something to read (i.e. His Dark Materials)

[Neil Ward]

Stephanie wrote:

<< HOW ODD -- I was just about to post myself and tell all of you 
that I just finished Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series 
(well, I haven't read the recent novella yet because Amazon is being 
very slow in getting it here) -- the first book is called The Golden 
Compass, originally published as The Northern Lights -- and I LOVED 
these books.  I know other Potter fans will love these books too so 
go read them.  I'd love to hear what you all think of them. >>

I adore this trilogy too, and to think that I only decided to read 
them because I wanted something in the vein of Harry Potter whilst 
waiting 'Book 5'.  In the end, I'd worked my way through a whole 
range of childlit/fantasy authors, including Philip Pullman, before 
OoP came along.

I much prefer Philip Pullman over JKR as a writer and in the recent 
Big Read vote in the UK - for those who haven't heard of it - His 
Dark Materials (as a whole) was voted the nation's third most popular 
book, behind LotR and Pride and Prejudice.  Goblet of Fire came 
fifth, with the first three HP books skirting the early 20s. 

I tend to regard Harry Potter as a literary phenomenon hanging in the 
balance, whereas HDM already has the stamp of literary classic.  This 
is perhaps partly because HDM is a complete series and not an ongoing 
one, but I also feel that the HP series has become a little obese and 
directionless.  I hope I'll feel differently by the time I reach the 
end of Book 7.

Last week, I saw the first part of the two-part stage adapation of 
His Dark Materials at the National Theatre (NT) in London, and I'll 
be seeing part II this Wednesday.  Those of you who've read the books 
will probably goggle at the idea of someone producing two plays from 
three books of such imagination and scale, but the NT has managed it, 
albeit with flaws, alterations and disappointments.

The other HP comparison that always struck me about His Dark 
Materials was the fact that the first book was renamed for the 
American market to something that wasn't strictly accurate.  The 
first book doesn't feature a golden compass, but it does feature 
something that might be described as such.  In the same way, as we're 
all aware, the first Harry Potter book was renamed to refer to a 
magical-sounding Sorcerer's Stone rather than the more accurate 
Philosopher's Stone.

Neil