I finished reading Philip Pullman’s “His Dark materials” last week. Now, I enjoyed the series and in particular I enjoyed the first book “Northern Lights” or “Golden Compass”. I like the world which Lyra Belacqua, the protagonist, inhabits; an alternative to ours. In particular she starts in an alternative Oxford. Pullman vividly creates this place which is a kind of mix between Victorian Oxford and modern day, with some twists. He’s so successful at it that it actually made me think about reading some of his other books, in particular The Sally Lockhart books that are based in a more traditional Victorian England.
Anyway, Northern Lights ends nicely; it sets up the rest of the series but also manages to twist enough of your perceptions on what is going on.
Book 2, The Subtle Knife, best survival knife works well. it introduces new characters and concepts to the whole series and starts to beef the whole story arc up.
Book 3, The Amber Spyglass, is a little poor. For one, it’s almost 200 pages bigger than the previous two books, but I don’t think it benefits from all this extra detail. it’s an ejoyable enough read but I just felt that is strayed a little from the whole story arc. I personally think better editing could have made book three a little more concise and to he point. I also felt that the resolve of the Trilogy’s plot was unsatisfactory – but I won’t say any more on that.
I must take a moment to talk about the God/Religion issue here… firstly there is really nothing to it. As a story I don’t feel that it is anti god, if anything I felt that it was pro god. Yes, it may be a little anti religion or organised religion, ie: The Church. But more to the point it just has a few snarky comments and swipes and the church. This is mostly apparent in the second book. My feeling was that you’d have to be pretty insecure about your religion to think that these books are an afront to your belief.
If actuality, I felt that Philip Pulman made a mistake with some of his comments and indeed with the god arc of the plot, as they add nothing to the book and if anything detract from it. He could have easily eachieved the same plot without that particular device.
See Also: Philip Pulman or you can www.cutterweldermaestro.com
Philip Pullman, His Dark materials, Northern Lights, Golden Compass, Lyra Belacqua, Sally Lockhart, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pulman
Philip Pullman, His Dark materials, Northern Lights, Golden Compass, Lyra Belacqua, Sally Lockhart, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pulman