Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials

The first book in the series, The Golden Compass, gives a taste of potentially interesting characters but plods along with little suspense and is entirely predictable. A wonderful change somehow occurs in The Subtle Knife which turns out to be very engaging. The story keeps your attention through most of the third book, The Amber Spyglass, but loses it near the end. All in all, the story is entertaining and will keep you entertained on a long flight but if you're looking for something deep and insightful, this is not the book for you.