ArcticEmpress
03-31-2002, 05:10 PM
Hailed as the next big thing by fantasy writers and critics alike, Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy has been compared to both Tolkien's Lord of the Rings(LOTR) and Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia(CON). Those are some big shoes to fill and I wanted to see if Pullman was up to the task. Afterall, there's even been talk of a movie in the making.
I ordered the set and spent about three weeks reading the series in between writing comp papers and sorting lichen samples. Thankfully, the trilogy was a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing escape from those other tediums. In fact, rarely do i finish 1500 pages in three weeks, particularly when i'm swamped with 'more important' things to do. But this series is of that rare breed where once you start, it's hard to stop, and when you do stop your mind keeps returning to the story even when you're doing other things. So the books are compelling in that respect. Pullman knows how to draw his audience in and keep them captivated.
Pullman's works are classified as fantasy, but don't expect goblins or elves in these stories. There is the occasional cliff ghast, which is something like a flying goblin, and there are witches, whose lives seem to be as long as elves. But all in all, Pullman's tale is much more reality based than either LOTR or CON, containing snipets of factual information about our world throughout the series. In several ways the tale is more speculative historical fiction than fantasy. The fantasy elements come with the peoples and tools that Pullman adds to make his point more clear.
And what is his point? Dark Materials is also labeled as a children's series. Read the first installment, The Golden Compass, and this much is obvious. Read the second book, The Subtle Knife, however, and the whole story takes on ten or more layers of new meaning. This second book is where Pullman truly shines as a writer, showing that what seemed like a simple story at first, is nothing short of moral, religious, and cosmological theory and debate. Pullman gracefully ties in theories of negative space and alternate universes with philosophies on fate and spirituallity. I read this second book and I couldn't beleive children were reading this series. If kids are interested in these types of things, so much the better i say.
The finale of the trilogy was great, until the end. The end was a bit of a letdown. It didn't seem to pack the same punch that had been building up in the last three novels, and it seemed rushed. Overall, though, the trilogy was still an enjoyable and worthwhile read. Of LOTR and CON, Dark Materials is more similar to the Narnia Series, both because of some of the characterization used and because of the religious overtones. Would I say Dark Materials is better than either of these predecessors? Certainly not. But it may have a place near them in its own right.
If you enjoyed the Narnia Series, A Wrinkle in Time, Nietzsche, or Paradise Lost, you may find this read intriguing. If you're looking for something more along the lines of LOTR though, i'd recommend the Wheel of Time series, or the Sword of Truth series first.
my ten cents.
I ordered the set and spent about three weeks reading the series in between writing comp papers and sorting lichen samples. Thankfully, the trilogy was a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing escape from those other tediums. In fact, rarely do i finish 1500 pages in three weeks, particularly when i'm swamped with 'more important' things to do. But this series is of that rare breed where once you start, it's hard to stop, and when you do stop your mind keeps returning to the story even when you're doing other things. So the books are compelling in that respect. Pullman knows how to draw his audience in and keep them captivated.
Pullman's works are classified as fantasy, but don't expect goblins or elves in these stories. There is the occasional cliff ghast, which is something like a flying goblin, and there are witches, whose lives seem to be as long as elves. But all in all, Pullman's tale is much more reality based than either LOTR or CON, containing snipets of factual information about our world throughout the series. In several ways the tale is more speculative historical fiction than fantasy. The fantasy elements come with the peoples and tools that Pullman adds to make his point more clear.
And what is his point? Dark Materials is also labeled as a children's series. Read the first installment, The Golden Compass, and this much is obvious. Read the second book, The Subtle Knife, however, and the whole story takes on ten or more layers of new meaning. This second book is where Pullman truly shines as a writer, showing that what seemed like a simple story at first, is nothing short of moral, religious, and cosmological theory and debate. Pullman gracefully ties in theories of negative space and alternate universes with philosophies on fate and spirituallity. I read this second book and I couldn't beleive children were reading this series. If kids are interested in these types of things, so much the better i say.
The finale of the trilogy was great, until the end. The end was a bit of a letdown. It didn't seem to pack the same punch that had been building up in the last three novels, and it seemed rushed. Overall, though, the trilogy was still an enjoyable and worthwhile read. Of LOTR and CON, Dark Materials is more similar to the Narnia Series, both because of some of the characterization used and because of the religious overtones. Would I say Dark Materials is better than either of these predecessors? Certainly not. But it may have a place near them in its own right.
If you enjoyed the Narnia Series, A Wrinkle in Time, Nietzsche, or Paradise Lost, you may find this read intriguing. If you're looking for something more along the lines of LOTR though, i'd recommend the Wheel of Time series, or the Sword of Truth series first.
my ten cents.