I first read Northern Light as a child and remember enjoying it. For some reason though, I never picked up the following two books despite owning them, and with the advent of the BBC drama I wanted to immerse myself back in the world of His Dark Materials before watching the TV show.

Northern Light was everything I remember and more, it dragged me away from the woes of real life to Lyra's adventures on the rooftops of Oxford, her trekking through the cold terrain of the North and her battles against the sinister adults of the world. It has such rich and fascinating characters with armoured bears that talk, witches that barely age, men that fly hot-air balloons, gyptians that sail the canals of England, and many a bad guy. Philip Pullman crafts a very multi-dimensional world in all aspects and it's one of the reasons that it's so easy to get lost in the world he creates. The characters all have fantastic individuality, and the world is so interesting!

The main aspect that makes this world so different to our own is that all humans have a daemon; a talking animal of the opposite gender to them, that eventually settles on one form at adulthood. The book focuses on this relationship between human and their daemon, as the adults in the story investigate the 'science' and 'mystery' behind it. It's such a fascinating and fun concept and I love how Pullman has developed a very simple concept into such an enriching world.

My favourite character has to be the armoured bear Iorek Byrnison the armoured bear. He's very smart, very observant but also he seems a little frosty and I love how he warms to Lyra and their relationship develops over the book. I also really liked Lyra, and I think especially for younger readers it's really good to see a female heroine in a more 'classic children's book' who is brave, determined and very smart. My third favourite character would be the witch Serafina Pekkala, as she just seems so wise and I love the mystery surrounding her and the witches in this book. I hope we get more from both Iorek and Serafina in the next two books, although I fear I may be disappointed.

Overall, an enjoyable read and I'm excited to pick up the next book!