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Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials

LMJenkins

LMJenkins

New Member
Anyone else read these? I recently ran through them and LOVED them. They are billed as young adult, but certainly cerebral and thought-provoking for any age.

<i>edited to add the titles: The Golden Compass, The Subtle KNife and The Amber Spyglass.</i>
 
Yes, they're excellent! :) In the UK, the first book is called "Northern Lights", but the other two titles are unchanged.
 
I'm curious too. Going to a charity book sale this weekend and need some new books/authors to keep an eye out for.
 
O.k its been a while but I'll give it a whirl. What they're about - loosely I guess they are fantasy books.
They start off in an alternate Oxford woohoo (I think Pullman is oxfordshire based, though not sure) with a girl called Lyra and her daemon (kind of a talking familiar) scurrying around town having being left by her parents (dad's gone off to fight god and the angels) she finds a way into an alternate universe, gets knife which can cut into other universe's meets heavily armoured bears that talk, witches and angels along the way.
If I remember rightly it all sort of culminates in a kind of aetheists armageddon, hard too say more without spoiling it. The Series is stuffed full of Milton references and Pullman's views of religion (the author being aetheist to the core - eg. has often expressed dislike of C.S Lewis' Narnia books for being christian allegory)
I'm sure others can give a better account, like I said its been a while since I read them, suffice it too say they are deep fantastic stories that don't feel like childrens literature at all. His Dark Materials got into the BBC's top 21 (why 21?) list and rank right up there in terms of imaginative fiction. Better than Harry P...Though not as much fun perhaps.
 
That's a pretty good description J_D - I would say these novels are difficult to describe, especially without giving away a lot of what happens! I would just add a bit about the daemons - aren't they supposed to be a kind of embodiment of the human soul, which cannot be separated from the person without dire consequences? (Or is it just me that thinks that?!) Anyway, I think it's about time I re-read them, as they are now sufficiently hazy in my memory.
 
I just bought Amber in the Spyglass at the used book library sale - I didn't know it was a trilogy. I suppose they need to be read in order?
 
To Maggie61 YES they do need to be read in order, won't make a lick of sense otherwise. Halo I agree on the Daemons. In fact just saw the BBC's review of it for the Big Read thing and I was appalled to see how much I'd forgotten/missed out etc. Still it leaves more for others to find out for themselves.
 
J_D: what did you think of the way that guy championed His Dark Materials on The Big Read? I thought he was pretty poor to be honest! It was all a bit arty-farty, he didn't even mention daemons until about halfway through, and the way he pronounced Lyra as Lara really irritated me. I think if I hadn't read them already he would have put me right off instead of encouraging me to read them! (See also Meera Syal re Pride and Prejudice). I hope they get someone decent to discuss The Lord of the Rings!! :)
 
Halo, I thought he was alright in the context if a whole programme that left me kind of cold. Perhaps because it was more a blow by blow account (with iffy acted bits) rather than a real discussion which might have been better? Still glad to see Harry Potter is going next week as going last in the voting could be an advantage. Mind you I always forget it is a favourite read not a best one so H.P/LOTR probably should win.
 
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

My aim for the new year was to read the top five favourite books in the UK so, having not heard prevously about 'His Dark Materials', I was intrigued and went out and bought them.

I have just read the first one - Northern Lights.

I thought it was quite entertaining - reminded me a bit of a cross between Harry Potter and LOTR. Was a bit surprised it got into the top five though - although will reserve judgement until finished the other two.

Would be interested in the opinions of those who have read all 3.
 
"Five favorite" seems to be the key phrase here. If you think of the Rolling Stone list recently compiled (some of which was downright embarrassing) you can see how that comes in to play.

Having said that, though, I will add that Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy is a truly outstanding work. Ostensibly a children's story (on which level it functions very well, with loads of mystery, suspense, and memorable characters), the trilogy also touches on some pretty heavy issues (the nature of "Original Sin", scientific responsibility, sexuality, and conservationism just to name a few).
I would not say that they are great books in the same way that say Lord Jim or The Moviegoer are great books (in my own humble opinion), but they are most assuredly well-written, suspenseful, unusual, and thought-provoking.
 
Definitely hold off judgement until you have read all three books. Many reviews I've read claim that the first book is the better of the three, which I totally disagree with. I think the first book is more of an introduction to ground you in this new world Pullman creates, the true story only starts in book two.
 
I was shocked when I first picked this up that an ostensible "children's book" could be so honest - very impressive and gutsy for both writer and publisher. I was also irritated that Pullman ended the first 2 on cliffhangers and then had to wait months and months for the resolution. That's just rude.
 
what is it about HDM that 'ostensibly' makes them childrens books? Is it that any book with children as the protagonist is deemed a childrens book? Because there is some relatively graphic violence, references to sex, plenty of vocabularly that would leave children flummoxed, and several ideas and themes that I don't think your average child could appreciate.

If His Dark Materials is written as a childrens book I think he failed quite badly.
 
It's also sometimes marketed as a fantasy book- when I worked at a bookstore there were 2 different editions in 2 sections. As my reading was largely unsupervised, at age 10 I was a Stephen King junkie and I think this would be much more appropriate than that.

I would say it is a "young adult" book, which would put in in the 10-11 and up reading range. Kids are better at assimilating things than most people realize. But as with many books, it would be best for their parents to read it too and discuss some of it with them.
 
True enough, Ashlea. I usually see Pullman shelved in either the "Young Adult" or "Independent Reader" sections. I also think that HDM has been lumped in the children's literature through a process of "guilt by association".
That is to say, because the main characters are children, and because it is a fantasy, it is automatically associated with other "children's" stories like The Chronicles of Narnia or the Harry Potter series.
What's more, I also suppose that the rampant success of Harry Potter has something to do with it. That is, there is an aspect of "promotion by association" as well.
I also agree that kids are more sophisticated than we might suppose.
 
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