His Dark Materials Trilogy *SPOILERS*

[Koalapupu]

Here's our thread for Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Come join the talk! I know that at least few people at Toriforum have read Pullman.

What Aimee already pointed out in the What Are You Reading-thread was that these books change real quick from happy-go-luckyish fantasy to something deeper and scarier. I LOVE THAT!

And I now wish I would have my own daemon. I guess I'm too old and mine would've already chosen its permanent form... but I'd still like it to be a leaf frog! ;D What would be yours?

I think the books are incredibly well written. The language is beautiful and seems to get "harder" the further the plot develops. It's like growing up with the children in the novel. And of course the events get darker and darker. I think that had the first book been the same in mood as the third, I might not have liked it as much. Now, when the atmosphere goes gradually from typical fantasy to a clonk in the head, it somehow works.

Aimee--sniffles will be abound once you get to The Amber Spyglass. Now I really need to re-read the books because I don't remember all that happens. I just remember how I felt. I think that's good if a book accomplishes that.

[♣Miranda♣]

koalapupu said:

Here's our thread for Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Come join the talk! I know that at least few people at Toriforum have read Pullman.

What Aimee already pointed out in the What Are You Reading-thread was that these books change real quick from happy-go-luckyish fantasy to something deeper and scarier. I LOVE THAT!

And I now wish I would have my own daemon. I guess I'm too old and mine would've already chosen its permanent form... but I'd still like it to be a leaf frog! ;D What would be yours?

I think the books are incredibly well written. The language is beautiful and seems to get "harder" the further the plot develops. It's like growing up with the children in the novel. And of course the events get darker and darker. I think that had the first book been the same in mood as the third, I might not have liked it as much. Now, when the atmosphere goes gradually from typical fantasy to a clonk in the head, it somehow works.

Aimee--sniffles will be abound once you get to The Amber Spyglass. Now I really need to re-read the books because I don't remember all that happens. I just remember how I felt. I think that's good if a book accomplishes that.

I love this trilogy! I first read these books ages ago in junior high, and re-read them in January. You're right about The Amber Spyglass - it just breaks my heart.

I read somewhere that they're making the trilogy into a movie and I'm just hoping they do it justice.

[Aims]

*scrolls past everything without looking...*
I'll come back to this thread once I've read The Amber Spyglass. I stayed up way too late last night finishing off the last one. I'm like a zombie today :\

[Koalapupu]

Miranda--I've heard the movie rumors as well! It seems like the film has been on the make forever but keeps on stumbling into difficulties. The last I heard of it was that Nicole Kidman would be cast as Mrs. Coulter.

Hahahah I almost wrote Ann Coulter. *shivers*

I don't know how they're going to pull the movie off unless they make it into a trilogy. Otherwise very important subleties might get lost.

My aunts, who are or at least used to be real fantasy nerds bought me the first of the trilogy. I bought the second one. When later my professor heard that I liked those books, he told me that he had preordered the third one and asked if I would like to borrow it from him, knowing that translations/books come to Finland later! I felt a bit weird about that and just preordered my own copy (although I did borrow some other fantasy literature from him later).

I'm now planning a career as a cool aunt who buys her nieces and nephews awesome books. I have to tell my sister about this plan!

[Aims]

Ohhh Jenni, I finished it today! Spent most of the afternoon/evening in bed reading because it was such a shite day outside.


Omg

I'm still in a bit of a bummed mood about it really. (I know this'll make you cringe, but it's kind of like how I wandered around in a gloomy daze after the last Harry Potter book. hah... )

SO good though, I'm glad I read them.
Now the thought of starting some other completely different book seems really blah. But if I read another fantasy book now it wouldn't measure up so it's probably a good thing that the next in line will be a funny one.

[Koalapupu]

aims said:

Ohhh Jenni, I finished it today! Spent most of the afternoon/evening in bed reading because it was such a shite day outside.


Omg

I'm still in a bit of a bummed mood about it really. (I know this'll make you cringe, but it's kind of like how I wandered around in a gloomy daze after the last Harry Potter book. hah... )

*huggles* The reading experience is really painful, but I guess cathartic in a way. I've never read such "serious" fantasy, ever. Like, there have been serious things like what our Neil writes, but very rarely do fantasy stories involving children get so... depressing. I don't remember much about the actual events in The Amber Spyglass but I remember the feeling. Yikes.

I'm so glad to hear that you liked the books! Now you have to tell me what your daemon would be like ;D Oh, and I do believe that you could be the first poster of our "book club" thingy, if you'd like to introduce Amber Spyglass (or the whole series) without many spoilers

[Aims]

Yeah, totally depressing!
But still so worth the read.. I was trying to explain this to my dad last night (he's become such a bookworm this past year, it's great!) - but it was hard. I didn't want to say too much incase he ever reads them.

I don't know what my daemon would be... I'd like a cat or a reptile of some kind. Probably not a snake, maybe some kind of lizard. It was funny on Sunday afternoon when I was finishing the book, I had my bedroom door shut for a few hours and when I got up around 4-ish to grab something to eat, my poor cat was sitting outside crying at me coz he'd been shut out. And then he was soo clingy - kinda felt like he was my daemon in a way lol.

Anyway, yeah. Definately one of those stories that you keep thinking about for a while after you're finished it. I don't come across that too often either.

[Lemon Pie]

great, you got this club going! So much has happened in the three weeks I was away it's amazing... I somehow forget three weeks went by and am constantly surprised by everything that's happened while I was gone.

Anyways, I too loved this trilogy and now that I think back am surprised how little I remember of the actual events of the book, it's same as with Jenni, feelings remaine.

As for my daemon, it would most likely be a cat or something else that's furry and adorable.

[Aims]

Tanja!
How was your trip? Welcome back.

[Aims]

OK Jenni here's some of the information and photos I've found about the movie.

Official Website

Lyra:

Played by Dakota Blue Richards - here's a Newsweek article about her

More photos...






And of course, the trusty old IMDB page...

The thread on this other forum I read about it at is long and ramblesome, with all sorts of speculation and gossip.. but these are the basic details anyway!

[Koalapupu]

Haa, interesting!

I had always imagined Lyra being less angel-like in appearance but considering the events in the book I guess the filmmakers really want to rub it in

That one pic of Mrs. Coulter is pretty much as I imagined her: the one where Nicole Kidman is standing wearing that goldish outfit.

Daniel Craig... not bad! Of course I have to see how he actually acts as Lord Asriel who is a fairly nice guy. I've seen Craig only in brooding type of roles.

I have to check later those other links to see whether there are any speculations on how they are going to do the daemons! Well, CGI it will be, but how well done is another question...

[♣Miranda♣]

I am so excited about Nicole Kidman playing Mrs. Coulter. ;D

[Aims]

So if you always wondered what form your daemon would take, now you can find out with this totally geeky quiz on the movie's website.

www.goldencompassmovie.com/
(click on the "daemon" tab)

First you answer some questions about yourself and it creates your daemon.. Then you can either keep it the way it is or get your friends to go to your profile and answer questions about you as well - as they do that, the daemon will change form. In 12 days it'll take it's permanent form.

Here's mine, his name is Remis: ;D
www.goldencompassmovie.com/?42536

[Aims]

So I was looking forward to seeing the movie, and I guess I still am.. but from the sounds of it it's been watered down way too much:

www.stuff.co.nz/4297115a1870.html

Compass under fire over religious content

The Church is a central theme of Philip Pullman's acclaimed novel Northern Lights, but there is no mention of it in a new blockbuster Hollywood adaptation.


The Golden Compass, a $US180 million picture released on December 7, is caught between a US Catholic group that has called for a boycott of what it sees as an attack on religion and Pullman purists who do not want the original watered down.

The US-based Catholic League urged Christians not to see the movie, fearing even a diluted version of the book might draw people to read the bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy.

Calling Pullman "a noted English atheist", the group said on its website: "It is his objective to bash Christianity and promote atheism. To kids.

"Though the movie promises to be fairly non-controversial, it may very well act as an inducement to buy Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials."

In the fantasy world created by Pullman, the Church and its governing body the Magisterium, are linked to cruel experiments on children aimed at discovering the nature of sin and attempts to suppress facts that would undermine the Church's legitimacy and power.

Pullman's main character in the books, a girl named Lyra, battles the dark forces controlled by the Magisterium.

But in the film all references to the Church have been stripped out, with director Chris Weitz keen to avoid offending religious cinema goers.

"To me that was about not being aggressive and offending the individual audience goer who might be religious," he said.

"I don't really believe that when it comes down to it, His Dark Materials is an aggressively anti-religious or anti-Catholic series of books."

Pullman has taken issue with the Catholic League and its president Bill Donohue.

"Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world," he told Newsweek magazine.

SOME FANS DISAPPOINTED

Early reviews of the movie have been mixed, with several praising Nicole Kidman's performance and the special effects in particular. But fans have expressed disappointment at the decision to tone down the books' religious content.

"The removal of their religious motivations makes the institution (Magisterium) incredibly bland, a mere band of thugs with a domineering power for no apparent reason," said fan site www.bridgetothestars.net in a broadly positive review.

Kidman, a Catholic, said she would not want to be involved in a movie that was anti-religious.

And co-star Daniel Craig, best known as the new James Bond, said he felt the film worked as it was, although he would have welcomed the inclusion of more overt religious content.

"I wish there was, because I think the debate that Philip Pullman raises is incredibly healthy," he told Reuters.

Craig likened the controversy surrounding The Golden Compass to Vatican objections to the movie based on Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. That film went on to become the second highest grossing picture internationally in 2006.

As well as removing references to the church, the Bible and sin, the film leaves out the final three chapters in which our assumptions about two of the main characters are challenged and tragedy befalls one of Lyra's friends.

Weitz said his decision to end the movie earlier in the narrative had been influenced by the need for a more box office-friendly happy ending to establish the foundation for what he hopes will be a film trilogy.

He also expected more controversy to come should the franchise go ahead.

"I still maintain that the people who are attacking these films and the books as kind of atheist recruiting posters are wrong, but life is going to become more difficult with them if and when we go ahead," he said.

That last bit is especially annoying to me... he's right - if they're kicking up a stink over the first movie what are they gonna be like for the other two? especially the third.

Ah blah.

[♣Miranda♣]

I saw it last night and liked most of it, except for one part which made me really mad, but I won't say what yet so as not to spoil it for you guys. Hurry up and see it though, I'm about to explode. lol

[Aims]

I just checked, apparently it's not out here till the 26th. Ack!!
Oh well, will be able to go watch it one day while I'm off work when it hopefully won't be so packed with annoying kids.

[Koalapupu]

Kidman, a Catholic, said she would not want to be involved in a movie that was anti-religious.

Kidman must have then been drugged during the making of this movie if she can say this. Or then she has promised not to appear in the future movies...

I find it highly amusing that the book's/film's message (or one of them) is "Let people have a free mind to think for themselves, organized religion surely won't let you" and the Catholic League goes "Noooo kids should never see this film, ban the books from libraries too!" Heheheh.

Of course the Catholic League isn't in accordance with the majority of Catholics who think that maybe it's not the greatest movie, but why cause fuss.

[♣Miranda♣]

aims said:

I just checked, apparently it's not out here till the 26th. Ack!!
Oh well, will be able to go watch it one day while I'm off work when it hopefully won't be so packed with annoying kids.

Oh no! Everyone I saw it with hasn't read the book, so they don't understand my frustration. lol

[Aims]

Saw it yesterday.
I was sitting there thinking it was actually better than I was expecting, and then......... wtf? What a piece of crap ending. They're going to have to start the next one with the actual ending of the first book if they want it to make any sense.
And having only read the books once, I got really confused as to what REALLY was supposed to happen. I flicked through the end of the book when I got home and that just confused me more. I think I'll read them all again sometime soon.

[♣Miranda♣]

I agree Aims. The ending made me so mad. I'm not sure why they left off the actual ending, but it was a poor decision.