Caught In The Whirlwind
Posts tagged philip pullman
[50 in 365] Book 3: The Amber Spyglass
Feb 27th 2008
Ok. I admit it. I'm going to fail this challenge miserably. I just finished my choice for book three, which was…
The Amber Spyglass
By Philip Pullman
This book was the third and final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. After reading the first two books and really liking the first one and sorta liking the second I was eager to read the conclusion to see how this all tied together.
And I must say…wow. This series of books is probably near the top of my list as far as book series goes. The second book makes total sense after reading this one because, as I suspected, all of that setup was necessary in order for the conclusion of the series to work.
My favorite part of the book was at the end, and that heart wrenching decision that the main characters had to make. I don't want to spoil anything in case somebody else is going to read this book, so I'll just say the ending doesn't disappoint. It feels like everything in the previous books were working towards the last 40 or so pages of this one.
I've hard some people say that this book is mostly aimed towards a younger audience but I'd have to disagree at least with this book. Concepts such as love, sexuality, religion, loss, etc made their way into this book by the end, and while it's written in such a way that there's a layer of understanding that can be achieved by a younger reader, I can see many layers of meaning which are only understandable by an adult reader.
Overall, I'd recommend these series of books to anybody who wants a good, fun light fantasy series. You won't be dissapointed. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing for my next book at this point. I'll have to scout around. I do know that I'm going to fail this thing miserably though. Oh well. Onwards!
[50 in 365] Book 2 – The Subtle Knife – Completed
Feb 3rd 2008
Ok…I'm VERY behind schedule right now. I just finished my second book, The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman.
Overall, I was pretty happy with this book, but I definitely think that The Golden Compass was better. As one of the commenters who responded to my review of that book said, The Subtle Knife doesn't really leave as much to the imagination as the first book in the series did. One of the things I really liked about The Golden Compass was that the author didn't really feel the need to explain the world to the reader in a forced manner as many science fiction/fantasy books do. However, this book seems like it was almost entirely explanation.
I have a feeling the author was setting up necessary exposition in order for the conclusion to make sense. The multiple layers of meaning were also evident, more-so in this book than in the previous one. The allusions to the religious overtones were even more evident in this book than in the first one, keeping things interesting with the promise of deeper meaning. I'm looking forward to reading the third book which is next on my list. A post on that one is forthcoming, probably tomorrow.
I need to step up the pace here if I want to have any hope of finishing 50 books this year. I'm doubtful if I can make up the difference at this point without reading some childrens books thrown in there.
[50 in 365] Book 2 – The Subtle Knife
Jan 22nd 2008
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials Book 2)
by Philip Pullman
by Philip Pullman
I'm going to avoid posting a synopsis for this one because some people in the group have been reading the first book, so I don't want to spoil the events for anybody.
As I mentioned previously, I planned on continuing on reading the His Dark Materials trilogy based on how much I enjoyed the first book. I haven't started reading yet but I plan on it tonight probably since I need to get a move on with this 50 in 365 challenge thing, considering I'm only on book 2 right now.
Too much time playing video games, not enough time reading!
Book 1 – The Golden Compass – Completed
Jan 21st 2008
I'm not making very good time I'm afraid. I just finished my first book in the 50 in 365 challenge this morning. As I mentioned earlier, I read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
While it's true it was aimed towards younger readers, there's also a lot of subtext which adults will appreciate too, especially the religious aspects of the story. One of the most interesting things I found in the book was the exploration of the role of the church in the lives of the people in the world that the book is set in. One of the things the author does well is set up a world which is believable by basing it upon our own universe, but giving everything a twist. I also enjoyed the fact that the author never takes the time to explain
the mechanics of the world, preventing the sometimes awkward
conversations between characters explaining things which the
participants should already know. This leaves the reader to work out
the details, using what they know of the real world and the clues they are given inside the structure of the main story. If something is necessary to understand, then it is explained cleanly in the context of the story by an adult speaking to the young main character.
The way the characters were structured also made the book interesting to me. I'm not one for long periods of description or actions with no dialog. I really need dialog between characters to anchor me to the story. And because the main character in this book is actually 2 characters (Lyra and her daemon, Pan), even when they are alone there is still an opportunity for conversation.
This first book comes highly recommended to anybody who enjoys books based in a light fantasy world with an interesting narrative.
I'm now starting on on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, but I'll make a full post on that book a little later on.
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