, wish they’d kept the interview for the end of book three! Still enjoyed the story apart from knowing part of what happens.
I love that Philip Pullman narrated this and the full cast were brilliant too, really brought the story to life.

My Favourite of the Trilogy, BUT….

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I’ve been a fan of the Northern Lights Trilogy for some years now, having read them several times over. I’ve also devoured the television series, which although in my opinion is no where near as good as the books was nevertheless enjoyable, and now have listened to the first audiobook in the series. It lives up to expectation, with the combination of a cast for the characters and Philip Pullman himself narrating, it works really well. Throughly enjoyable listen! I’d highly recommend.

Wonderful

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I loved the characters and the story. It can be a little bit confusing, but other than that I really recommend it.

The storyline

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Like the magic of the book and the way it is written good listening for me and my daughter

Brilliant storytelling

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Absolutely incredible! I throughly enjoyed this especially the fact that it is narrated by Philip Pullman

Narrator

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Interesting magic, characters have different voices and personalities, interesting ending that makes you wanna read the next one, holds a good pace, I like to listen at 1.2 speed.

Quite enjoyable

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I enjoyed the book I could not put it down. I am glad I read it before watching it on television. I look forward to the next one.

Northern Lights

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I could listen to Philip Pullman's voice every day, and because this book is long, I did just that for a few days. His reading if the scenes, setting up what's about to happen, never disappoints - he is a master Teller of Tales.

The cast all make a fantastic addition to the story and really bring the action to life, and this really added to my enjoyment of the book.

The only thing I didn't quite like were the musical interludes. They felt to me, a bit out of place, but that is my own preference. The juxtaposition of the lovely storytelling and the electrically conjured bits of notes, was really jarring, and I would fast forward through that bit and settle down to listen to this amazing tale.

Excellent story telling

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Amazing, inspiring how this story grows, evolves. The Lyra story is brim full of tendrils, taking us over. under and inbetwixt!

Fabulous characterisation

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an excellent book, I listened to it with my son. we both really enjoyed it, looking forward to the next book.

Brilliant

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