His Dark Materials Including All Three Novels: Northern Light, the Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass. Introduction: Lucy Hughes-Hallett. Preface by the Author

His Dark Materials ist eine der besten Fantasy Buchtrilogien die ich je gelesen habe. Diese Romane sind tolle Jugendbücher weil sie Fantasy mit Themen wie dem Erwachsenwerden, Erkenntnis und dem Hinterfragen von Religionen gekonnt verbindet. Aber auch für Erwachsene Leser ist die Reihe definitiv zu empfehlen! Diese Geschichte über Panzerbären mit Rüstungen aus gefallenen Sternen, Hexen die den nördlichen Himmel beherrschen und Menschenseelen die in Tiergestalt außerhalb des Körpers leben ist einfach nur magisch. Philip Pullman ist ein sehr begabter Autor der hier etwas von Bedeutung geschrieben hat. - Absolute Leseempfehlung!

I used to think that it is impossible to have an all time favorite book. There are so many stories out there and I will never be able to read them all. But after finishing this book, I can proudly tell that I do have a favorite book ( and I read a lot of books :) ). "His Dark Materials" is a masterpiece, every single word fits so well into the whole story. Reading the book feels like diving into another world and I feel like all these pages contain the story of a whole universe. I needed my time to fall in love with the book, but it was worth it. Sometimes, in very thoughtful moments, I abruptly remember the ending of the book and ask myself what might happened to all the characters. They are still present to me in a strange way. This book is alive and I will never forget it between all the other books that are yet to come. I found myself crying at some passages that were so hurting that I almost refused to go on with the story. I read the book in English which is not my native language, but I wanted to experience it in the exact words it was written. It was hard sometimes and it took me so much time. But I don't regret any second I spent reading it. In fact, every of these seconds mean so much to me. Philip Pullmans story is incredibly inspiring. This is my favorite book and I am so proud of finally saying this :)

There, I've said it. I remember reading the books, liking the first bit of volume one, the second slightly less so and then just skimming over books two and three. Years later and because of the TV series starting I thought I might give it another try. I read the first chapter - and was hooked. Pullman creates a mythical, yet weirdly familiar universe that enchanted me quickly. I love the dæmons, their connection to their humans; the way Pullman makes me hate characters yet utterly feel for them; the fact that he creates armoured bears and gets away with it; and, despite some hickups starting the story, I admire his strong-willed character Lyra for how she just keeps on going no matter how bad the situation might get. I recommend people reading this story, and I recommend those who've tried before and failed liking it as I did to give it another try. Maybe it just took your dæmon a while to settle on a form and now you're ready.

A lovely adult edition of the three novels in the trilogy, in one sturdy book.

The first thing that came to my mind when I finished this series was: I will never read again! The relationships between the characters and the whole characterisation of them were so realistic and so well done. And as much as I loved that - and by the way that love only grew with time – it was just too much for my Disney-Fairytale-filled mind. And I didn’t read a single book for about two months. (So much for my vow.) Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t because the book was bad, quite the contrary. I was thirteen and it destroyed my youthful mind. There I thought I would read a fantasy novel for young adults and what I got, was a much more serious, intense and earnest story than any story before. You could say it was the perfect transition to adult-fantasy. And to the books in general: if you can’t decide which version you want - paperback or hardcover – the hardcover is much sturdier and a little bit smaller, the paperback on the other hand looks better (at least I like the cover much more) and it has a bigger font size, which makes it easier to read.