[bir]

i asked ur opinion on which book to read first
the golden compass or a game of thrones
u guys told me to start with compass first for it was inferior to a game of thrones
well u guys should have told me not to read a golden compass http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/frown.gif i didnt like the way pullman wrote
the game of thrones was awesome btw!
im now reading a clash of kings http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[estranghero]

Well, you know what they say... get rid of the trash then watch TV. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

(Not that I'm saying Pullman is trash, btw.)

[ChrisW]

I would. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Oh and don't blame me! I told you it sucked http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Guess I was wrong about Game of Thrones though http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif.

[Lani]

Is it only me, or there's something about Pullman's books that puts you out of balance? It's written so wierdly that I couldn't continue reading the Golden Compass. Did anyone else notice that?

[Bond]

I cannot quite remember but I think I had the impression that you had the book already so it was not a question of buying it or not but which to read first. If you already had it, I imagine you could make up your own mind whether to read it or not and make any of our opinions moot. A bunch of people saying it is inferior is a pretty strong sign in any event that there is mixed opinion on it.

The Golden Compass appeals to some people and there is no real way to know where you fall unless you read it. I didn't find the The Golden Compass that interesting though The Subtle Knife I thought was very good. I'm ambivalent though as to recommending you continue with the series since the last book The Amber Spyglass I found even worse than The Golden Compass.

[bir]

actually he had a good storyline (i think) it was just the way he wrote http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/frown.gif
it was a childrens book!!! though i doubt kids would want to read that
but i think ill try to continue reading the series because i would like to know what happend to the story
i really hope book II is better
i was just wondering how come it was highly rated? especially in amazon

[Bond]

Amazon and review sites like it are IMO generally skewed. Let's face it only people who really love or detest a book are likely to create a review. Those who are left indifferent or ambivalent aren't likely to. The His Dark Materials Trilogy for me falls into the latter category pretty well. One cannot say that it is a hack job (although I for one see too many parallels with C.S. Lewis's Narnia books to be awed by claims of originality) or a shallow book. It also has its interesting moments.

On the other hand I did not think the story flowed very well. Some transitions I thought were jarring and some story devices were internally inconsistent even given the flexibility one could accord to it as a fantasy. A series that tries to be smart but does not quite succeed in my opinion using as it does a plot that fails given the pretentious burden of metaphysical allusions and symbolism.

Weird writing? Perhaps, but I really enjoyed The Subtle Knife and it was just as exotic as The Golden Compass but in that second book, my interest was sustained even in the more fantastic parts while in the former, especially the part with the polar bears, it seemed as if a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale out of nowhere intruded on a sci-fi fantasy world.


[This message has been edited by Bond (edited March 17, 2002).]

[Alucard]

I actually enjoyed the Golden Compass more than A game of thrones. I thought Pullman's book was better paced and much more creative -- which are two things I'm a stickler about. A game of Thrones was good, but it took about 300 pages to really catch my interest. The beginning of the novel was chocked full of characters whom I could care less about (because, with his sparactic Chapter structure, it took a while for me to get really interested) and in general was typical fantasy (read: medieval politics with some hack and slash). It got much better later on, but it was a while in coming.

But I guess it all depends on what kind of stories you're in to. A lot of my favorite fantasy authors are the ones with twists on our world. Rowling, Gaiman, and IMO, Pullman do a great job of this. Not to say that I don't like some swords and scorcery novels, but after reading them over and over, they all start to seem the same.

[Cadfael]

actually he had a good storyline (i think) it was just the way he wrote
it was a childrens book!!! though i doubt kids would want to read that

Er... wake up... smell the coffee... http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

It IS a CHILDREN'S book!!!! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

I admit it is a bit dark, but children are the audience it was meant for... and my children love it. As do most of his INTENDED audience... reading it as an adult, I think his style is dodgy... but the story underneath is brilliant.

[This message has been edited by dennizm (edited March 18, 2002).]

[bir]

oh so thats why i found it in the childrens section http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
the story was a lil interesting though il giv him that
newei its nice to hear the opinion of some ppl who like the book hehehe http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif
so does any1 recommend a subtle knife? http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif