Books like 'The Golden Compass'
Readers who enjoyed The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy action / adventure high fantasy 20th century mystery supernatural alternate-history contemporary steampunk
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Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 80 ratingsAn alternative cover for this ISBN can be found hereSophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady...Categorized as:
children classics female-mc industrial-era magic paranormal steampunk witches-wizards -
![Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski]()
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 62 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher The Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup and, in the uproar, Geralt was seriously injured. The Witcher is supposed to be a guardian of the innocent, a protector of those in need, a defender against powerful and dangerous monsters that prey on men in dark times...Categorized as:
contemporary epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Wizard and Glass by Stephen King]()
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsRoland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Jake’s pet bumbler survive Blaine the Mono’s final crash, only to find themselves stranded in an alternate version of Topeka, Kansas, one that has been ravaged by the superflu virus. While following the deserted I-70 toward a distant glass palace, they hear the atonal squalling of a thinny, a place where the fabric of existence has almost entirely worn away... -
![The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski]()
The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsThe world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies determined to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down... -
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![Hogfather by Terry Pratchett]()
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 64 ratingsSusan had never hung up a stocking . She'd never put a tooth under her pillow in the serious expectation that a dentally inclined fairy would turn up. It wasn't that her parents didn't believe in such things. They didn't need to believe in them. They know they existed. They just wished they didn't.There are those who believe and those who don't. Through the ages, superstition has had its uses...Categorized as:
classics contemporary epic magic religion season-winter spirituality witches-wizards -
![Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb]()
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsThe legend continues…Regal’s treasonous attempt to usurp the Six Duchies throne from his half-brother Verity has been foiled... -
![Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey]()
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe final chapter in Mercedes Lackey's spellbinding fantasy trilogy! The Herald-Mage, Vanyel, and his Companion, Yfandes, are alone responsible for saving the once-peaceful kingdom of Valdemar from the forces of a master who wields a dark, forbidding magic. And if either Vanyel or Yfandes falters, both Valdemar and its Herald-Mage must pay the ultimate price... -
![The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart]()
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsFifth century Britain is a country of chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal. This is the world of young Merlin, the illegitimate child of a South Wales princess who will not reveal to her son his father's true identity. Yet Merlin is an extraordinary child, aware at the earliest age that he possesses a great natural gift - the Sight...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
![Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart]()
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWhen the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox sought a wiseman to save them. He found master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together, they set out to find the Great Root of Power, the only possible cure...Categorized as:
alternate-history classics epic magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![A Darkness At Sethanon by Raymond E. Feist]()
A Darkness At Sethanon by Raymond E. Feist
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsA Darkness at Sethanon is the stunning climax to Raymond E. Feist's brilliant epic fantasy trilogy, the Riftwar Saga. Here be dragons and sorcery, swordplay, quests, pursuits, intrigues, stratagems, journeys to the darkest realms of the dead and titanic battles between the forces of good and darkest evil...Categorized as:
classics epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones]()
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsHis father and uncles are enchanters, his mother a powerful sorceress, yet nothing seems magical about Christopher Chant except his dreams. Night after night, he climbs through the formless Place Between and visits marvelous lands he calls the Almost Anywheres. Then Christopher discovers that he can bring real, solid things back from his dreams...Categorized as:
alternate-history animals children classics coming-of-age magic paranormal witches-wizards -
![The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski]()
The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher Geralt is a witcher: guardian of the innocent; protector of those in need; a defender, in dark times, against some of the most frightening creatures of myth and legend. His task, now, is to protect Ciri... -
![The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan]()
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 81 ratingsThe Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
![Enchanters' End Game by David Eddings]()
Enchanters' End Game by David Eddings
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 62 ratingsTHE DRIVE OF PROPHECYThe quest was over. The Orb of Aldur was restored. And once again, with the crowning of Garion, there was a descendant of Riva Iron-grip to rule as Overlord of the West.But the Prophecy was unfulfilled. In the east, the evil God Torak was about to awaken and seek dominion. Somehow, Garion had to face the God, to kill or be killed...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
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![Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind]()
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 75 ratingsIn the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence...Categorized as:
classics epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman]()
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 89 ratingsLost in a new world, Lyra finds Will—a boy on the run, a murderer—a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.Each is searching—Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father—but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power... -
![Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings]()
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsA magnificent epic set against a history of seven thousand years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men - of strange lands and events - of fate and a prophecy that must be fulfilled! THE BELGARIADLong ago, so the Storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West... -
![Sorceress of Darshiva by David Eddings]()
Sorceress of Darshiva by David Eddings
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe Endless Quest...Troubles and delays continued to mount as Garion, Belgarath, Polgara, and the company pursued Zandramas across the known world. Possessed by the Dark Destiny, she had stolen Garion's infant son for a ritual that would destroy all that men valued. She was always one step ahead, taunting and spying on them, flying over in the form of a great dragon...Categorized as:
classics epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Farseekers by Isobelle Carmody]()
The Farseekers by Isobelle Carmody
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA Children's Book Council of Australia Honor Book In this powerful sequel to Obernewtyn, young Elspeth Gordie-possessed of extraordinary mental powers-has united with others Misfits for refuge on the remote mountain keep of Obernewtyn. Yet the threat from the totalitarian Council to their safety is ever present... -
![The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope]()
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk—whose customs are even older than the Druids’ and include human sacrifice...Categorized as:
children classics female-mc magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart]()
The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsNow, the spellbinding, final chapter of King Arthur's reign, where Mordred, sired by incest and reared in secrecy, ingratiates himself at court, and sets in motion the Fates and the end of Arthur... -
![King of the Murgos by David Eddings]()
King of the Murgos by David Eddings
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsBeginning of the Quest...The infant son of Garion and Ce'Nedra had been foully kidnapped. Now they began the great quest to rescue the child, with the immortal Belgarath the Sorcerer, his daughter Polgara the Sorceress, and inevitably the little Drasnian, Silk. Guided by the Orb of the God Aldur, their way led through the foul swamps of Nyissa, then into the lands of the Murgos... -
![Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, Tim White]()
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, Tim White
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsAmber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows. Amber burns in Corwin's blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne...Categorized as:
classics contemporary epic magic 20th-century action-adventure alternate-universe audiobook -
![Another Fine Myth by Robert Lynn Asprin]()
Another Fine Myth by Robert Lynn Asprin
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSkeeve was a magician's apprentice--until an assassin struck and his master was killed. Now, with a purple-tongued demon named Aahz as a companion, he's on a quest to get even...Categorized as:
children classics epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
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![Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville]()
Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOne unicorn dwells on Earth.Hundreds fight in Luster.Their legends are recorded inTHE UNICORN CHRONICLESInto the Land of the UnicornsAs each chime sounds, Cara climbs faster up the steep bell tower. Eleven! She must be on the roof when the next bell tolls. Twelve! With a deep breath, and only half believing she will survive, Cara jumps off the church roof and into Luster, land of the unicorns... -
![The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft]()
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) published by Arkham House posthumously in 1943 in the collection Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Begun probably in the autumn of 1926, it was completed on January 22, 1927 and was unpublished in his lifetime... -
![Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart]()
Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsOnce again World Fantasy Award-winner Barry Hughart blends folklore and fantasy to create a work of enchantment set in an ancient China that never was…but should have been. Master Li and Number Ten Ox—heroes of Bridge of Birds and The Story of the Stone—return to solve the mystery of how and why respected mandarins are being mysteriously murdered...Categorized as:
alternate-history epic magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult ancient-china -
![The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones]()
The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTanaqui, and her brothers and sister, are left alone to fend for themselves. But the people in the village turn against them. They must flee their home and begin a terrifying journey to the sea... -
![The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Scott Brick]()
The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Scott Brick
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsAncient Evil threatens the Elves: The ancient tree created by long-lost Elven magic, is dying. When Wil Ohmsford is summoned to guard the Amberle on a perilous quest to gather a new seed for a new tree, he is faced with the Reaper, the most fearsome of all Demons. And Wil is without power to control them....Read by Scott Brick.15 audiocassettes (90 min. each) : analog, Dolby processed... -
![Sword-Dancer by Jennifer Roberson]()
Sword-Dancer by Jennifer Roberson
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsSOUTHRON BLADE SKILL,NORTHERN SWORD MAGIC...He was Tiger, born of the desert winds, raised as a slave and winning his freedom by weaving a special kind of magic with a warrior's skill. Now he was an almost legendary sword-dancer, ready to take on any challenge--if the price was right...or the woman pretty enough.She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters... -
![A Stranger at Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston]()
A Stranger at Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsL. M. Boston's thrilling and chilling tales of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside, have been entertaining readers for half a century. Now the children of Green Knowe--both alive and ghostly--are back in appealing new editions...Categorized as:
animals children classics 20th-century action-adventure anthropomorphism audiobook book -
![The Diamond Throne by David Eddings]()
The Diamond Throne by David Eddings
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAfter a long spell of exile, Sparhawk, Pandion Knight and the Queen's champion returns to native land to find it overrun with evil and intrigue - and his young queen greviously ill. Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year...Categorized as:
epic magic paranormal religion spirituality witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
![Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody]()
Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Obernewtyn Chronicles - Book OneFor Elspeth Gordie freedom is-like so much else after the Great White-a memory. It was a time known as the Age of Chaos. In a final explosive flash everything was destroyed. The few who survived banded together and formed a Council for protection... -
![Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones]()
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsCat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack...Categorized as:
alternate-history children classics coming-of-age magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century -
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![The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum]()
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPrincess Ozma is missing! When Dorothy awakens one morning to discover that the beloved ruler of the Land of Oz has disappeared, all of the Emerald City's most celebrated citizens join in the search for the lost princess.But Ozma isn't all that's gone missing... -
![The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King]()
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsA kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies, murdered by a strange and horrible poison. While the land of Delain mourns, the evil wizard Flagg, hatches an unscrupulous plot, which sees the King's eldest son Peter imprisoned for his father's murder, and the youngest son inherit the throne. Only Peter knows the truth about his own innocence and the evil that is Flagg... -
![Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson]()
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsThe Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins... -
![Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones]()
Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThere are good witches and bad witches, but the law says that all witches must be burned at the stake. So when an anonymous note warns, "Someone in this class is a witch," the students in 6B are nervous -- especially the boy who's just discovered that he can cast spells and the girl who was named after the most famous witch of all...Categorized as:
alternate-history children classics coming-of-age contemporary dystopia magic paranormal -
![A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony]()
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsXanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled - where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks.For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some - and got some fast! - he would be exiled. Forever!But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic... -
![Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold by Terry Brooks]()
Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold by Terry Brooks
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsLandover was a genuine magic kingdom, complete with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement had promised. But after he purchased it for a million dollars, Ben Holiday discovered that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention. Such as the fact that the kingdom was falling into ruin. The barons refused to recognize a king and taxes hadn't been collected for years...Categorized as:
contemporary epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, Neil Gaiman]()
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, Neil Gaiman
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLud-in-the-Mist, the capital city of the small country Dorimare, is a port at the confluence of two rivers, the Dapple and the Dawl. The Dapple has its origin beyond the Debatable Hills to the west of Lud-in-the-Mist, in Fairyland... -
![Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones]()
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsIn which a humble young carpet merchant wins, then loses, the princess of his dreamsFar to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, there lived in the city of Zanzib a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer named Abdullah who loved to spend his time daydreaming. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet... -
![The Gunslinger by Stephen King]()
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 81 ratingsThe Gunslinger is the first volume in the epic Dark Tower Series.A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil... -
![The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley]()
The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
Rated: 3.73 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsMaster storyteller Robin McKinley here spins two new fairy tales and retells two cherished classics. All feature princesses touched with or by magic. There is Linadel, who lives in a kingdom next to Faerieland, where princesses are stolen away on their seventeenth birthdays-and Linadel's seventeenth birthday is tomorrow...Categorized as:
children classics epic magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure -
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