HIs Dark Meterials Trilogy by Philip Pulman

[Niamh]

A captivating trilogy, filled with darkness, dispear, war, fear, and a small shimmer of hope. Can Lyra stop her parents from distroying everything.

This is a wonderful trilogy. And with each book it gets more intense. I would definitely recommend these as a good read, one where you get lost for hours in new worlds and cant put down!
8/10

(Northern Lights/Golden compass
Sutle Knife
Amber Spyglass)

[one_raven]

I just read this trilogy last month (it sat unread on my bookshelf for a number of years).
I was quite pleased with it.
It was written very well, and presented with suspense, intrigue and an air of the magical.
There were a few things I was disappointed in a bit (none I can go into without completely spoiling the biggest secret of the series) which took away from my over all enjoyment, because it was what was being built to throughout the whole series.
I recommended it to my nephew, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good adventure book.

6/10

[Bakiryu]

The two first books build on and on and it's divine but I felt like the 3 book was a bit of a letdown.

7/10

[dollybird]

I had heard that this trilogy was supposed to great, a masterpiece almost. I started reading it but for some reason couldn't really get into it - may be I should give it another go!

[Niamh]

you should! its wonderful! Or you could wait for the first movie to come out in december and decide then, but of course books are always better thasn the movie!

[one_raven]

...of course books are always better thasn the movie!

Almost always. :)

[Nightshade]

I hated this trilogy....really did , although I will admit that LOVED the first one and the second one but the third spoilt it all for me.

[higley]

The two first book build on and on and it's divine but I felt like the 3 book was a bit of a letdown.

7/10

Agreed, totally, with Bakiryu and Nightshade. It's been a few years since I've really read any of the books, however I do remember being totally captivated by the first and second but very disappointed in the third. The first two had so much promise!

[Telegram Sam]

I loved the first one, was pretty disappointed with the second one, and lost interest before I got too far into the third.

[One_of_some]

I actually read this trilogy when(as) it came out, and Philip Pullman came to my school. Absolutely loved it, although I rather doubt that I'd still enjoy reading it now if I read it again.

As people have said, the third one becomes a bit tedious, especially towards the end.

Edit: just noticed this... @niamh, I hate to be all pedantic, but I'm pretty sure you've spelled "femme fatale" wrong(femme=feminine, hence the e)...

unless, of course, that was on purpose :p

[Juliamour]

Ahhhh....This has been my favorite series since 9 years ago, when I first saw the Golden Compass peeking up at me froma shelf at a bookfair my fourth grade class had visited. Actually ever since I was 10, I have already decided if I ever had a daughter I'd name her Lyra...Obsessed? nah. The end of The Amber Spyglass was very bittersweet to me, and I can remember crying for the first time in my life in response to any sort of literary or movie scene. If I ever have children, this series will be on their shelves.

[Joreads]

I love this series to. I am a big Harry Potter fan and my cousin suggested that I try these books. I was hooked after the first book. A tradition that my family has is going the movies on boxing day here in Australia. We were spoilt for three years with the Lord of the Rings, looks like we have another great three years coming up with His dark Materials.;)

[LavendarEyes]

I just finished reading the two first book. In the first one, Lyra's performance was amazing and I did like this kid. But william's show-up really underplayed Lyra. It seemed that the little girl had become william's puppet. And I don't know why the witch would kill William's father without saying a word. Stupid noble and respect could't explain it.

Anyway, I do enjoy the first episode.

What a cute girl Lyra is!
------------- Quotes --------------
"I want to come north," Lyra said so they could all hear it. "I want to come and help rescue the kids. That's what I set out to do when I run away from Mrs. Coulter. And before that, even, I meant to rescue my friend Roger the kitchen boy from Jordan who was took. I want to come and help. I can do navigation and I can take anbaromagnetic readings off the Aurora, and I know what parts of a bear you can eat, and all kind of useful things. You'd be sorry if you got up there and then found you needed me and found you'd left me behind. And like that woman said, you might need women to play a part-well, you might need kids too. You don't know. So you oughter take me, Lord Faa, excuse me for interrupting your talk."
-----------------------------------

[manolia]

This trilogy sounds interesting..i was thinking the other day, to buy the first as a gift to my cousin..he is 12 years old..is it ok for a 12 year old ?

[one_raven]

This trilogy sounds interesting..i was thinking the other day, to buy the first as a gift to my cousin..he is 12 years old..is it ok for a 12 year old ?

Perfect for a 12 year old.

[manolia]

Thanks one raven :)

[El Viejo]

This trilogy sounds interesting..i was thinking the other day, to buy the first as a gift to my cousin..he is 12 years old..is it ok for a 12 year old ?

I recommend reading it first yourself, and discussing it with your cousin's parents. I can't say much without spoiling the story, but in addition to the wonder and suspense there is deceit, cruelty, and betrayal of such magnitude that you'd want to see it firsthand before deciding.

I think it's OK for a 12 year old, depending on the 12 year old, and on how active you intend to be in the experience.

[Nighteyes5678]

I'd echo the caution in the advice above. I have a high opinion of children and what they can handle, but the books can be pretty dark and serious at times. I've certainly met a few 12 year-olds that I wouldn't give them to. Also, they contain some material that might be offensive to some adults that understand the themes (especially the religious ones), so it would be a good idea to read them yourself first, or discuss it with the child's parents. But, they are good books. ^_^

[Saphira]

I'm a twelve year old and "the golden compass" is my favourite book! I don't remember exactly how old I was when I first read it, maybe eleven. I would recommend it to other twelve year old kids who like fantasy. I didn't think it was to dark or serious, it was perfect for me.
I'm trying to convince my mum to read it, but she says she doesn't have time.

/Saphira

[qimissung]

I read the first one in December and was totally captivated. I finished the series this summer, and found them equally intense and interesting. I can see how someone could be disappointed in the ending-in fact, I was, but there's usually a sacrifice involved when earth has to be saved. I thought, all in all, Pullman handled the material (:)) well. 8/10

[Babyguile]

Yea I read them a couple of years back and LOVED the first two, and still think they were the best fantasy books I've read (behind Hobb and Tolkien) but I remember not finishing the third and only getting 2/3 the way through it. I can't really remember now why I stopped reading, maybe it was because it wasn't as good as the other two as lots of you are saying :idea:

It seems so incomprehensible when I think back that I stopped after loving the first two so much. Maybe Pullman was sacrificing good plot for his religious, or atheist, propoganda.

[kasie]

.... Maybe Pullman was sacrificing good plot for his religious, or atheist, propoganda.

I think you have hit the nail on the head, TheDave - propoganda is exactly how it felt to me, too. It seems to me that the moment a Message becomes more important then the integrity of the story is the moment the quality of the narrative declines.

[Babyguile]

I think you have hit the nail on the head, TheDave - propoganda is exactly how it felt to me, too. It seems to me that the moment a Message becomes more important then the integrity of the story is the moment the quality of the narrative declines.

Yea I guess that's right. As many authors say: a book must first be a great story before it is anything else.

I think they are similar to the Harry Potter books in that they grew more sophisticated with each one, appealing to older and older children untill they were YA novels.

[KaranTrehan]

i love suspense thrillers. definitely going to try this Philip Pulman's Dark materials trilogy.

[mal4mac]

I quite liked the first one, the characters barely made the second dimension, but the plot moved along reasonably well. So, as I'd bought the trilogy in the bargain bucket, I continued with the second. It really dragged! But I'd read two, so, being a completist, I continued to the end. But the third dragged even more! I thought my dislike might be because I'm an old fogey, and it is, after all, for kids. So I read Treasure Island to test that theory. And that was wonderful! Give that to the kids, not Pullman. If you're an adult, and want adventure, put away childish things, and read "The Cossacks" by Tolstoy, and that other bigger book by him...