Book 1 of His Dark Materials
Knopf Books, 1995

 Don’t be put off by the “young adult” classification, or the mediocre film adaptation, The Golden Compass (otherwise entitled “Northern Lights”) has
plenty to offer high fantasy readers of all ages. 

Set in the Edwardian England of a parallel universe, the narrative follows a plucky little girl called Lyra, who, with the company of her daemon familiar Pantalaimon, set off on a journey to rescue her friend from the hands of the “Gobblers”. With the help of witches, gyptians, an armoured bear, an alethiometer (the golden compass which gives the book its name) and her own bravery, Lyra must confront the sinister forces of the Oblation Board, and the enigmatic Mrs Coulter. Along the way she encounters more mysteries, such as the identities of her parents, and learns of a strange entity called “Dust”. 

Lyra is gorgeously envisioned; she is feisty and fearless at times, yet her character often oscillates between being childishly naive and clever beyond her years. It imbues the novel with a fairytale-like quality, as we see the world from her eyes. Her daemon is her constant companion, her soul made flesh, and Pullman’s descriptions of the bond between human and daemon soon made me wish that I had a daemon too.  

Lyra faces difficult and deadly situations, and the themes of the novel are dark and oftentimes disturbing including the mutilation of children (by removing their daemons) and a bear fight which concludes with the victor practically decapitating his enemy. 

Parellels have been drawn between Pullman’s work, and the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, the former being called “Narnia for atheists”. There are religious, cultural and political conflicts underlying the story that give the novel a depth beyond young adult readers. 

The Golden Compass is a book which, if you enjoyed it as a child, is worth a second read in adulthood. If you have not yet enjoyed Pullman’s His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass is a joyous read, full of wonder and escapism, even with its dark undertones.

8 out of 10 fierce little dragons

Book 1 of the Witches of Eilanan 
Published by Arrow Books, 1997

I must admit that I had not read much by Kate Forsyth up until a few years ago when I was lucky enough to attend a Masterclass with her at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. I dutifully picked up Dragonclaw and started reading, and soon wondered why I hadn’t read anything by Kate Forsyth before. 

I found the first ten pages or so a little bit hard going –the beginning of the novel is dense with back story and the characters speak wi’a wee bit o’ th’ Scottish, which took me a few pages to get used to. Epic fantasy readers know that good things come to those who wait, and I was soon glad I soldiered on.

The back story of the novel is well-developed and goes that the evil Banrigh(Queen) has ensorcelled the Righ (King) to gain the throne and has outlawed all magic and magical creatures. Those practicing magic are burned as witches, and throughout the land magical creatures are hunted and killed. 

The storyline centres around a young apprentice witch named Isabeau and her guardian, a powerful old sorceress named Meghan, who live in a hidden valley beneath the mountain of Dragonclaw. When their valley is discovered and burned they flee, and Meghan and Isabeau part ways; Isabeau on a quest with a mysterious artefact, and Meghan on her own quest to overthrow the Banrigh.

There is just so much to love about this novel for us high fantasy lovers. Kate’s world teems with mythical creatures  - from the well-known such as faeries and dragons (I love a book with dragons!) to
more unusual creations such as mesmerds, fairgean and a helpful but rather scary nyx.

Forsyth writes the novel from a number of point of views, but rather than jumping back and forth between characters using short chapters, she instead employs a more tolkien-esque approach, giving each character a long chapter regardless of timeframe. I really enjoyed her style as it gave me plenty of time to settle in with each character and enjoy each individual journey.

Her protagonists are colourful and atypical; along with the young heroine there is also an ancient witch, a blind seer and a half-faery who can change into a tree. Despite having a predominantly female lead, you won’t find any damsels in distress waiting to be rescued here; Forsyth’s women are resourceful, tough, clever and powerful but still have faults and weaknesses. Forsyth also isn’t afraid to make her characters suffer as they face increasingly difficult obstacles.

The world Forsyth creates is compelling, beautiful and terrifying in turns, with plenty of plot lines, a familiar elemental magic system, and well-developed, unusual characters.

I give this book 8 out of 10 sparkling dragons.