2005.07.25
His Dark Materials
His Dark MaterialsI’d seen these books on the shelves almost every time I went to a bookstore. Finally I could take it no longer; I bought the series. I’m glad I did.
The books The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass are collectively called His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. That title alone was confusing to me because it implied a negative energy I wasn’t sure I wanted to read. Still, I can only see a book so many times before I decide enough is enough. Mookee can attest to that since he’s done the same with The Man Who Never Missed
I’m not going to go into the story because I don’t want to give much away, but I haven’t read something that involved so much at once in a long time. It takes into account the many worlds theory and quantum physics, talking bears, diverse cultures across the many worlds, aliens and angels, anbaric technology (which ties in a whole linguistic theme as well!), and a whole religious theme that borders on the Gnostic and probably pissed off a bunch of Christian fundamentalists.
The story revolves around a girl named Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon. Daemons are, in her world, and external manifestation of the soul. It sounds silly but it’s really quite brilliant. While the books are billed as teen fantasy, I think it’s really very adult in scope. Definitely worth
Categorized: books
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4 Responses to “His Dark Materials”
- Jason Clark says (July 25th, 2005 at 19:52:26 )
Just one question…
Is the series complete at three books, or is this a series with no concrete ending in sight? I refuse to start another series of books that may or may not finish. This is one of my pet rants, and I don’t think I’ve ever blogged it. I’ll have to check, and maybe write it up for later.- dugh says (July 25th, 2005 at 21:49:22 )
Yes, a complete series!
I understand and have the same gripe about starting a series that isn’t complete. I’ve done that three times now. The first is the Harry Potter books, the second is the George RR Martin series, and the last is a series I think is done in the UK but isn’t even being published here in the States by David Wingrove (the Chung Kuo series). I think that’s because they never caught on here in the States so the last book (or two) they just didn’t bother to put out.Anyways, His Dark Materials is finished and there is a fourth completely seperate book available but I haven’t read yet. Pick it up! I think you’ll really like it!
- douglas.nerad » His Dark Materials, the Movie says (April 30th, 2007 at 19:22:34 )
[...] just recently finished Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. I got very excited when I read on Stephen Laniel’s Unspecified Bunker that the series had [...]
- douglas.nerad » My Daemon says (April 30th, 2007 at 19:35:43 )
[...] read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series almost two years ago and really loved it. Smart, adventurous and provocative. Not long after I hear it was going to be [...]
