The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman

This book series was recommended to me by some friends.  If it weren't for that, I'd not have made it past the first chapter or two, because this novel did not start out to my taste: it is full of invented words, set in a Victorian-ish era, and each human has an accompanying familiar, a daemon.

My unease continued for two thirds of the novel at which point I'd gotten accustomed to the jargon and was swept up in the adventure.  This first book of the series introduces the hero, Lyra Belacqua, a young child about to embark upon a quest.

I won't say more so as to not spoil the story.   If you can make it past the barriers the genre naturally puts forth, then the exciting story should take you the rest of the way.


The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials