The first of Philip Pullman's excellent His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, The Golden Compass is loads of fun. The story centers on young Lyra Silvertongue as she becomes enmeshed in a war between her father, the brooding Lord Asriel, and the sinister legions of the churchly Authority. Filled with warrior bears, animate souls in the form of personal daemons, and clans of Arctic witches who understand too well the brevity of life and love, Pullman's parallel universe is uniquely magical.