Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
Advantages:
Great story, fantastic characters
Disadvantages:
None
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Introduction
This review forms the first of my three-part review of the ‘His Dark Materials’ set of novels. His Dark Materials is split into three books. The first book is the one that I am reviewing now and this is called Northern Lights. The other two books are called The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. These books were written by a man called Philip Pullman. They in fact came third in the BBC’s Big Read competition and have received critical acclaim from all over the World. I first came across the novels late last year. I had some gift vouchers for WHSmith and the first instalment caught my eye so I decided to give it a go. I didn’t really know what to expect from these novels and to be honest what I in fact got was a big surprise (and a pleasant one at that.)
Blurb
This is in fact the first book review I have written for Ciao so I have decided to try and give all the information I can think of. This section is designed to tell you what the book says about itself. The blurb is as follows:
‘When Lyra’s friend Roger disappears, she and her dæmon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. The ensuing quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice and witch-queens fly through the frozen skies- and where a team of scientists is conducting experiments too horrible to be spoken about.
Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find something more perilous waiting for her- something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights…’
Just a couple of things related to the blurb that need explaining straight away. Firstly, the term dæmon is no spelling mistake on my behalf! This refers to a creature that Pullman invents in the book. The idea of a dæmon is that they are a part of every human in Lyra’s world. It is only possible for a dæmon and a human to be so far apart before they start to feel a pain, like someone cutting them apart. In the case of Lyra, her dæmon is called Pantalaimon and he is still young, like Lyra and often changes shape. When a human dies, so does the dæmon, their lives are intertwined because essentially a dæmon is like the soul of a human.
Secondly it is important before you read the book to understand this. Once again this excerpt is taken from the book.
‘Northern Lights is the first part of a story in three volumes. The first volume is set in a universe like ours but different in many ways. The second volume, the Subtle Knife, moves between three universes: the universe we know, the universe of Northern Lights; and a third universe, which differs from ours in many ways again. The final volume of the trilogy, the Amber Spyglass, moves between several universes.’
Thus, as you can see, this first book stay only in the same universe. However, the others do not. I hope this information gives you a better insight into understanding the plot of the three books as it progresses. I will include this information in my other two reviews.
Author
As I have already mentioned, this book was written by Philip Pullman. Pullman has indeed written other books before but none of them have enjoyed the same success as ‘His Dark Materials’. Pullman was I fact born in Norwich and he attended Oxford University and read English. He wrote Northern Lights in 1995, the other two following in 1997 and 2000. His inspiration for this particular book came from a poem by Milton called Paradise Lost. This book refers to how the Almighty must maintain order or all will be lost. Many say this book was written to be against the church. However Pullman claims this not to be the case.
Story
This is a difficult story to summarise because firstly so much goes on and secondly I want to avoid giving away any interesting twists in the plot! Anyway, in the opening scene of this book, we see Lyra, a young girl who seemingly enjoys getting into trouble! She is in a room she should not be in Jordon College, which is part of Oxford University but that is Lyra’s Oxford, not the one we know. She ends up having to hide in a cupboard with Pantalaimon, her dæmon and they end up sitting in on the meeting.
In fact, the man hosting the meeting is Lyra’s uncle, Lord Asriel. Asriel is a fearsome man and Lyra is frightened of getting caught by him. She hears Asriel talk of a mysterious substance called Dust. Now Dust plays an integral part in this entire trilogy. Part of Lyra’s quest is to in fact discover what exactly this Dust is and whether it is a good or bad thing. Anyway, one night Lyra’s friend Roger is taken by a group of people called Gobblers. These are people that have been going around town and stealing children, whose dæmons had not changed form yet. Lyra decides she must save her friend but she doesn’t know how. In the mean time she meets this woman called Mrs Coulter. She talks to her at the College and thinks she is wonderful. So the master of the college sends Lyra to stay with Mrs Coulter to be educated and gives her an Alethiometer. This is a device that always tells the truth but Lyra has no clue how to read it.
Lyra starts to really dislike living with Mrs Coulter, who is treating her quite badly and so Lyra escapes her house, keeping the Alethiometer safe at all times. Lyra ends up joining up with a group of people called the gyptians. It is with them she starts her quest to find Roger. This quest leads them on an arduous journey, during which they recruit the help of a fearsome armoured bear named Iorek Byrnison. Lyra manages to persuade him to help the group whose aim is to take back all the children stolen by the Gobblers. The book culminates in a fearsome battle that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Coupled with this, there are plot twists aplenty and Lyra starts to learn more about what her role in the future may be.
Characters
I have to say that the development of the main characters in this book is excellent. Furthermore, I think one of the best things Pullman does in this book is not dwell too much on building characters. This way he is able to maintain the pace of the book, which is fast. I feel this helps because you are never then finding any of it boring. One good technique he uses is to character build while the story is in action, mostly via anecdotes. In addition, we see a large change not just across the three books but also in this volume alone in Lyra’s character. We are supposed to see this change and Pullman does it well. We see Lyra change essentially from a girl to a young woman across the three books. Especially at the start of Northern Lights, we see her childish behaviour and I must say she isn’t overly likeable at the start, possibly a likeable rogue type figure. However, as the story progresses we admire her more for her courageousness and her sheer determination to want to save Roger.
However, my favourite character in this book is undoubtedly Iorek Byrnison. He is an armoured bear who has been put into exile by his own kind. He is in prison in the story in a town in the north. However, the gyptians wish to recruit him to help them save the children because he is such a fearsome fighter. Lyra uses the Alethiometer to help Iorek find his armour and in return he decides to help them. I like Iorek because despite his fearsomeness, he becomes very fond or Lyra very quickly. The audience is exposed to his gentler side and we can easily love him. Iorek is one of the great heroes in this story. I find myself drawn to compare him a little with Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings. In fact if you ever read this book, you will see this even more. Those who have already read it will certainly know what I mean. Iorek is also the safety figure in this book. You know that when he is around there is nothing to fear because he will fight for Lyra until his death. Without doubt he is one of the most memorable characters I have found in any book.
Description
I have to say a quick word about the writing in this book. Philip Pullman beautifully describes all the scenery in this book. I must say his narrative and description makes this book easier to read as he has the power to so vividly create pictures in your mind of what the characters are experiencing and the scenery around. There is one particular fight between Iorek and another bear that is described unbelievably well. You can visualise each blow in the fight and also the weight with which they land!
Overall
I would say that Philip Pullman has given us a novel that will be remembered for generations to come. As time goes by, this book I feel will become much like the Lord of the Rings in the way we all remember it. I have to say if I ever had the choice, I would read this trilogy over the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That said, I feel the Lord of the Rings is probably very slightly better but by very little. The biggest tragedy of this book is that more people haven’t read it. Make sure if you read nothing else you read this trilogy and of course Northern Lights, subject of this review is a fine start to the trilogy.
Is this the best of the three I hear you say? That is something I will answer in my review of the Amber Spyglass. Then I shall say which is my favourite. Nevertheless I urge you to read this book and of course the other two. I guarantee you will not regret it, especially if you are already a fan of the Lord of the Rings. Although the stories are different you get the same buzz out of reading it and I have to say very few other books have done that for me.
I really did enjoy this book and it is not too hard going either for those who prefer not to be reading what seems like an endless tale! This first book weighs in at 399 pages, which isn’t too bad at all. This will not take long to read possibly a week of two-hour readings will get it done. I suppose it depends how fast you read really. In a nutshell, I love this book and the while is Dark Materials trilogy in general really. I would recommend these books for about 14 and up because despite them being acclaimed as children’s books, they probably are for a more mature reader. If anything in fact they serve adults for entertainment more than anyone else! In fact Pullman himself said he wrote these books for some one the same age as him, which at the time was 44 so the author believes that is who it is for!
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