Northern Lights (His Dark Materials)

The Observer's 100 greatest novels of all time (100 books items)

"Lyra and her dæmon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen."

The Observer's The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time (100 books items)

"Lyra's quest weaves fantasy, horror and the play of ideas into a truly great contemporary children's book."

Books in a Trilogy or Series (71 books items)

"A young adult fantasy this is book one in His Dark Materials trilogy following the character Lyra while she embarks on an adventure. A fantasy with witches, talking polar bears, personal demons and Dust. This was made into the movie The Golden Compass"

Quite pleasant.

“Northern Lights (US title: the golden Compass) is the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy (before The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass).

Set at the turn of the twentieth century in an alternate Europe where everyone is inseparable from their animal daemons, shape-changers that only settle at puberty, this is the story of Lyra Belacqua (and her daemon Pantalaimon), a teenage orphan girl living in Oxford College in charge of her powerful uncle, Lord Asriel.

Being a curious little girl, Lyra hears lots of gossip in the old halls. Some, about Dust, as well as pictures of a mysterious floating city in the aurora, make her dream of travelling North on one of her uncle's expeditions. But soon she also hears rumours of children, mainly from Gyptian families, who ha” read more