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Title: His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass / The Subtle Knife / The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman ISBN: 0-345-44889-8 Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 3 List Price(USD): $20.97 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.27 (375 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Golden Compass; A great follow up to Harry Potter.
Comment: After finishing the 4th Harry Potter book I moped around for a few days lamenting the fact that the next installment isn't due for publication for quite some time. Luckily, a friend of mine suggested the Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman. Five pages in to The Golden Compass I was hooked. With a "Potter like" fervor I ripped through the first book in two very long nights. After which I was useless at work, but just as satisfied as when I first discovered the work of J.K. Rowlings. A great read!
A note to parents: The world that Pullman conjurs is a bit darker than Harry Potter's. There is more violence and some very frightening situations. I'd say 11 and up would be a good age for these books.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Great Read, But....
Comment: Anyone who enjoys well written fantasy will be pulled into these books by the dazzling invention and tight plotting. You'll stay up late turning pages to find out what happens next. But the first protaganist is unlikable, the characterization in general is weak, and in the third book it dawned on me why: Pullman is more concerned with his polemic against what he perceives the beliefs of the Christian church to be, than with his characters or his story. The two male "angels" who are desperately in love with each other are such a self-conscious anti-stereotype that I realized the author was more concerned with scoring points against his understanding of Christian belief than with story-telling. That's fine--I'm a committed Christian, yet I don't mind being asked to think. But it's the difference between this trilogy and The Lord of the Rings (grand in a way this cannot be), or the Harry Potter books (less inventive but more charming), which are vastly different from each other, and from His Dark Materials. Story comes first in those books, despite obvious parallels to the "real" world. Pullman has written an allegory, which Tolkien and Rowling did not. It's still a great read--don't worry about the fact that you don't care about the characters, and enjoy Pullman's imagination. Not for children, though! It has moments of real horror.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Books Are Brilliant
Comment: My books made the rounds among my friends so many times that they're starting to fall apart. So far, there hasn't been a single dissenter. Maybe I'll breakdown and buy the set for my own rereading use (I bought all of mine individually).
What I find a bit odd about the books is the seeming lack of criticism from some of the religious community. Don't think it deserves it, but given all the Harry Potter bru-ha-ha, I do find it surprising. The His Dark Materials trilogy is dark, very dark. And very questioning of the church and state.
It's lack of pandering to the young adult crowd is refreshing. The characters are well drawn out. Lyra, as the main protagonist is, to my mind, a rather unpleasant girl. Which is the beauty of the book. Gradations. Not everyone is snuggly. People who believe they're right are wrong. Major moral balancing acts run riot.
All three books in the series are brilliant, though I think The Amber Spyglass (the third) is probably the best, though also the most brutal. It is the book that causes people to curse me for having them read it. While not all sturm und drang, there are scenes that will rip your heart out.
I'm really glad that Mr. Pullman officially and completely put the trilogy to bed after book III. It ends where it's supposed to end. He's not milking the Lyra kitty. I appreciate that.
Many people compare these books to the Harry Potter series. I guess, sort of, kind of, in a broad brush stroke way that's true. Largly young protagonists, fantasy, fighting evil. That's about where the similarity ends. These are much more grown up fare. These are also, to my mind, far superior to the Potter books.
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Title: Lyra's Oxford by PHILIP PULLMAN ISBN: 0375828192 Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Pub. Date: 28 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book 1) by PHILIP PULLMAN ISBN: 0394895894 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 12 November, 1988 List Price(USD): $5.50 |
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Title: The Shadow in the North (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book 2) by PHILIP PULLMAN ISBN: 0394825993 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 23 September, 1989 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book 3) by PHILIP PULLMAN ISBN: 0679826718 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 18 February, 1992 List Price(USD): $5.50 |
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Title: Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy: A Reader's Guide by Claire Squires ISBN: 0826414796 Publisher: Continuum Pub Group Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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