This is the first novel in Pullman"s epic His Dark Materials trilogy. When Lyra is given the strange and secret alethiometer, she begins an extraodinary journey that will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight. The destiny that awaits her will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world.
The Golden Compass forms the first part of a story in three volumes. The first volume is set in a universe like ours, but different in many ways. The second volume is set partly in the universe we know. The third volume will move between the universes.