A while ago I saw the 2007 movie The Golden Compass, which didn’t impress me much at the time, although apparently it follows the book reasonably closely. Recently I started watching the BBC/HBO TV series His Dark Materials. Again, I wasn’t satisfied and stopped half way through season one. I realised the only thing to do was to read the original book, something I had put off because I don’t read much fantasy.
Storywise, I found the book far superior to the TV miniseries.
In the TV show, for all the excellent production values, the whole thing was bogged down with excessive character arcs, subplots, and one of the characters taking a trip to (our) Earth, thus trivialising the whole multiverse/Dust worldbuilding premise.
The book’s different. Pullman is a masterful storyteller and worldbuilder, and as such doesn't complicate the narrative. Apart from one or two lapses and pov shifts, the story remains tightly focused and fast paced, with a real sense of immersion in Lyra’s world. I’m especially impressed by the incorporation of metaphysical and theological questions in a way that doesn’t slow down the story or make the book heavier to read. If anything, it only makes the story more interesting.
While the protagonist is a 12-year old girl and the style of writing is very clear and simple (apart from neologisms added for sense of steampunk ambience), the concepts are more subtle than would be usual for YA. Also, in YA the reader is usually the same age as the protagonist. This is why Harry Potter and Hunger Games succeeded but the intellectually far superior Dark Materials didn’t.
I would read Pullman’s Dark Materials as Tolkien style myth-making (albeit in a vaguely steampunk rather than a medieval parallel world) despite the great differences in style, character, and underlying philosophy.
My only three real criticisms are (warning: minor spoilers)
o Pullman really ladles on the Mary Sue / Chosen One - ism, which gives Lyra an element of ridiculousness, as with all Mary Sue / Chosen One / Ancient Prophecy type stories. In the TV series (I can’t remember the movie, it's been so long since I watched it), Lyra is much more all rounded, nuanced, and human.
o Mrs Coulter is likewise too powerful as the supervillian, with way too much plot armour.
o Most of the final chapter felt much too rushed, glib, and much more importantly didn’t fit with the leadup of the characters (I can’t say more without major spoilers). It didn’t even feel like Philip Pullman had written it, it was so jarring in relation to the chapters that had gone before.
For all these (and various other much more minor) shortcomings, I found this an excellent story, and will at some point certainly read the other two books in the series.
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Top reviews from Australia
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Reviewed in Australia on 31 January 2021
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Top reviews from other countries
LA in Dallas
Yes, it's really THAT good!
Reviewed in the United States on 28 January 2024Verified Purchase
Angela
Wonderful edition, amazing collection
Reviewed in Spain on 16 February 2023Verified Purchase
Angela
Reviewed in Spain on 16 February 2023
I’m not reviewing the story or writing itself, only the product that I had bought. Those who have read this masterpiece know how much it’s worth. Those who haven’t, I strongly advise you do. It has this beautiful dust jacket showing the Alethiometer. Hardback blue. The letters have a very decent size, same for the space between lines. And at the end of the book there’s an Appendix showing some curious papers from the Library at Jordan College. I had never seen that before in other editions! It’s a clever addition to the story.
The editions of The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass have similar curiosities in its Appendix too. If you buy this edition of Northern Lights, you have to buy the other books in the same edition. I’m adding pictures to this review so you can see how amazing they are.
Those books are for every age. It's the fourth time I'm reading them, and each time I understand something new.
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FANG LIN
good book!
Reviewed in Canada on 29 December 2020Verified Purchase
Guillermo Medel
Amazing story
Reviewed in Mexico on 21 January 2020Verified Purchase
Antonio Santana
Excelente livro
Reviewed in Brazil on 18 April 2019Verified Purchase
