The Golden Compass was my gateway book into fantasy. I remember stalking bookstores and looking for the sequels to come out (a time before Amazon and Goodreads). Set in an alternate London, Lyra is an orphan and warded with one of Oxford’s colleges. Her uncle is the esteemed and frightening Lord Asriel – who has discovered “Dust” – a particle that he suspects will lead to the discovery of an alternate universe. She ends up in the care of Mrs. Coulter, who seems like a mother but in a cold way. When Lyra finds out that her best friend […]