58. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman (100 book challenge)

Fifty-eight books in and this 100 Book Challenge continues to surprise me!

I have never enjoyed fantasy. Part of me has never been able to take dragons and fairies and magic powers seriously. My son (who is very much like me) felt the same way, leaning towards non-fiction books or realistic novels with complex characters and plot twists.

Then, out of nowhere, my son was recommended the Kingdoms and Empires series, and he devoured all 5 books in about a week. Suddenly he was a fantasy convert. He set me to work reserving from the library every fantasy book written in the past 30 years. As books arrived and stacked up on his bookshelf, I recognised the title His Dark Materials and realised that this was part of my 100 Book Challenge.

Full disclosure: His Dark Materials is a trilogy, so I will eventually complete all three books, but for now I read Book 1 Northern Lights… and loved it! It captivated me. I adored the little daemons that each human has attached to them, and the inclusion of witches and armoured bears and all other magical things. I appreciated that the settings were real places in England and Scandinavia, grounding it in fact, but populated by fantastical beings. I read the book so quickly I was disappointed when it ended.

And rather than dreading the two remaining books in the trilogy, I’m going to save them for a time when I need something fun to read.

*************

In July 2014 I set myself the challenge to finish 100 must-read books before I die. For my ongoing tally click here.

Follow @jessieansons