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woodwardiocomThis series was a very pleasant surprise. I was expecting light fantasy — north of Belgariad, south of Earthsea — and instead I got a complex and scathing indictment of religion, Western culture, and the cult of innocence.
If you've seen the Golden Compass movie, you've got about 75% of the plot of the first book. In the next two, Lyra journeys across worlds both mundane and cosmologically intricate, soon joined by a boy from "our" world, as they solve the mysteries of their own origin and also the origins of the Infinite Worlds, Sin, Reason, and Death. Oh, and, a lot of really awful stuff happens to them. I can't get into much more detail than that without spoilers, but let's just say that Pullman Thinks Big, and doesn't hesitate to follow things through to their dark and inevitable conclusion. Partway through book three I thought I knew how our protagonists would end up (I was wrong), but I knew I had no idea how the universe would end up.
If I have a complaint, it's that the ending is a bit too quickly wrapped up, and a tad too choreographed. I would have liked to see more of the Last Battle, and the resolution needed more foreshadowing. However, for its willingness to tackle Giant-Size Issues, I rank this as an important set of books. Highly recommended.
(Plus, dude, war zeppelins and armored polar bears!)
If you've seen the Golden Compass movie, you've got about 75% of the plot of the first book. In the next two, Lyra journeys across worlds both mundane and cosmologically intricate, soon joined by a boy from "our" world, as they solve the mysteries of their own origin and also the origins of the Infinite Worlds, Sin, Reason, and Death. Oh, and, a lot of really awful stuff happens to them. I can't get into much more detail than that without spoilers, but let's just say that Pullman Thinks Big, and doesn't hesitate to follow things through to their dark and inevitable conclusion. Partway through book three I thought I knew how our protagonists would end up (I was wrong), but I knew I had no idea how the universe would end up.
If I have a complaint, it's that the ending is a bit too quickly wrapped up, and a tad too choreographed. I would have liked to see more of the Last Battle, and the resolution needed more foreshadowing. However, for its willingness to tackle Giant-Size Issues, I rank this as an important set of books. Highly recommended.
(Plus, dude, war zeppelins and armored polar bears!)
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Date: 2008-09-02 02:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 02:51 am (UTC)He's not pulling his punches, at all. Just right out with it.
I'm not sure how they'll make the other movies, if at all. This is not Harry Potter...
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Date: 2008-09-02 10:27 am (UTC)--
Phil Masters
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Date: 2008-09-02 03:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-02 04:24 pm (UTC)The first movie didn't work so well for me. It thought it was about armored polar bears, but it really should have been about Lyra's journey. I mean, armored polar bears are awesome, but that's not the focal point of the book at all. I'm kind of glad to hear they might not do the others.