Thanks for the recommendations. I read Dune a long time ago, and remember liking it alright – but being a bit disappointed that with the long tradition of powerful women (the Bene Gesserit, if I remember correctly), the savior dude was still, well, a dude.

His Dark Materials my parents once gave me a volume of, but… not the first one. Might be a nice one to download someday. It seemed more kid-oriented, is that true?

The last one I’ve never heard of. Going my Goodreads, it seems a bit Narnia-ish? I’ll give it a try – they seem thinner than most, which is a plus

Thanks again!

These aren’t necessarily within the parameters of your criteria but I can’t resist a chance to talk them up.

Dune – Frank Herbert

His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper

The Once and Future King – T.H. White (the medievalist in me can’t leave it out – for a more grown-up version, you could try Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon – it wasn’t my cup of tea, but it’s well-known among Arthurists)

Dune – Frank Herbert

His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper