Cover of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

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Books Like “The Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman

If you fell in love with The Golden Compass for its breathtaking parallel worlds, fierce young heroine, and deep philosophical intrigue, you are not alone. Philip Pullman created an unforgettable masterpiece of high-stakes fantasy that leaves readers craving more. Explore our curated list of captivating stories to find your next great adventure.

  1. Cover of Sabriel by Garth Nix

    Cover not available

    Sabriel

    by Garth Nix

    Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the globally bestselling Old Kingdom series with a special edition of Sabriel, featuring exclusive content from master of fantasy Garth Nix and original cover artwork by Leo and Diane Dillon.

    Enter the Old Kingdom, a world of dark secrets and dangerous magic.

    As a child, Sabriel was sent across the Wall to Ancelstierre to safety. Now eighteen years old, she receives a cryptic and desperate message from her father, the Abhorsen--the magical protector whose task it is to bind and send back to Death those who won't stay Dead.

    Fiercely determined to help her father, who is perilously trapped in Death, and save him from the sinister Free Magic entity that has somehow ensnared him, Sabriel must prepare to enter Death herself--and find her destiny.

    To preserve life, the Abhorsen must enter death.

    Exclusive content, including an original short story featuring Sabriel, an essay from Garth Nix about his writing process, and photographs of the author's handwritten manuscript, complete this special edition.

    "There is no joy like returning to the Old Kingdom. Nix sets the standard for fantasy." --Leigh Bardugo

    "One of the greatest living fantasy writers. I will never get enough of the Old Kingdom." --Sarah J. Maas

    "Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism created with invention, clarity and intelligence." --Philip Pullman

    Why it's similar

    Both books feature an intrepid young woman leaving the safety of boarding school for a perilous, frozen frontier on a quest to save a father figure. Each protagonist is accompanied by an enigmatic animal companion while navigating dangerous metaphysical forces.

    What's different

    Sabriel is a sword-and-sorcery fantasy centered on necromancy and Charter magic, lacking Pullman's alternate-history steampunk elements and explicit critique of organized religion.

  2. Cover of The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

    Cover not available

    The Lie Tree

    by Frances Hardinge

    A teenage girl unravels lies and magic to solve her father's murder in The Lie Tree, an unforgettable and thought-provoking YA historical fantasy from award-winning novelist Frances Hardinge.

    Named A Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far) by Kirkus * Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction

    Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is modest and well mannered--a proper young lady who knows her place.

    But inside, Faith is burning with questions and curiosity. She keeps sharp watch of her surroundings and, therefore, knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing--like the real reason her family fled Kent to the close-knit island of Vane. And that her father's death was no accident.

    In pursuit of revenge and justice for the father she idolizes, Faith hunts through his possessions, where she discovers a strange tree. A tree that bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth.

    The tree might hold the key to her father's murder. Or, it might lure the murderer directly to Faith herself, for lies--like fires, wild and crackling--quickly take on a life of their own.

    Why it's similar

    Like The Golden Compass, it centers on a fierce, clever young heroine navigating a Victorian-era world of scientific and theological tension to investigate a family conspiracy. Both stories examine the suppression of inquiry by dogmatic institutions and feature brave girls defying strict social codes.

    What's different

    The Lie Tree is a self-contained historical mystery with gothic magical realism, whereas Pullman's novel is a multi-realm epic fantasy adventure.

  3. Cover of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

    Cover not available

    Mortal Engines

    by Philip Reeve

    London is hunting

    The great Traction City lumbers after a small town, eager to strip its prey of all assets and move on. Resources on the Great Hunting Ground that once was Europe are so limited that mobile cities must consume one another to survive, a practice known as Municipal Darwinism.

    Tom, an apprentice in the Guild of Historians, saves his hero, Head Historian Thaddeus Valentine, from a murder attempt by the mysterious Hester Shaw -- only to find himself thrown from the city and stranded with Hester in the Out Country. As they struggle to follow the tracks of the city, the sinister plans of London's leaders begin to unfold ...

    Why it's similar

    Both stories showcase a richly built, quasi-Victorian alternate world complete with airships, Arctic settings, and young protagonists uncovering monstrous institutional experiments conducted on children. Each combines an adventurous journey with a dark, high-stakes moral core.

    What's different

    Mortal Engines focuses on post-apocalyptic mechanized warfare and cinematic kinetic action, whereas Pullman's work emphasizes theological philosophy, consciousness, and coming-of-age allegories.

  4. Cover of A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

    Cover not available

    A Darker Shade of Magic

    by V.E. Schwab

    A Darker Shade of Magic, from #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab

    Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

    Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

    Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

    After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

    Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

    "A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...This is a book to treasure."—Deborah Harkeness, New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls trilogy

    Shades of Magic series
    1. A Darker Shade of Magic
    2. A Gathering of Shadows
    3. A Conjuring of Light

    Why it's similar

    Both stories revolve around the existence of multiple parallel Londons and follow a daring, street-smart young heroine who navigates interdimensional dangers. Each explores the corrupting influence of forbidden artifacts and powerful cosmic forces across worlds.

    What's different

    Schwab's novel is paced for an older fantasy audience with an emphasis on kinetic elemental spellcasting rather than Pullman's thematic deconstruction of religious dogma and innocence.

  5. Cover of The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

    Cover not available

    The Amulet of Samarkand

    by Jonathan Stroud

    Nathaniel is a magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hot-shot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of his elders, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge on his mind, he summons the powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace's greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.

    Why it's similar

    Both are intelligent young-adult fantasies set in richly developed societies where magic or supernatural forces are tied to political power. Their protagonists become entangled in conspiracies involving authoritarian elites and morally ambiguous allies.

    What's different

    It uses a sharper comic voice and alternating perspectives, including a sarcastic demon, while its magical alternate London is more urban and politically satirical than Pullman's expansive wilderness-centered world.

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