His Dark Materials by: Phillip Pullman Review
His Dark Materials
By: Philip Pullman
Review
Hello everyone!
I did not plan to have it this way, however my upload schedule as of right now seems to fit best on Thursdays and Sundays; here is my second post of 2018!
In this review I will be giving my general, non spoiler filled thoughts, on the series: His Dark Materials by: Philip Pullman. This series is a middlegrade series that was written in the late 1990's and early 2000's. I missed reading this series as a child for many reasons:
- I was not a big reader when I was younger.
- I did NOT like fantasy. I predominantly read non-fiction animal care books.
- I did not go to the library or bookstore often.
As you all well know by now, I have not read the entire Harry Potter series, therefore I do not feel bad about missing out entirely on another middlegrade series. Though this is a series that I wish I had read sooner for the pure enjoyment I gained from it. I am not the series' target audience, however as a twenty year old man I was able to pick up many distinct and nuanced themes that I would not have appreciated at a younger age. That being said, I adored this trilogy!
The trilogy consists of:
- The Golden Compass
- The Subtle Knife
- The Amber Spyglass
Plot:
The series follows a young girl, Lyra, and her band of oddball friends as they go on quests through her world and many others to save the world. This may seem vague, without giving away spoilers it is hard to discuss the series' plot.
My Thoughts:
I read these novels as a buddy read with Ange from BeyondThePages on YouTube. I read them beginning the week before Christmas through the New Year, and finishing The Amber Spyglass on January 7th 2018. Going into these books I was very hesitant about their quality and nuanced themes that may or may not have been present. This is something that I often struggle with when reading Young Adult of Middlegrade novels, there are many themes and discussions that an author for younger readers cannot have. Contrary to my thoughts, you can have intricately woven plot points, and nuanced themes in novels written for younger readers; up until this point I had not read the "right" book for my tastes.
This book discusses many themes regarding religion and its place in society, belonging, love, hope, and breaking the mold of destiny. The aspects regarding religion missed the mark sometimes only because I am not a particularly religious person. The main overarching theme of challenging the Vatican and religion on its' place in the world were done wonderfully even if they may be heavy handed at times. Pullman's themes discussing hope, belonging, and love touched my heart as well. Lyra forms lasting bonds with everyone she meets, it is relationships such as these that all children reading this series should strive for! From a thematic standpoint, Pullman blew the competition out of the water with his nuanced themes and dense topics he discusses with ease, making the books enjoyable for all ages.
Finally I read these books through Audible, which I cannot recommend enough! The audiobooks are narrated by a full cast, bringing the story to life. The voices or Lyra, Miss Coulter, and Will and Roger all will stick with me for years to come as genius performances! The children in the story are played by actors and actress' that are, or at the least sound of age. The author himself (Phillip Pullman) narrates aspects of the audiobooks, which is a delight to hear how he envisioned the series to sound. Through the full cast narration the reader is able to experience the series as Pullman himself envisions it, leaping from the page and into life before your mind's eye.
Overall, I would say this series is phenomenal! The character development and growth are paced perfectly for all ages, and will provide intricate relationships for the reader to enjoy at any age. The themes discussed, while hard hitting and important, are done in a way that is both appropriate and engaging to young readers. The conversations which Pullman has in this book are some of the ones I wish my parents would have had with me as a child, or even as an adult for that matter. These discussions will expand children's thought process beyond the simplistic and allow them to decide for themselves what they believe. For that reason, in the distant future, when I have children you can bet that these books will be on their shelves!
Series Rating: 5/5 Stars
Happy Reading!
Please read this series if you have not already, it is one of my new favorites.
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