A rich, imaginative, vividly characterised rite-of-passage tale (Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times)
No one else writes like Pullman . . . entirely worth the 17-year wait (Imogen Russell Williams, Metro)
High-octane adventure accompanies ingenious plotting (The Times)
An utter joy . . . generous, frightening, thrilling, clever and ingenious (Scotsman)
Fans of His Dark Materials will find themselves joyfully immersed in a familiar world . . . meanwhile, awaiting first-time readers is all the pleasure of commencing their own journey into this most captivating of universes at the very beginning of Lyra's story (Independent)