One of the best trilogies I've read in a long time

books:


	• His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) Philip Pullman Laurel Leaf, 2003 average customer review:based on 1058 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

dark materials

Philip Pullman's books are great - fantastic adventure and wonderful narrative. I have read them before but am reading them again having seen the Golden Compass movie recently. The movie was great but the books are so much richer - but that always seems to be the case. Looking forward to the second movie now.

Metaphoric "Paradise Lost"

For people wishing an alternative - for whatever reason - to the insanely popular "Harry Potter" fantasies (to which Philip Pullman's trilogy has been compared), Pullman's tale offers a bracing change. Here's why: even though it has very obvious fantasy elements such as magic and witches and talking bears, it doesn't fit the traditional mold of a fantasy because it draws upon scientific knowledge and theory, which pushes it into SF. However, like other good fantasy, Pullman's tale is also strongly interwoven in myth. Milton's "Paradise Lost" forms the basis of Pullman's overarching theme, woven by a rich fabric of setting and characters, each journeying toward their own sense of purpose and final destiny on this world. This is a book of great scope, unfolding, aptly, through the eyes of a child.

Wrongly (I think) categorized by many as just a YA (young adult) fantasy, this SF-fantasy slipstream should appeal to readers of all ages. It is, after all, a multi-layered tale of universal scope. Pullman, himself, de-emphasizes the fantasy elements of his tale, calling it "stark realism" because these elements (such as daemons) are used to embody phycological truths about human personality. Say's Pullman, "I am trying to write a book about what it means to be human." The coming-of-age of an intrepid girl and boy serves as an elegant metaphor to explore the story of everyman's journey toward enlightenment and whose every step comes with it a price. It brings to mind a quote by Victor Frankl: "What is to give light must endure burning."

Jordon College in Oxford is not an ordinary place for a girl; but then Lyra Belacqua is no ordinary girl, she can hear the hushed messages of truth uttered to her by the strange particles that animate her golden compass. Abandoned to the care of old scholars who know nothing about children, the little scamp runs wild through the streets of the university town, seeking adventure and not quite recognizing her yearning for "home" and love. She finds it - or it finds her - in the most unlikely place when she blunders into a vortex of danger, love, betrayal and intrigue. And it all begins with dust. Again, not just ordinary dust, but "magical" dust. Dust that provides a gateway to thousands of other worlds. . . .

As our intrepid heroine journeys through a rich tapestry of worlds, she meets and recruits the services of an amazing variety of strange creatures in her quest to uncover more of the mystery of dust and the shattering truth of its role in her own destiny. Lyra journeys first to the far reaches of the north, where strange experiments are being conducted and where she meets the formidable armored bears. As she continues on to a mysterious tropical land, Lyra meets Wil, a young boy looking for his lost father, and together they flee the soul-eating Spectors who stalk the streets. Neither is aware that their destinies lie on a collision course with the otherworldly struggle of good and evil and that their innocence will only be one of the casualties.

Pullman spins imaginative and metaphorical worlds both familiar yet unfamiliar - giving us a strange but titillating sense of déjà vu. This is surely what phasing into another universe may well feel like. Pullman pulls off (pardon the pun) what few fantasy writers are capable of doing: he marries arcane SF with the lyrical elements of fantasy - the epic adventure of good vs. evil. He does this by using scientific facts and logical premises and weaves his heroic tale around them. For instance, the idea of parallel universes is not only old but very much in vogue with physicists these days. Check out the May 2003 issue of Scientific American for a good summary on this topic. While Pullman borrows His Dark Materials title from Milton, he also takes the concept of dark matter from real science. Dark matter is some form of matter theorized to exist that cannot be observed by radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, x-ray or gamma-ray telescopes and is theorized to be MACHOS, WIMPS, or GAS (see http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/dark_matter3.html for more info on this incredible particle).

I suppose I was spell-bound by Pullman's imaginative worlds, his sensuous descriptions and his creatively bold use of scientific concepts but it was his complex and passionate characters who captured and still live in my heart. His main character, Lyra, has learned to spin the tallest tales to get by yet she possesses the most sincere and brave heart, and her interactions with her daemen (an alter-ego, part of her soul embodied in an animal bonded with her) are touching and humorous. It is her paradoxical combination of traits that makes her both charming and sweet: she is brave yet vulnerable; enveigling yet genuine; innocent yet crafty; naïve yet wise. She personifies the child in all of us, the child who must grow up and lose something to gain something else. So we laugh with her and we cry for her.

The ending of the third book, which is bitter-sweet but provides excellent closure, leaves the reader - as all good fiction should - fulfilled yet drained, and wondering about both our own personal destinies and how we fit in with the larger questions of our universe. This is a must read for those seeking compelling adventure that does not compromise intelligence for action, character and setting for pace, heart for thrill, depth for speed; and imagination for story.

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Great Books. Very Pleased.

I am very pleased with my order. The books were in excellent condition and were swiftly delivered.

Thanks!

One of the best trilogies I've read in a long time

After reading the end of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit a couple times, and all of the Chronicles of Narnia, I really needed a book that would let me escape from the only reading I had been doing which were scholarly articles on Political Science and the Environment for school. I heard about the Golden Compass due tot he movie, but had not yet seen it. So since I had a gift certificate, I figured I'd pick it up on the hope it wasn't going to be a dog.

I have to say I am a slow reader, but this book enchanted me so much I finished it in less than a week (probably would have been a day if I had the time). So I then went and got the other two books, both of which I loved and lost myself in. I do wish there was more, since the ending was, to me, sad (but it's a matter of opinion). However, I think the book puts some good thoughts on what life should be about (in a non-preachy way). I felt as though I could somehow connect with the characters and even though they were in different worlds, still understand what they were feeling. I will admit it gets a tad confusing in the third book with so many worlds being talked about, but it's so enticing I don't think it's hard to follow at all.

If you want a book to take you away into another world(s), that is full of adventure, wonderful characters, action, enchantment, and more- I'd recommend this book highly! I will always have a love for the characters Will and Lyra and it will probably stay as one of my #1 favorite trilogies for a long time.

I also can't wait until his new book "The Book of Dust" comes out!

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Great Series

These books were extremely captivating. Amazingly written. I intend to read every book that Philip Pullman has written!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Now, for the first time, the HIS DARK MATERIALS Trilogy is available in a trade paperback edition. All three books in the His Dark Materials trilogy-- THE GOLDEN COMPASS, THE SUBTLE KNIFE, and THE AMBER SPYGLASS--are available in a new complete boxed set featuring the trade paperbacks. New material is available in all three books: The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife feature black-and-white chapter-opening art by Philip Pullman himself; The Amber Spyglass features chapter-opening quotes from the likes of Milton, Donne, Blake, Byron and the Bible, which did not appear in hardcover.

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