This one rounds off the His Dark Materials trilogy as Lyra, Will, and the other characters, new and old, begin on the last leg of their adventure throThis one rounds off the His Dark Materials trilogy as Lyra, Will, and the other characters, new and old, begin on the last leg of their adventure through various worlds. Things start coming together, with the characters, particularly Lyra and Will, and Mary Malone, being guided by fate towards the prophecy that has been made about them. There is a matter of making choices too, but until then, fate pushes them along irrespective of the efforts others (particularly, the Magisterium and its cronies) or Mrs Coulter for that matter, make to impede them or rather do away with them entirely. And it isn’t just that one all-important choice at the end, but even at other places, Lyra and Will are faced with some rather difficult decisions, ones that could make things right or better but may involve pain as well. The two are growing up certainly, but still very young and for them to be faced with these choices seems especially hard. There are also those who are aiding fate, helping Lyra and Will along, many times even without the children’s realising it, and making some difficult choices as well, without so much as a blink of an eye. But it is ultimately Lyra (and to an extent Will) and that all-important choice that they find themselves faced with which will shape their world and others.
While the first two books were indeed imaginative, especially in the concept of daemons and Lyra’s world which I quite liked (especially so because of Iorek, but also Lee Scoresby, and the gyptians), this one is far more so with many new world to which our heroine and hero, and many of the other cast of characters travel, with interesting new creatures, surroundings, ways of life, even. The land of the dead is rather frightening (if I had to compare it to Harry Potter which I often end up doing when reading fantasy books, it’s something close to falling into the hands of the dementors) as the land of the mulefa is endearing.
I thought this book wrapped things up very well—we finally learn what the prophecy was all about, meet old friends from the other books, and some new ones (the mulefa were rather sweet as I’ve already said and so in a sense were the Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia), some characters also manage to redeem themselves and take one by surprise once again, and the end, well that left me feeling pretty satisfied with how things turned out (though it isn’t all storybook). This was overall an enjoyable series for me, except for the complaint about the cliffhanger endings in the first two books, and I think I will definitely be revisiting these again. ...more
The Subtle Knife begins in a different world from Lyra’s—a world, and a London more like, or perhaps one that is ours with traffic, and craziness, BurThe Subtle Knife begins in a different world from Lyra’s—a world, and a London more like, or perhaps one that is ours with traffic, and craziness, Burger King and such. In this London, we meet twelve-year-old Will Parry, whose father was lost in an expedition to the arctic, and who is desperately trying to protect his mother and in the process end up “murdering” one of the men threatening her. He escapes into another world, one haunted by the rather terrifying spectres but there meets Lyra Belacqua now Lyra Silvertongue as she was named by Iorek Byrnison. Together they must find his father and also go forward on Lyra’s search for the truth about Dust. Now she has pretty much mastered reading the althiometer, and that becomes her guide. Meanwhile Mrs Coulter is on Lyra’s trail and members of her own “gang” are also travelling between the worlds. And on the other side, Serafina Pekkala with her witches, joined by another witch queen Ruta Skadi, also set off to help Lyra (still unaware of the prophecy about her) and Lord Asriel in his fight against the “Authority”.
This instalment made for exciting reading with good pace and plenty of action, and a few upsets. We learn more about Lyra’s “mission” and role, as well as Will’s part in it—but they, and the people they meet—friends and foe—are all pieces in something that seems destined rather than having much to do with what they will. This instalment also gave us more insights into daemons—they are in some ways opposite to their humans, yet also at one with them. We learn too that the “war” that is coming is between imposed knowledge and being open to more and newer discoveries, and knowledge. This one also had more biblical references than the first book. While I did enjoy the book as I did the first one, what I didn’t like was the fact that unlike say, the Harry Potter books, where each story is complete in itself though one knows there is more to come, these end sort of midway, with a cliffhanger of sorts, where you don’t come away feeling satisfied with what you have read. And while in this series, I do want to read on to find out how things pan out, sometimes this kind of approach where the reader is being “forced” to pick up the next one makes me want to leave off reading the series rather than reading on....more
Revisit- I reread this as I am reading the entire series back to back. The Golden Compass/Northern Lights introduces us to Lyra Belacqua, a young girlRevisit- I reread this as I am reading the entire series back to back. The Golden Compass/Northern Lights introduces us to Lyra Belacqua, a young girl (I don’t think we’re told how old she is but between 10 and 12, probably) living at Jordan college, Oxford where her Uncle an explorer Lord Asriel has placed her. She leads a fairly normal life playing with other kids, having intermittent lessons, and warring with the gyptian children. Their Oxford, or in fact their entire world is not the world we know—there isn’t any “magic” but there are witches, and talking bears. Every human (and witch) has a daemon—an animal form that their soul (for the most part it felt like their daemons were their souls but there were points were I wondered whether there was something more to it like where Lyra is told that a person is unhappy and discontent if a daemon takes a form that they don’t like) takes and that has the power to change until it takes on a permanent form once a child grows up. One day, Lyra sneaks into a men (scholars)-only meeting at the college only to spy an attempt to kill Lord Asriel. She manages to warn him in time but that marks a start to her adventure. Alongside, mysterious people known to the children as gobblers are taking away children who are never seen or heard from again, and Lyra’s pal, the kitchen boy Roger and a gyptian child, Billy Costa are among their victims. Then Mrs Coulter, a beautiful, sophisticated, yet somewhat disquieting lady comes to Jordan and takes Lyra into her care. Before they leave, Lyra is handed an altheiometer, a mysterious compass like device which she has no idea what to do with. Soon she finds Mrs Coulter has a connection with the gobblers and their activities, and escapes from her house to join and travel with the gyptians led by John Faa to rescue her friends and the other children. On their way they “hire” Iorek Byrnison (my favourite character), an armoured bear, who has been unfairly deprived of his kingdom, and his “soul”, his armour made of sky metal. Their journey is full of adventure and danger but also reveals many secrets about the activities of the gobblers, the Panserbjørn and about Lyra and her people that shock more often than surprise. Lyra may have a bit of an inclination for spinning tales, but she is also bright and able to tackle any obstacle or problem with quite a bit of flair.
I enjoyed the book as an adventure story—it is fast paced, with plenty of action, danger, and surprising revelations along the way to keep one interested throughout, though the end (different from the movie version or rather the movie ended at a point a little earlier on in the book) is more realistic than fairy tale, setting the stage for further adventures. But of course, there is much more than just adventure (though the book is framed as a young adult book)—one is shown how making new discoveries, gaining new knowledge may be blocked by authority (here the “Magisterium”/Church) because it isn’t their version of the truth, and the version they want people to believe. But those seeming to oppose them may not have a “pleasant” or even “correct” version of things either. Children on the other hand, see things differently, and might even point out the right way (or “a” right way, at any rate). The book also explores the notion of the soul and the true self as well—those true to themselves, not pretending to be any other come out strongest even if they may not physically be so. So, the book overall is both exciting and gives one much food for thought. Off now to book 2!
--- (2014 review) I've watched the film version ? times on TV and while I don't remember how I liked it the first time around, it has become a favourite with me now. I also enjoyed reading the book very much- partly because it was like revisiting a favourite story. Reading the book made the story itself much clearer. The end, however, was on a different note than the film....more
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