De Noorderlicht-trilogie

Forfærdelig bog. Jeg skulle slæbe mig igennem de 1100 sider. Kunne ikke følge med med alle de navne og ligepludselig havde hendes far samlet en hel masse kreaturer fordi der åbenbart er krig? Jeg har ingen ide omkring hvad der skete efter side 200. ( )

Letto per le sfide
1. Alphabet 2020 per Un libro di un autore il cui titolo per H
2. Babele 2020 - Modalità difficile (9/15)
3. Extra-Large 2020 - Modalità difficile (5/9, #946 pagine). ( )

I truly enjoy the writing style of Philip Pullman he has a great way of creating a believable but still fantastical world and populating it with interesting and intriguing characters. I do not enjoy the ending to this series at all but I can still enjoy the series as a whole even if the ending deeply irks me. ( )

Even though I'm not sure about the whole premise of the spiritual world having physical form, this was a wonderful journey, well written and thoroughly enjoyable. I will definitely be reading this trilogy again. ( )

This book is the compilation of all three novels from the Pullman series. There are spoilers in this review - you've been warned.



The Golden Compass was an interesting read. Pullman succeeds in creating a very imaginative world where the main character, Lyra Belacqua, discovers bizarre and spell bounding places. But where Pullman fails is in the building of characters and their relationships to one another. I found the characters disconnected and their interactions with one another flat in many instances.



The Subtle Knife introduces us to Will Parry the next main character that becomes the love interest of Lyra Belacqua. I found this novel to be less believable than the Golden Compass as the worlds created are less interesting. Most of the focus of this novel is on the corruption of the church, and with it, comes the author's anger. I felt this novel was more pedantic (like Ayran Rand's Atlas Shrugged) and plodding than the first. I also felt a certain manipulation as God is described as a mortal creature within one of the many "worlds" and is not really the creator. This novel has many darker moments and make it inappropriate for young children.



The Amber Spy Glass introduces us to Mary Malone. Where Lyra and Will are to play the future roles as Adam and Eve, Mary Malone is to play the Serpent that tempts the two into sin. Of the three books I found this novel to be the most tedious and least imaginative.



All three novels are written in same grammatical style as pulp fiction - over use of adverbs, repeated phrases for emphasis, and quite a few cliches. Only the third book made a best sellers list, more for the controversial subject matter (killing God) than for the writing. For those of you who love words, these books will disappoint.



As far as the theology of these books, the Catholic Church has nothing to fear, these books do an awful job of indicting anything but the corruption of people. In fact, a reader could substitute Big Government, Big Business, or any human institution and come to the same conclusions without much disturbing the story line. People are corrupt and corrupt the institutions they work in when power is to be gained.



Pullman attempts to point out that God is false, and that consciousness - embodied in "Dust" - is all that really is. The problem with this is a contradictory premise set in the Subtle Knife and refuted in the Amber Spyglass. According to the Subtle Knife, Dust has always existed and formed the first conscious being thirty three thousand years ago. In the Amber Spyglass we learn that Dust is created from consciousness, which, according to Pullman, didn't exist thirty three thousand years ago. So who was the first mover? Pullman doesn't say.



Pullman describes a church and it's influence that hasn't existed since the 17th century. Since this is fiction, he can make up anything he wants, but an astute reader will be forced into asking questions. And those questions will color the enjoyment of the story by forcing the reader to accept a premise that is outside their experience. Mark Twain once quipped that "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't." In order to have an ominous antagonist, Pullman is forced to create a Church that is all powerful and quite possibly represents the government which is at odds with most people's experience. The author paints himself into a corner on this point.



I also found the ending to this series quite unsatisfactory. Toward the end we have Lyra and Will falling in love with each other, only to have the two separated forever because they come from different worlds. Just when Pullman gets a relationship right he renders it apart and for no very good reason I can discern. But this is emblematic of the three novels. The author's treatment of the character's relationships belies a cold, almost dead, personae. The ending is quite cruel but, in hindsight, fits with the author's perspective.



On the whole, if you like fantasies, enjoy the special effects more than the story line, don't care about the music in words and are not too particular about relationships then these novels will entertain you. They are not high or middle brow literature and they are a little to dark for young children. ( )