The series, His Dark Materials, but Phillip Pullman, consists of the three books, the Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber spyglass. It's a very innovative and immersive story, and I praise Pullman for his amazing insight and philosophical view. In the beginning, an ordinary child named Lyra lives an average life, yet struggling to break free of it. Soon enough, she embarks on a mission to save a lost friend, which quickly becomes a journey through multiple universes, facing unbelievable danger, and unraveling the largest mystery to ever exist. And she herself is the key to it all.
The first book starts off a little shakily. As far as anyone can tell by reading the first novel (or from watching the movie), the story is a clichéd, run-of-the-mill children's book. There's magic, mystical creatures, and a young child saving the day. The first book is more or less a simple introduction to the workings of the world it portrays. Human souls are projected outside the body in the form of animals, there are mysterious, world's can be traveled in between, powerful forces are conspiring, and more. Overall, this gives a very narrow foreshadow to the masterpiece that the later books turn out to be, so don't let it fool you.
Once you begin reading "The Subtle Knife" and on, the plot goes very deep, dark, and amazingly gripping. I'll say one thing before I go on. If you are deeply religious, this story could very well be offensive to you. Not to say that no one who is religious will enjoy this series. If you're open-minded towards the subject, you should have no problem. Why? Because Pullman portrays God and his kingdom of Haven nothing short of evil.
Basically, the plot gets into the fact that people have no free will because of Heaven, that the Church misinterpreted Christianity, and that nothing save for a war against God will resolve things. With the latter two books, the significance of many things in The Golden Compass comes to the surface. The Daemons give an extremely deep look into the souls of the characters. There are an infinite number of parallel universe in existence (many of which have different views on the same religious stories). And the reason why it's a mere child saving the day? Well, that would be giving away the plot.
Pullman really has demonstrated his mastery at his art. He never once goes ahead and states religion as wrong, but rather misunderstood. His reinterpretation on one of the largest religious beliefs to ever exist is actually 100% believable! He also did his research on huge scientific and astrological mysteries and put conclusions to them that make you really trust them. The pages about the inner workings of government and even that of Heaven include betrayal, usurpation, hierarchy, and control, and the thrill will keep you on the edge of your seat, unable to put the book down.
Overall, this is one of the greatest masterpieces that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I couldn't believe that Pullman was able to create this story and make words to fit all of these thoughts that he had, or that he even had these thoughts to begin with. Truly, I'd recommend this series to almost anyone. It may be viewed as blasphemy, but that's really only to the narrow-minded. If the Anglican leader enjoyed it, I believe that virtually anyone could.