The Golden Compass
The Pathfinder
In The Golden Compass, a 12-year-old girl embarks on an amazing adventure to find a missing friend
Lyra Belacqua is a 12-year-old girl who has been raised by the scholars at Jordan College — which is a lot like a college in England, but it exists in a parallel universe.
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Her world is very much like ours, but there are some significant differences. For example, in Lyra’s world, each person has a daemon, which is like a soul, but it lives on the outside of your body and takes the form of an animal. Lyra’s daemon is called Pantalaimon.
Lyra doesn’t know her parents, and the only family she has is her uncle, Lord Asriel, a very important man who left her in the care of the scholars many years ago.
Life at Jordan College is good. Lyra has a fair bit of freedom and a good friend named Roger. But other children have gone missing, rumour is they were taken by a mysterious group called the Gobblers, which is headed up by the extremely beautiful but evil Mrs. Coulter. No one knows where the children go, what happens to them, or if they will ever return.
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When her friend Roger is snatched by the Gobblers Lyra knows she has to find him. But how can she possibly find — and save — one little boy who could be anywhere in the world?
Well, Lyra’s a very special little girl. She doesn’t even know it yet, but she is the girl mentioned in a great prophecy. In fact, she may be the one person who can save the universe. Aside from her ability to tell great lies (which helps her get out of dangerous situations), Lyra is able to read a supernatural compass-like device called an alethiometer. This “golden compass” guides Lyra in the right direction, telling her where to go and what to do.
Lyra heads north to find her friend Roger and all of the other children who’ve gone missing. What she discovers shakes her to her very core — and worse, she may be the only one who can stop this terrible thing from happening.
The Golden Compass is based on the first book of author Philip Pullman’s trilogy of books, His Dark Materials. So you can expect Lyra’s story to continue on the big screen for the next few years.
The Golden Compass opens December 7