The first novel in the
His Dark Materials trilogy, this novel was published in the US as
The Golden Compass in 1995 and followed by
The Subtle Knife in 1997 and
The Amber Spyglass in 2000.
Although sold as children's books, these are certainly aimed at children old enough to resent being called '
child'. This is for the
Harry Potter fan's older sibling. And the fantasy elements are so far removed from the genre favourites of
cloaks,
swords and
dragons, that no adult would need blush at reading this in public.