Alfred A. Knopf

• Amber Spyglass, The by Philip Pullman (2000)

  [5/10]

  "In this final volume of the triolgy, Pullman seems to have lost some control over his story. When you get to the end of The Amber Spyglass, you can sort of see where he was trying to take you, but he certainly didn't take a direct route. The story also becomes less about the characters we have followed for three books and more about the metaphysical events surrounding them."

• Eldest by Christopher Paolini (2005)

  [7/10]

  "Eldest provides much easier reading than Eragon, but you still encounter some passages so clichéd that you groan out loud. Paolini's skill at storytelling encourages you to move quickly past the problems to find out what happens next."

• Eragon by Christopher Paolini (2003)

  [6/10]

  "Paolini's plot has good pacing, interesting highs and lows, and most importantly you like Eragon and care about what happens to him -- in spite of his stupid teenage blundering."

• Golden Compass, The by Philip Pullman (1995)

  [7/10]

  "Pullman has created a moral fantasy that will sit well on the shelf next to C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and may even have similar staying power."

• Tale of the Body Thief, The by Anne Rice (1992)

  [9/10]

  "Rice tells an exciting, suspenseful story built around solid characters who exhibit feelings that are human, even for vampires."

  Average score: 6.80