--- description: Find out why The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is on TIME's list of the best fantasy books of all time title: 'The Golden Compass' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e4c8866a138c366/698a132222fb85c454e2b834/The-Golden-Compass-Philip-Pullman-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 14, 2020 # The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Lyra Belacqua is a clever, rambunctious orphan growing up in a world a few shades more magical than our own when she is thrust into a mysterious adventure. After the kidnapping of her friend, Lyra unwittingly finds herself at the center of a power struggle involving a nefarious church, fearless scientists and a talking, armored polar bear. Philip Pullman’s fantasy classic—the first in the [_His Dark Materials_](https://time.com/5383334/best-books-like-harry-potter/ "undefined") trilogy—kicks off an epic that wrestles with the fate of the universe, the definition of consciousness and the loss of innocence. Its unique forms of magic—”daemon” animals, or souls, that live outside the body; an “alethiometer” that divines the truth; immortal witches who swoop through the skies—only heighten the surreal beauty of the story. Pullman’s book was turned into a 2007 movie starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and an HBO series starring Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2019\. But the books themselves best reflect Pullman’s compassionate curiosity, in which questions are encouraged, corrupt institutions are held accountable and differences are respected and embraced. —_Raisa Bruner_ **Buy Now:** _The Golden Compass_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/books/the-golden-compass-his-dark-materials/9780679879244 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3dmW87L "undefined") The Golden Compass: 100 Best Fantasy Books ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898470/the-golden-compass/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898470/the-golden-compass/"},"headline":"'The Golden Compass' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books","datePublished":"2020-10-14T19:19:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:42:38.018Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898470/the-golden-compass/","keywords":["Books","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e4c8866a138c366/698a132222fb85c454e2b834/The-Golden-Compass-Philip-Pullman-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e4c8866a138c366/698a132222fb85c454e2b834/The-Golden-Compass-Philip-Pullman-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898470/the-golden-compass/","name":"'The Golden Compass' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books"}}]}] ```