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I don't guess you could call this the "Gold Standard" of classic fantasy literature, that probably goes to Harry Potter, but His Dark Materials soars in that same stratosphere. It is so brilliantly conceived, so intricately constructed, and so well written that it leaves one in awe of Pulliam's achievement.

This trilogy is composed of three separately published volumes, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in North America) (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). A sequel, or companion book, titled The Book of Dust is due to be published in 2017.

The trilogy is categorized as for children and teens, but it is as much for adults as it's themes and views take on an anti-religious, anti-church point of view. Many Christians denounced the book as "atheism for kids". However, Pulliam says it is more about the dangers of strict, rigid religious doctrine and institutions than it is anti God or anti Faith. Pulliam refers to himself as agnostic atheist.

Pulliam's primary influences for the book were the works of William Blake and John Milton's Paradise Lost. It's actually a flipped over retelling of Paradise Lost.

I loved this book. I gave it 5 stars and put it on my favorites shelf. Wonderful characters like Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon, Will Parry, Lee Scoresby, and the great armored polar bear, Iorek Byrnison, and many more. The 2007 BBC Big Read put it at #3, behind only The Lords of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice.