Dolly's review
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)
by Philip Pullman
I've been meaning to read these myself. Don't have convenient copies lying around like you do, but I'm sure that'll change soon enough...
Jeneral said: "Don't have convenient copies lying around like you do, but I'm sure that'll change soon enough"
Oh, darn: an excuse to go book shopping. Hee.
They're great books. I've just read them as I was inspired by catching reshoots in Oxford for the first film. Sadly my college does not feature in the books, but there are some very important scenes which take place in the building where I work during the second book so we're hoping they'll come to film!
They're really good reads, I thoroughly recommend them. And you may as well read them now before Hollywood totally ruins them!
I'm definitely going to check them out, but I had to comment on your "Hollywood ruining them" statement. I prefer to look at movie adaptations the way Alan Moore does. Someone asked him once if he was worried/upset about Hollywood ruining his works (From Hell, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and he replied that the books weren't ruined, they were still on the shelf. Something like that. Anyway, in my old age I'm really able to separate the movie version of something from the book as another interpretation. And while I generally prefer the book, I can appreciate the movie too.
...and after I said the above, I found the interview I was thinking of, and he was talking about someone else, but here's the quote: "Apparently, someone asked Raymond Chandler once what he thought of Hollywood ruining all of his books. And he took them into his study and pointed up to the shelf where they all were, and he said, "Look, they're there. They're fine. They're okay." That's the attitude I have to take." Anyway, I just think that's cool.
Dolly's review
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
Dolly's review
rating:
bookshelves:
childrens-books,
fantasy,
thought-provoking
recommended for: juveniles who have embraced atheism because they think it will shock adults
I loved the world and the daemons and the visuals and the magic items. I was annoyed with the author's heavy-handed antireligiosity and preachiness thereof. I guess this is meant to counter pro-religious juvenile fantasies, like C. S. Lewis? Well, consider this the opposite end of the philosophical teeter-totter: similarly magical and interesting, similarly whack-ya-over-the-head-with-message.
Characters were vapid, for the most part, and not entirely likable. Despite being able to imagine Lord Asriel's lines delivered by a scowling Daniel Craig (rowr), I never believed the character. I think he was just a plot device. Having said that, however, I have to mention how compelling the human/daemon interactions were. The Alamo scene with Lee and Hester was, I think, my favorite scene in the whole series.
The super-special items were interesting enough that I didn't mind reading another go-find-the-magical-doodad fantasy. Details like cold-weather (and warm weather) preparation, fin...more
Characters were vapid, for the most part, and not entirely likable. Despite being able to imagine Lord Asriel's lines delivered by a scowling Daniel Craig (rowr), I never believed the character. I think he was just a plot device. Having said that, however, I have to mention how compelling the human/daemon interactions were. The Alamo scene with Lee and Hester was, I think, my favorite scene in the whole series.
The super-special items were interesting enough that I didn't mind reading another go-find-the-magical-doodad fantasy. Details like cold-weather (and warm weather) preparation, fin...more
I've been meaning to read these myself. Don't have convenient copies lying around like you do, but I'm sure that'll change soon enough...
Jeneral said: "Don't have convenient copies lying around like you do, but I'm sure that'll change soon enough"Oh, darn: an excuse to go book shopping. Hee.
They're great books. I've just read them as I was inspired by catching reshoots in Oxford for the first film. Sadly my college does not feature in the books, but there are some very important scenes which take place in the building where I work during the second book so we're hoping they'll come to film!They're really good reads, I thoroughly recommend them. And you may as well read them now before Hollywood totally ruins them!
I'm definitely going to check them out, but I had to comment on your "Hollywood ruining them" statement. I prefer to look at movie adaptations the way Alan Moore does. Someone asked him once if he was worried/upset about Hollywood ruining his works (From Hell, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and he replied that the books weren't ruined, they were still on the shelf. Something like that. Anyway, in my old age I'm really able to separate the movie version of something from the book as another interpretation. And while I generally prefer the book, I can appreciate the movie too.
...and after I said the above, I found the interview I was thinking of, and he was talking about someone else, but here's the quote: "Apparently, someone asked Raymond Chandler once what he thought of Hollywood ruining all of his books. And he took them into his study and pointed up to the shelf where they all were, and he said, "Look, they're there. They're fine. They're okay." That's the attitude I have to take." Anyway, I just think that's cool.