his dark materials

[bantha_fodder]

So, I just finished The Golden Compass, and it's not the best thing I've ever read but it's interesting enough that I'll go find the next part, but I didn't actually expect Lord Asriel (the book's on the other side of the room; I'm not sure how to spell it, so let's call him James) to kill Roger. It was pretty clear that Lyra was going to be going to the city in the Aurora, but I try not to look for clues and think about it when I'm reading (doing such a thing makes it too much like writing, and I like them to be distinct), so Roger died and I had to go back and reread the previous page. It was just so quiet and unobserved; they're fighting and then Asriel plugs the cord into the daemon and then Roger goes limp and I love that sort of writing.

So that was cool.

Comments

[hobviously.livejournal.com]

Yes.

I am currently very full of HDM love.

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

Oh? It just sort of came on spontaneously then? :o)

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

I'm in a lonely little minority. I was very disappointed in Pullman's books. Everyone had raved about them in fact when I bought them the shop assistant even guaranteed me my money back (jokingly) if I was able to 'control myself from glomming on the whole series in one go'. I read one book, thought it was ho hum, read the second and then gave up.

I didn't feel anywhere near the same degree of love I feel for Nix, Mahy, Rowling, McKinley, Pierce etc.

Have you tried Trudi Canavan? She's very Garth Nix-y.

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

I have not tried Trudi Canavan. There are many authors I've yet to try, and I've been perfectly happy not reading this series but I thought I'd give it a go. As I said, it's interesting enough, but he changes POV far too often, and (having just started the second book) his introductions are abrupt and a little unsatisfactory.

[seawench.livejournal.com]

I agree. The premise is intriguing, but I could never get excited about them. Something about the writing. If you love Nix, Pierce, & McKinley (some of my favorites) you should try the Oran books by Midori Snyder (New Moon is the First). I discovered them a while ago thanks to the fabulous people at Firebird.

[utopos.livejournal.com]

Erm...spoiler warning?

[ataxi.livejournal.com]

Roger's fucking dead mate. Deal with it :-)

(I also didn't know, prior to this post - having only read Northern Lights and not been terribly impressed whilst still thinking it light years better than Horrible Potter)

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely finding myself comparing it to Potter as I go: the authorship is comparably better, as is the plot and the world building, but I'm still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

Northern Lights is the same as The Golden Compass, so you should have read the bit about Roger's death.

[ataxi.livejournal.com]

How could I have finished the book without spoiling myself? I was thinking "hmm - was Roger the bear then?". Honestly I'm not usually this bad.

I suppose The Golden Compass is the special "make it sell in the US" title then.

I agree - it's better written, but somehow not as much of a page-turner as HP (or Narnia for that matter).

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

Darling, it's behind a cut. Given how freely I usually talk about plot points, what did you honestly think I was going to say?

[ilanala]

I suspect part of my love for this series has to do with starting it back in junior high (and then waiting way too many years for the third book). If you read it for the first time when your older, it's probably a lot easier to see what's wrong with it. But it's interesting, and reasonably well written (as far as I remember), so it's worth finishing even if you don't love it (especially since my favorite character isn't introduced until the next book).

[gobsmackit.livejournal.com]

YAY FOR READING IT. I'm glad you like it at least enough to continue on.

[dear-prudence.livejournal.com]

Sajee read all three of those books aloud to me and I really enjoyed them. I liked the fact tht they weren't so genericly 'fantasy' that you could predict every single thing that happened.
And they totally get better as they go along :)

[flaifire.livejournal.com]

I'm quite fond of the whole of HDM trilogy, but The Subtle Knife is still my favourite.