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His Dark Materials

(His Dark Materials #1-3)

Philip Pullman,

Peter Bailey (Illustrator)

4.26 · Rating details · 113,953 ratings · 4,807 reviews

The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass are available together in one volume perfect for any fan or newcomer to this modern fantasy classic series.

These thrilling adventures tell the story of Lyra and Will—two ordinary children on a perilous journey through shimmering haunted otherworlds. They will meet witches and armored bears, fallen angels and soul ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 1088 pages

Published September 23rd 2003 by Laurel Leaf (first published 2000)

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4.26 ·

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· 113,953 ratings · 4,807 reviews

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Jan 22, 2018 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I can't believe I had never reread this series! Such a fascinating world, such a good story!

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Sep 18, 2007 Corie rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Anyone 12 and older

Shelves: top_5, fantasy-science_fiction, book-i-will-never-part-with, bought-based-on-recommendation, young-adult, true-love, i-want-to-live-in-this-world

Until recently, this series had somehow flown under my radar. It wasn’t until I saw the trailer for the upcoming The Golden Compass movie that I was introduced to Lyra’s world. The trailer made the movie look AMAZING, so naturally (as I always do), I thought…”I MUST read this book!”.

His Dark Materials creates a beautiful, vibrant world with characters as deep as if you had known them your whole life. The books themselves deal with heavy subjects. Nuclear Physics, Parallel Worlds, Quantum Partic Until recently, this series had somehow flown under my radar. It wasn’t until I saw the trailer for the upcoming The Golden Compass movie that I was introduced to Lyra’s world. The trailer made the movie look AMAZING, so naturally (as I always do), I thought…”I MUST read this book!”.

His Dark Materials creates a beautiful, vibrant world with characters as deep as if you had known them your whole life. The books themselves deal with heavy subjects. Nuclear Physics, Parallel Worlds, Quantum Particles and Theology snuggle right up against equally introspective looks at Love, Friendship, Loyalty, Family and Honor. Quite frequently, I found myself looking at the cover of these books again and again to ensure that I was indeed reading a “children’s” novel. When did this genre get so deep? I don’t remember reading anything this remarkable when I was younger. No offense to you, Encyclopedia Brown, my dear friend.

While I hesitate to compare to Potter, I want to point out one main difference which I think is very important to anyone thinking about purchasing this series for their intrepid young reader….while HP deals with the strong ideals of good vs. evil, HDM leans heavily into the actual concepts of both, dissecting each, questioning the origins, challenging the pedestals each stand on. In HP, evil is simply evil. HDM doesn’t assume any such nonsense. If there is evil, it forces the reader to consider why they think that something is evil. Is it really? Or are you just looking at it from a different perspective? Also….for those who thought the HP series was too religious, reader beware of the HDM series. Pullman isn’t vague. He labels his players in the battle of good vs. evil – calling the church, the creator and religions out by name. Note this example: In book three, this sentence appears: “The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all.” Again – I wondered if this was merely an adult book cloaked in child’s clothing (as I lapped up every word).

I thought that the struggles between the Church, The Authority, the Creator, Dust, The Council etc. were deep but thoroughly engrossing. I embraced how Pullman questioned the very beginnings of organized religion and of the creator himself. He turned everything on its ear: Ghosts, Angels, Witches and even Death. He is essentially challenging every reader, regardless of age, to look at the world around you. Why do we trust, why do we believe, what is faith, what is truth? Maybe things are different than what they seem. Perhaps there is more out there than our extremely limited view of physics, theology and cosmology is currently telling us. Maybe the world isn’t round after all. Maybe it’s infinitely layered and unbearably more beautiful than we ever knew.

I’m putting this in my top five for now. Those of you who know me know that this category fluctuates a bit here and there. New favorite reads come along, old one’s fade away as I forget why I loved the world it painted for me. But for now, this series goes in my five. Because, as with every other book in my top five, the characters stayed with me long after I closed the back cover. I cared about them, I felt like I had made new friends and was physically sad to say goodbye to them. And THAT is what makes a book better than just “good”. That is what makes it endearingly wonderful, to the point that you carress the book's cover lovingly everytime you come across it. And becomes one you would recommend to others without hesitation.
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Dec 14, 2007 Seth T. rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: no one who is alive. the dead might find it as boring as being dead though, so...

Day late and a dollar short with this one.

My hope was to have read and reviewed His Dark Materials trilogy before the film adaptation of the first third, The Golden Compass, came out last Friday. And I would have too - if it weren't for that sheer enormity of suckiness that was the third book in the series (The Amber Spyglass). *sigh* But then, life doesn't actually work out perfectly for us as often as we'd like. Sometimes there are earthquakes that level cities in Turkey. Sometimes Spinach is ...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star-reads, fantasy, children-of-all-ages

In just under a month La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust #1) will be released, so I thought I’d do a summative review of my experience with this trilogy. Here’s what I thought of each book, I read them over a period of four years and my reviews are what I thought at the time; they’ve not been edited since:

Book 1: The Golden Compass- 5*

description

This novel is an absolute work of pure genius, and is in my top ten reads of all time. Before I go into the depths of character and plot, let me start by saying ...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Mathew rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: everybody

Could you imagine a story that weaves history, quantum physics, theology, cosmology, trepanning, shamanism, love and the seriousness of adolescence into a coherent narrative? I could not. Yet Phillip Pullman has done just that, and a world more. This wonderful trilogy will lead you along a most unlikely path through some of the biggest questions of life - in philosophy, religion, history, science, and not least literature. That it does so as a masterful, child-accessible and wholly engaging stor Could you imagine a story that weaves history, quantum physics, theology, cosmology, trepanning, shamanism, love and the seriousness of adolescence into a coherent narrative? I could not. Yet Phillip Pullman has done just that, and a world more. This wonderful trilogy will lead you along a most unlikely path through some of the biggest questions of life - in philosophy, religion, history, science, and not least literature. That it does so as a masterful, child-accessible and wholly engaging story is a feat of imagination and storycraft easily on par with Madeleine L'Engle's classic A Wrinkle In Time and its sequels. The book has recently won an award for being
"the best children's book in the last 70 years". I am inclined to agree.

The first book, The Golden Compass, features the adventures of 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua, a precocious hooligan in a world almost but not quite ours, and the eponymous mechanism around which much of the story's plot is based. By itself, it might seem like a bit of a flighty read - fun, engaging, imaginative, but a bit strange at times, slyly heretical, even gruesome, leaving one to wonder "What is this really about?" Some critics (mostly of the sort that would have books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn banned) have come to the shallow conclusion that the series is nothing but a vessel for diatribe against certain religions institutions, never named but nevertheless obvious in reference. While Pullman shows a certain wicked zeal himself in creating a world in which wicked zealotry is as obvious - and as taken for granted - as political corruption in our own, his purpose is far grander than any partisan attack on stale religion. Rest assured, dear reader, every scene in the book is building towards a conflict simultaneously metaphysical and worldly which is only fully revealed in the third book.

The Subtle Knife introduces Will, a boy of unquestionable grit who is destined to become Lyra's companion. Will hails from our world, but unexpectedly finds himself in a welter of parallel worlds, where he comes into possession of a knife. This knife has two edges; the first edge can cut any material in the world, while the reverse edge is "more subtle still", according to the knife's guardian. The knife quickly becomes the focus of a conflict that not only transcends worlds, but also intersects Will's troubled home life in a profoundly personal way. As new characters and new revelations enter the story, Will and Lyra come to realize that their struggles are part of something much, much larger.

The third volume, The Amber Spyglass, brings into view the literally cosmic scope of a battle that centers on Will, Lyra, and the strange objects in their possession. The volume builds to a literally universe-shaking climax, as pivotal events never fail to surprise and yet mesh perfectly with the grand flow of the story.

I will say no more, lest I spoil any of the surprises, except to reiterate that for once I agree wholeheartedly with the critics: this series, and in particular its masterful conclusion, is transcendent, magnificent, and astonishing. ...more

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Apr 07, 2012 David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

The first sentence that came to my mind after finishing this book was: anyone who would give this novel less than five stars has to be either a philistine, a charlatan, or a cynic. To add to that: a cynic grown so dull with the slop of the world that they have been rendered unable to see the raw charm of these characters Lyra and Will, and the amazing sad kind of beauty that comes with making the irreversible passage from childhood to adulthood.

Pullman is able to weave together in the thread of ...more

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Dec 02, 2015 Kaitlin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-sff-faves

So, this is a bind up of all three books in this series and it's a reread for me. I first read these when I was very young (maybe 11/12) and I remember absolutely loving them. This still remains true to this day and they are excellent books the second time through too. Also, being 10 years older now than when I first read it helped me to notice a lot more of the subtle references to religion, souls, sex, body image and so on. None of these were things I was even considering when I was young, but ...more

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Jun 29, 2016 Duane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-book-challenge, 5-star-books, childrens, english-calssics, fantasy, favorite-books, guardian-1000, rated-books, reviewed-books

I don't guess you could call this the "Gold Standard" of classic fantasy literature, that probably goes to Harry Potter, but His Dark Materials soars in that same stratosphere. It is so brilliantly conceived, so intricately constructed, and so well written that it leaves one in awe of Pulliam's achievement.

This trilogy is composed of three separately published volumes, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in North America) (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). A sequel, ...more

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Dec 05, 2007 Andrea rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Young Adult fiction lovers

Shelves: books-i-loved-when-i-was-younger

(Spoilers below)

I read the first two books when they came out (my middle school years) but got tired of waiting for the third. However, when this whole controversy over The Golden Compass film adaptation was started by the Christian right, I decided it was time to read the series again. I simply didn't remember Philip Pullman's message about God and the Church disturbing me as a regularly church-going 12 year old. Sure, it made me think about what a corrupt church could do, but it all seemed hyp (Spoilers below)

I read the first two books when they came out (my middle school years) but got tired of waiting for the third. However, when this whole controversy over The Golden Compass film adaptation was started by the Christian right, I decided it was time to read the series again. I simply didn't remember Philip Pullman's message about God and the Church disturbing me as a regularly church-going 12 year old. Sure, it made me think about what a corrupt church could do, but it all seemed hypothetical at the time and certainly didn't present any doubt that hadn't entered my mind before. When various websites quoted Pullman as saying his books are about killing God, it just seemed to me like there was an obvious caveat to that, i.e.: my books are about killing a God in a fictional universe where false authority is used to corrupt, control and destroy lives.

Now, having read all three books and knowing just a little bit more about faith, religion and the history of Christianity, I can see why parents would be concerned but not why they would forbid their children from reading the books or watching the movies. While Phillip Pullman is a known atheist and our "world" undeniably plays a part in Pullman's trilogy, the story is still fictional and Pullman's portrayal of God is just one many hypothetical possibilities. "God" is killed in Pullman's trilogy, but one must distinguish between Pullman's depiction of the Authority and the Christian image of God. Although Pullman's Authority is supposed to encompass all monotheistic and polytheistic beliefs in a god, God turns out to be just a corrupt angel and there is no one obvious creator. But even in Lyra's adventures I could not see anything refuting what I call God (an inexplicable higher force or reason behind all things). Although Dust makes up all living things in this trilogy, there is no discussion of why Dust came to be, just that for Dust to remain people must live truthful and full lives. So for me, it seems entirely consistent with my belief that there is an unseen God or higher uniting power in Lyra's universe that is ultimately good and has some relationship to Dust.

Pullman's books absolutely do not preclude what I call God, or even the God I think most Christians believe in. Pullman does promote healthy skepticism and warns against blind faith and a failure to embrace life in this world, but if anything, I think his books would help parents talk to their children about these abstract and important issues. So whether parenting from an atheistic standpoint or a strong Christian (Muslim, Buddhist, etc.) perspective, I'd encourage parents to let their children read the books if they desire to. Just talk to them afterwards about it. After all, helping children and young adults to try and understand the world around them and discover truth in whatever form they ultimately find it, is never a bad thing and is actually a necessary part of the process of achieving a deeper faith. By the time a person is old enough to understand any anti-religion message in these books, he is old enough to start critically evaluating his belief system. ...more

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Jul 27, 2015 Helene Jeppesen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Great fantasy, amazing story! I think of all three books, I loved the first one "Northern Lights" the most because it introduced me to this amazing world, and it felt the most wintry to me with its polar bears, snow and magic. That being said, the two other books, "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass", were really good as well, and especially the second book kept my interest peaked.
This is one of those series that is written for children on the surface, but that is highly relevant and rea ...more

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Jul 21, 2014 Brierly added it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, young-adult, fantasy

Yes, it's taken me 3+ years to read His Dark Materials. I wanted to take longer pauses between the novels to really enjoy them. I've had my eye on this series for a while. Now I have a lovely bound edition with all three texts. I started The Golden Compass in high school but never finished it. In college I revisited Lyra's story and fell back into the rhythm of Pullman's storytelling. Lyra's characterization is vivid--truly a memorable character--and I liked the world building. Though, the pacin ...more

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Oct 11, 2013 David Katzman rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review only applies to book 1: The Golden Compass

Growing up with an addiction to Dungeons & Dragons and reading through my town library's entire Science Fiction and Fantasy section before I was sixteen has left me with a life-long proclivity for the fantastic. Some of my favorite novels manage to combine the highly literary (or experimental) with the fantastical. I'm willing to take a chance on books considered straight fantasy or science fiction, but I haven't been making the best choi ...more

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Jan 14, 2008 Karen rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So, I was interested in reading The Golden Compass series by Phillip Pullman (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) because some parents have asked us to remove it from the shelf at the school library. After hearing the allegations about the books (that they are intended to persuade children to become atheists), I was feeling like people had not given them a chance. I had already begun to read The Golden Compass before I had heard about any of the controversy, after all, and So, I was interested in reading The Golden Compass series by Phillip Pullman (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) because some parents have asked us to remove it from the shelf at the school library. After hearing the allegations about the books (that they are intended to persuade children to become atheists), I was feeling like people had not given them a chance. I had already begun to read The Golden Compass before I had heard about any of the controversy, after all, and there was nothing that I could find that was questionable. So I continued to read. Even after the second book, it seemed as though he was only speaking out against corrupt religion, which I think is a good thing. Not too far into the third book, however, it was clear that he believes all religion is corrupt.

The premise of the books is essentially that there was an angel a long time ago that put himself above the other angels and called himself God and the Creator (even though he was not) and that his goal is to keep people from gaining knowledge(that's why gaining knowledge was the original sin). The rebel angels (you know, that 1/3 from the war in heaven) have been fighting against him ever since and trying to help humans learn. And they enlist the help of two children to help them destroy God and create the Republic of Heaven (rather than the Kingdom).

There's a lot more to the stories, of course, and they are well written and interesting, but they still really hurt my feelings. In his books, the only religious people are either power-hungry hypocrites or fearful and ignorant. He writes about love and accepting people even with their faults (his main characters are flawed on purpose, I think) and the power of human relationships and following your instincts and the great value of learning. I am in complete agreement with pretty much everything he writes about those things. He seems to have a good understanding of how we all interact with and need each other. But the major flaw I see is that his goal is to show that religion is the antithesis of all of those good things; it is only useful for repressing people. So, while he may know a lot about life, he is quite ignorant about religion and people's reasons for being religious. Maybe he should stick to writing about things with which he is familiar.

For the record, I still don't think it should be removed from the shelves at school. As my sister said to me, "Nothing good ever came from censorship." I agree. It would probably create more problems than it would solve. And I want to have my freedom of expression protected, so I can't take away someone else's. Still, I think parents should be making informed decisions about what their children are reading. ...more

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Jul 10, 2014 Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-high, showy-offy-pretty-pretty, i-own-it

Northern Lights / The Golden Compass - 12Nov16
4 stars

Breathtaking and smart and utterly brilliant. Reading several of Pullman's interviews has made me decide to re/read the Chronicles of Narnia at some point in 2017; the misconception that His Dark Materials is a direct rebuttal of Narnia has interested me for years, and then to finally read this and hear from Pullman himself that it is NOT said rebuttal makes it that much more interesting. I love the idea of the church being the ruthless/villai ...more

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Oct 22, 2010 mark monday rated it it was amazing

Shelves: alpha-team

i am actually assuming that i will be Left Behind, so my concern is more for others. i hate seeing families and friends split apart!

when it does occur, i would like to be someplace like a church where there will be lots of people Raptured... that way, right afterwards, i'll be able to pick up all the wallets and purses that are also Left Behind. you don't need money in heaven, right? and with all the honest folk gone, i also feel confident that post-Rapture will be ripe for money-making opportu ...more

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Mar 12, 2017 Annelies rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, classics, children-s-books

Defenitely a winner! Normally this sort of fantasy books is not my cup of tea but I adored reading this book. The themes it handles are very grown-up (I don't understand how a child could understand all what is in the book). It never becomes trivial or laughable. Everyone thinks very logically. The plans are well taught over and everyone handles according to this plans. I don't know what to say more about the book. Just read it!

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Jan 16, 2018 J. Bryce rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy-fiction, social-content, literature-prose

One of those books you don't want to finish.

Wow.

I could recommend this to literally ANYone, and if they have the gumption and persistence, they would get a helluvalot out of it. WHAT DO I HAVE TO SAY TO CONVINCE YOU?!? Just read it, think about it, enjoy it.

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Mar 30, 2008 Collette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

This was a truly amazing story. I'm actually giving it a 4.75 instead of a 5. It was getting a strong 5 until the ending. It wasn't a horrible ending but it could have been better. I cried if that tells you something. : /

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Oct 30, 2016 steph // bookplaits rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2016, highly-recommended

In three words: epic, heartbreaking, imaginative.

"'But I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are. All we can say is that this is a good deed, because it helps someone, or that's a evil one, because it hurts them. People are too complicated to have simple labels.'"

Challenge: #MyEverymansLibrary

Note: This Everyman's Library edition contains all three books of t ...more

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Nov 26, 2007 Lisa Vegan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys fantasy novels, especially those willing to question authority

Recommended to Lisa by: Ken

Shelves: orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids, reviewed, fiction, novel, speculative-fiction, young-adult, readbooks-male-author-or-illust, childrens, z2008, zz-5star

I got this edition containing all 3 books in the trilogy because of the author's lantern notes at the end of each of the three books. As of the first book, didn't find the notes worth reading; the second, they were slightly more interesting but not essential. I did appreciate those that came after the third book.

I do not understand how I missed knowing about these books until late in 2007, but I’m really glad that I found them.

The Golden Compass: 5 stars:

I don’t consider fantasy to be “my” genre I got this edition containing all 3 books in the trilogy because of the author's lantern notes at the end of each of the three books. As of the first book, didn't find the notes worth reading; the second, they were slightly more interesting but not essential. I did appreciate those that came after the third book.

I do not understand how I missed knowing about these books until late in 2007, but I’m really glad that I found them.

The Golden Compass: 5 stars:

I don’t consider fantasy to be “my” genre, although I’ve certainly enjoyed my fair share of fantasy books. I do enjoy books where the author has been able to create a fascinating “whole other world” and that is certainly been done here.

This book was a rollicking good ride. I’m not sure that I would have gotten through the first 20 pages if it had not been recommended (thanks Ken!) but by page 50 I was hooked. Terrific story. After book 1, what is to happen remains a mystery to me, but one I am eager to read. Lyra is a wonderful character. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, but it’s fun to read a fantasy book with a girl as the main protagonist.

The Subtle Knife: 5 stars:

The book is engrossing, suspenseful, with wonderful storytelling. It’s very, very dark. (This darkness reminded me of book 2 of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy; the first book was dark in many places also. This series might not be for everybody, but I’m loving it.) I especially appreciate how the child characters question the authority of the adults and of their worlds. Lots of fully fleshed out characters that I care about and that makes me especially eager to read book 3 of the series.

The Amber Spyglass: 5 stars:

This series is really fine fantasy fiction. Until toward the end of The Amber Spyglass, I was thinking how I had enjoyed the first book the most. But, by the time I finished reading The Amber Spyglass, I realized that all that happens in the 3 books of the trilogy come together so beautifully that what I now most appreciate is the whole story. Lyra, Will, Mary, and too many other characters to name will really stick with me. ...more

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Aug 17, 2010 Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Never has a book/series had such an impact on me as His Dark Materials, specifically The Amber Spyglass. It still stands as the only book that has ever made me cry. I was a wreck after finishing it, to the point where I literally could not sleep because I couldn’t believe it was over. Not only was the ending beautifully heartbreaking, but I had to accept the fact that these characters' journeys had come to an end, the series was over, and it was time for me to move on in my life. I just couldn't ...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Sara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philosophy, young-adult-fantasy, modern-day-fantasy, alternate-future-history

Add me to what I'm sure is a very short list of people who didn't get the whole "anti-god" sentiment that this series is supposedly laden with.

I read this series for the first time several years ago while working in a book store and madly searching for something to tide me over until the next Harry Potter came out. I became a dedicated Pullman fan within a few pages of "The Golden Compass."

I like young adult fantasy that doesn't pander and Pullman wouldn't dream of doing that to his readers. He ...more

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Oct 14, 2007 Yeany Dahlan rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: retna asmoro

If Harry Potter series were considered heretic by some groups of people, I don't know what will they say when they read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials as the books do reflect anti-Christianism with God portrayed as vindictive and authoritarian figure growing ..dare I say it? ...senile and need to be ousted (Oh my God)..

His Dark Materials is a trilogy beginning with the shocking The Golden Compass, and followed by The Subtle Knife and ends with The Amber Spyglass. And if we disregard the ant ...more

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Nov 11, 2009 Mike (the Paladin) rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy

This is not a series I would have exposed my children to. If you choose to (and I'm sure many will) that is up to you. There is a deal of indoctrination here, or if you consider the Narnia series indoctrination then maybe you won't use that term in this case. It's all I suppose in the eye of the beholder. So up to the parent, or if we're talking adults then, the reader.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 31, 2019 HP Saucerer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2019, 5-star-reads, magic, modern-classics

Having heard that His Dark Materials was seen as being a scathing attack on religion and its indoctrinated practices, I'd always wondered if this was truly the case, and having faith only made me all the more curious to delve in and see for myself. But to say this series is anti-God is a great disservice and entirely unjust. Sure, the Magisterium - the antagonist in the series - is an omnipotent, oppressive authority, symbolising organised religion, but the series is about so much more than that ...more

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May 05, 2011 Bruce rated it did not like it

Remember how, when the film version of "The Golden Compass" came out, evangelicals told their followers not to see it because the book is about a battle against God, and that God is defeated in the end?

They were right. And it's really sort of childish. In the bad way. And I'm about as far to the left of the right wing religious nut cases as you can get. I'm all for a critique of how religion has hobbled civilization. I firmly believe that the church (pick your religion, not just the Christian ch Remember how, when the film version of "The Golden Compass" came out, evangelicals told their followers not to see it because the book is about a battle against God, and that God is defeated in the end?

They were right. And it's really sort of childish. In the bad way. And I'm about as far to the left of the right wing religious nut cases as you can get. I'm all for a critique of how religion has hobbled civilization. I firmly believe that the church (pick your religion, not just the Christian church, but the mosque as well) has been responsible for atrocities that would never have happened without its existence and for a finite amount of good that could easily have been accomplished without its existence.

But "His Dark Materials" is not that critique. It's just nastiness in the guise of fantasy--and poorly accomplished fantasy, at that.

The first book is quite enjoyable, the parallel history fascinating, the world well-imagined, the climax compelling, the characters engaging and well-iimagined. The concept of all humans having a "daemon," an animal familiar that's a physical projection of aspects of their personality, which can talk with them and accomplish certain tasks, is quite brilliant. It's that concept that dominates the plot of the "Northern Lights" (called "The Golden Compass" in the U.S.), and the book is a good read.

Then Pullman starts to expand his fantasy world, with "The Subtle Knife," and each addition tends to water it down and make the cosmology both more complicated and more incoherent. Bringing in the world we know seems smart, at first, but then he decides there has to be an infinite number of worlds, and each is imagined with considerably less aplomb than the last, until they become as two-dimensional as "Star Wars" planets.

At the same time, the cosmology becomes both more twisted and more blatantly diadactic, even childishly vindictive, pretty much as rabidly anti-religion and anti-church as the right wingnuts would have you believe. It finally seems conceived not with wit and clarity of vision, just with bitterness and anger. The third book is long and winding (and long-winded) and poorly structured, and Pullman just keeps inventing more creatures and more worlds and more cosmological twists and more, more, more that results in a clatter of silliness as the series finally reaches its silly and unsatisfying climax.

If ever there was a popular fantasy series with a "making it up as he went along" feel to it, it's this one (moreso even than the "Star Wars" movie series and the "Twilight" books). If I were to rate the "Dark Materials" books separately, I'd give "Northern Lights" four stars out of five, "Knife" two or three and "Spyglass" zero or one, but taken as a whole, the awfulness of the third book poisons the intelligence and good storytelling that has come before and the whole series comes crashing down. ...more

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Aug 02, 2007 Christy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy, young-adult, 21st-century-british-lit, want-to-reread

I've just finished The Golden Compass. I can't believe I waited so long to read this book. It was simple yet lovely, with interesting characters, setting, plot. It was so engrossing that I managed to read the last third of it at the courthouse, between jury duty sessions.

I'm sure that a large part of my sheer pleasure at reading this comes from the setting itself, having long been fascinated by the far North, but I think there's quite enough there for those less enamored of snow, ice, and polar I've just finished The Golden Compass. I can't believe I waited so long to read this book. It was simple yet lovely, with interesting characters, setting, plot. It was so engrossing that I managed to read the last third of it at the courthouse, between jury duty sessions.

I'm sure that a large part of my sheer pleasure at reading this comes from the setting itself, having long been fascinated by the far North, but I think there's quite enough there for those less enamored of snow, ice, and polar bears to also love this book.

Can't wait to get started on the next book!

*****************************

The Subtle Knife follows through on what is set up in The Golden Compass (although with significantly less snow and fewer polar bears). The characters continue to gain depth, the plot moves forward quickly and in interesting ways, and the world-building is fabulous.

I really like the way Pullman plays with big and important ideas about the basic nature of reality and about faith without the book ever feeling preachy, heavy-handed, or overly intellectual. Moreover, he plays with these ideas at the same time. In Lyra's world, Scholars study experimental theology, which is in our world known as physics. I'm incredibly curious to find out how Pullman elaborates on this connection between science and religion, between these two different ways of exploring our universe and creating meaning, in the final book of the series.

*****************************

Wow. I mean, wow. I enjoyed this book, this series, so much that I cannot wait until I get a chance to read them again. It's a beautiful rendering of the process of coming-of-age and exploration of both what makes us human and what religion can offer us. Pullman's concept of "the Republic of Heaven," as opposed to the kingdom of Heaven is moving and one that I will want to return to.

I highly recommend this series. If you love fantasy, you can't not love this. If you like fantasy, this is the perfect series to illustrate what fantasy really can do. If you don't like fantasy, well, perhaps you should. Perhaps you will after reading Pullman's trilogy. Because this is fantasy that provides escape to another and very interesting world, but it is not merely escapist fantasy. It is also fantasy that speaks directly of and to our world and our experiences. ...more

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Dec 31, 2017 Brandon Forsyth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I started reading this trilogy almost two years ago with my girlfriend, and despite taking some very long stretches off, we finally finished it today (her review in brief: the end drags a bit).
These books were very important to me as a child, second only to maybe Harry Potter in terms of shaping my worldview. To be honest, I didn't understand the books, or the impact they had on me, until we started re-reading them last year. It's a re-read that got much richer with time, delighting and surpris ...more

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Mar 03, 2008 Sandi rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: nobody

Shelves: lemmed

Very rarely do I start a book and not finish it. I've read some really awful books in my time and have managed to finish most. However, I gave up on this book on page 277. I think 277 pages is more than enough to get an idea of whether or not a book is worth finishing. This one isn't worth finishing. I really don't care about the controversy surrounding the author, his philosophy and how it's presented in the book. All I care about is that it's ponderous, preachy and annoying. I've read too many ...more

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May 17, 2016 Louise rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, fantasy, young-adult, favorites, read-2016

#KæreWonders
#ViLæserDarkMaterials

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About Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman

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In 1946, acclaimed author Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England, into a Protestant family. Although his beloved grandfather was an Anglican priest, Pullman became an atheist in his teenage years. He graduated from Exeter College in Oxford with a degree in English, and spent 23 years as a teacher while working on publishing 13 books and numerous short stories. Pullman has received many awards In 1946, acclaimed author Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England, into a Protestant family. Although his beloved grandfather was an Anglican priest, Pullman became an atheist in his teenage years. He graduated from Exeter College in Oxford with a degree in English, and spent 23 years as a teacher while working on publishing 13 books and numerous short stories. Pullman has received many awards for his literature, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal for exceptional children's literature in 1996, and the Carnegie of Carnegies in 2006. He is most famous for his His Dark Materials trilogy, a series of young adult fantasy novels which feature free-thought themes. The novels cast organized religion as the series' villain. Pullman told The New York Times in 2000: "When you look at what C.S. Lewis is saying, his message is so anti-life, so cruel, so unjust. The view that the Narnia books have for the material world is one of almost undisguised contempt. At one point, the old professor says, 'It's all in Plato'—meaning that the physical world we see around us is the crude, shabby, imperfect, second-rate copy of something much better. I want to emphasize the simple physical truth of things, the absolute primacy of the material life, rather than the spiritual or the afterlife." He argues for a "republic of heaven" here on Earth.

In 2007, the first novel of the His Dark Materials trilogy was adopted into the motion picture The Golden Compass by New Line Cinema. Many churches and Christian organizations, including the Catholic League, called for a boycott of the film due to the books' atheist themes. While the film was successful in Europe and moderately received in the United States, the other two books in the trilogy were not be adapted into film, possibly due to pressure from the Catholic Church. When questioned about the anti-church views in His Dark Materials, Pullman explains in an interview for Third Way (UK): “It comes from history. It comes from the record of the Inquisition, persecuting heretics and torturing Jews and all that sort of stuff; and it comes from the other side, too, from the Protestants burning the Catholics. It comes from the insensate pursuit of innocent and crazy old women, and from the Puritans in America burning and hanging the witches—and it comes not only from the Christian church but also from the Taliban. Every single religion that has a monotheistic god ends up by persecuting other people and killing them because they don't accept him. Wherever you look in history, you find that. It's still going on" (Feb. 2002). Pullman has received many threats by ardent believers over his choice of subject matter.

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Other books in the series

His Dark Materials (3 books)

Books by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2)

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3)

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version

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Quotes from His Dark Materials

“I'll be looking for you, Will, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we'll cling together so tight that nothing and no one'll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you... We'll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams... And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they wont' just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight...” — 765 likes

“She wondered whether there would ever come an hour in her life when she didn't think of him -- didn't speak to him in her head, didn't relive every moment they'd been together, didn't long for his voice and his hands and his love. She had never dreamed of what it would feel like to love someone so much; of all the things that had astonished her in her adventures, that was what astonished her the most. She thought the tenderness it left in her heart was like a bruise that would never go away, but she would cherish it forever.” — 202 likes

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