His Dark Materials I: Northern Lights; His Dark Materials II: The Subtle Knife

These titles are read dramatically but not too theatrically by the cast, expertly led by Philip Pullman, so that they retain the intimate feel of reading a story. Pullman as the narrator sets a cracking pace, whipping the story along so that it makes a powerful overall impression conjuring up the richly inventive landscapes and characters, rather than dwelling on the detail.

Set in a parallel world familiar but different from our own, Northern Lights is the thrilling, puzzling and mysterious story of 12 year old Lyra's search for her father and for her friend who goes missing. Help comes to Lyra from her daemon, an instrument that helps her to read the future and a witch queen. In The Subtle Knife Will, on the run after accidentally having killed a man, steps through a window into another world where he meets up with Lyra, someone from his own place but at a different time. Will and Lyra join forces as they set out in the strange world of Cittagazze. Together they grapple with the sinister, soul-eating Spectres, forge a friendship with the balloonist Lee Scoresby and work to unravel the secret held in the impenetrable Torre degli Angeli. Two magnificent books excellently read, though fans of The Archers may find Elizabeth Pargetter as Mrs Coulter hard to accommodate.