Always a great read, for young minds as well as adults, this is the first book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Taking us to a parallel world, so this starts off in an Oxford not unlike our own, where we meet our heroine, Lyra Belacqua. As we can clearly see there are similarities, as well as dissimilarities between Lyra’s world and our own.
In this other world then people usually have what are called dæmons, which are sort of familiars or spirits. Lyra, with her dæmon Pantalaimon are in an Oxford college where they have a fair amount of free rein, but after spying on a meeting, so Lyra’s life is about to change. As we follow her so she will find out the truth about who her parents really are, and that she has a destiny which she is not to be told about. Taking in many elements and ideas so there are a number of influences taken in here, the most prominent of course being Milton’s brilliant epic poem Paradise Lost (which is always well worth reading).
Of course, younger readers will not pick up on all the subtleties that as adults we can see, such as the critique of religion, the use of maths and physics, along with the attack on vivisection and human experimentation, as well as the ideas brought forward by the Enlightenment philosophers. With lots of adventure and action this thus makes for a relatively fast paced read for any age, but along with this it makes us think and analyse certain issues. And of course, who cannot enjoy a book which has talking armoured polar bears?
This is such a satisfying read on so many levels and you are soon caught up in Lyra’s story, as you also ponder on what free will is, and whether it does really exist, as well as friendship and what loyalty means. Holding up a mirror to our own world, so we can clearly see what has caused a number of problems throughout the ages, and hopefully some will be able to solve some of the problems that are facing modern society. If you have never read this book or the others in the trilogy then you have missed out on a delight, and something that can keep a whole family engaged.
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![Northern Lights: His Dark Materials 1: now a major BBC TV series by [Philip Pullman]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51aLp+goDML._SY346_.jpg)
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