Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (a.k.a. The Golden Compass)
1995 / Audiobook / 399 pages / UK*****
This appeared in bookshops in the summer of '95, when I was nine years old, fresh from the Narnia books and perfectly poised for a more mature, complex and sinister fairy story. It's a shame it'd take me over a decade to get around to it then, but I'm not so irredeemably lost to the adult world to not find it blissfully enchanting. I can't say I got anything more out of it after reading its dreary prequel, except that it made me appreciate this book's perfect pacing even more.
Philip Pullman, The Subtle Knife
1997 / Audiobook / 341 pages / UK*****
The first time through, this was the book I enjoyed the most, its real-world urban fantasy giving off nostalgic CBBC drama vibes. Since then, those humdrum sections have been the least interesting part of the saga by far, and along with its disparate plots, some patronising exposition monologues and preoccupation with setting up the end, there's no doubt it's the weakest of the trilogy. But still a compelling expansion that never loses momentum and has plenty of memorable moments and subtle life lessons along the way.
Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass
2000 / Audiobook / 518 pages / UK
*****
Arguably too dark and complex for kids, nine-year-old me who didn't read the first book when it came out would have suitably grown into this one in real time. It became my favourite of the series the last time around, but now I prefer the innocent wonder of the first book. I'll keep cycling.
The common criticism is that Pullman goes full evangelical atheist in this one, from those who somehow missed that the Church was the antagonist all along and who are too indoctrinated in their specific establishment's trappings to entertain a different point of view. There's more to appreciate than God-botherer-bothering though, with an exotic bestiary making up for the comparatively drab setting of the previous book and literary and mythological allusions out in full force. There's also the romance angle for chicks, I guess.
The common criticism is that Pullman goes full evangelical atheist in this one, from those who somehow missed that the Church was the antagonist all along and who are too indoctrinated in their specific establishment's trappings to entertain a different point of view. There's more to appreciate than God-botherer-bothering though, with an exotic bestiary making up for the comparatively drab setting of the previous book and literary and mythological allusions out in full force. There's also the romance angle for chicks, I guess.
2003 / Audiobook/ebook / 64 pages / UK
***
Inessential but nice to have, this is a stand-alone episode rather than a detached epilogue, but the consequences of those events are still catching up with our maturing hero. I didn't bother reading it until now. Assorted scrapbook pieces help to justify its existence.
2008 / Ebook / 104 pages / UK
****
Wholesome Texan aëronaut Lee Scoresby and his bear buddy were the breakout double-act of Pullman's epic, and here's where it began. A more entertaining prequel than La Belle Sauvage, this time the adult undercurrent concerns corrupt politicians stoking anti-immigrant sentiment. It may be a slim children's book about a balloonist, but it's not all light reading. Bonus star for including a board game.
