Há um site de fãs chamado Bridge to the Stars , que destaca duas passagens que são significativamente diferentes em The Amber Spyglass :
Are there any differences between different editions of the books?
Some later editions of the trilogy, such as the Lantern Slides editions and the Tenth Anniversary editions, include special extras created by Philip Pullman – where we can, we’ve uploaded these in our Extras galleries.
There are also some differences between the UK and US editions of the books. The most significant change is perhaps the omission/amendment of a couple of passages in the US edition of the books. We’ve detailed these below.
The Amber Spyglass: Chapter 33, Marzipan – UK EDITION
As Mary said that, Lyra felt something strange happen to her body. She felt a stirring at the roots of her hair: she found herself breathing faster. She had never been on a roller-coaster, or anything like one, but if she had, she would have recognized the sensations in her breast: they were exciting and frightening at the same time, and she had not the slightest idea why. The sensation continued, and deepened, and changed, as more parts of her body found themselves affected too. She felt as if she had been handed the key to a great house she hadn't known was there, a house that was somehow inside her, and as she turned the key, deep in the darkness of the building she felt other doors opening too, and lights coming on. She sat trembling, hugging her knees, hardly daring to breathe...
O Amber Spyglass : Capítulo 33, Marzipan - US EDITION
As Mary said that, Lyra felt something strange happen to her body. She felt as if she had been handed the key to a great house she hadn’t known was there. A house that was somehow inside her, and as she turned the key, she felt other doors opening deep in the darkness, and lights coming on. She sat trembling as Mary went on...
O Amber Spyglass : Capítulo 35, Over The Hills e Longe - UK EDITION
...Father Gomez found himself praising God for his mission, because it was clearer than ever that the boy and the girl were walking into mortal sin.
And there it was: the dark-blonde movement that was the girl's hair. He moved a little closer, and took out the rifle. There was a telescopic sight: low-powered, but beautifully made, so that looking through it was to feel your vision clarified as well as enlarged. Yes, there she was, and she paused and looked back so that he saw the expression on her face, and he could not understand how anyone so steeped in evil could look so radiant with hope and happiness.
His bewilderment at that made him hesitate, and then the moment was gone, and both children had walked in among the trees and out of sight. Well, they wouldn't go far. He followed them down the stream, moving at a crouch, holding the rifle in one hand, balancing with the other.
He was so close to success...
O Amber Spyglass : Capítulo 35, Over The Hills e Longe - EDIÇÃO EUA
...Father Gomez found himself praising God for his mission, because it was clearer than ever that the boy and the girl were walking into mortal sin.
He watched them go in among the trees. They hadn't looked back once since coming over the top of the ridge, but he still kept low, moving down the stream at a crouch, holding the rifle in one hand, balancing with the other.
He was so close to success...
A razão para essas mudanças não é clara, mas acredita-se que a primeira seja devido à passagem ser interpretada como de natureza sexual.
Existe um tópico no fórum no site onde os fãs discutem o diferenças entre as edições do Reino Unido e dos EUA.
Está claro que há alterações em todos os três livros, mas ninguém identificou algo tão notável quanto o acima. As outras diferenças parecem bem menores: mudanças no vocabulário (por exemplo, “treinadores” versus “tênis”).
Nota: evidência anedótica desse tópico do fórum é que a América do Norte obteve as mesmas edições - embora o texto acima distingue o Reino Unido / EUA, essas mudanças também estavam presentes nas edições canadenses.