His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials has found a new audience in recent years owing to a reasonably fine BBC television miniseries, but the best way to enjoy these novels is to read them. There is just no comparison. These are officially young adult novels – but young adults are so blindingly superb that adult readers were more than prepared to give it a chance. They are Pullman's masterwork in a literary career full of outstanding work.

The series follows Lyra and Will around a number of parallel universes, chased by the all-powerful Magisterium — an obvious imitation of the Catholic Church – in a world not dissimilar to our own. Pullman's depiction of religion in His Dark Materials has been criticized, but the novels are an excellent examination of philosophy, theology, and physics, as well as organized faith, and have so much more to say than the usual fantasy story that it is well worth listening.

Link to read: https://www.goodreads.com/series/44427