Customer Reviews

His Dark Materials Omnibus

5 star:		(353)
4 star:		(111)
3 star:		(50)
2 star:		(39)
1 star:		(101)

 

 

There are enough (I dare say much more than enough) reviews out there that pertain to the actual contents of the book, whether it be good or bad, so I shall not express how awesome I think the trilogy is. I, instead, want to comment on the various editions of the book/trilogy available out there. I personally bought the Dark Materials Omnibus, which is absolutely gorgeous, and has very sturdy binding. The cover has a nice texture to it, and is much lighter than one would expect for its size (it is quite large). However, I have seen other versions of the trilogy, and I found that the paperback versions, printed by Knopf, are also wonderful and pleasing to the eye, which are printed with heftier paper than the Omnibus. The "standard" versions (the ones that cost 7.50 or so) are also great, though not as pretty as the other ones; they are, however, lightweight and tightly bound (I got those for my brother, who enjoyed the series). However, if you are in search of a copy to give as a gift, then I suggest the Omnibus or paperback versions, simply because of its aesthetic value.

My three girls and I all love to read, I mean LOVE it! We also like to discuss books we read together. As such, it is always a joy to come across a book or series that engages all of us and ends with long conversations we all learn from. While I do not feel these books are age appropriate for my 8 year old, even with an advanced reading level, it IS for my 13 and 17 year olds. After The Golden Compass, they both fought over who would get to read The Subtle Knife first.

Based on some of the reviews here, much of this series seems to personally offend anyone that is christian. It seems like anything that is threatening to their beliefs is deemed dangerous and negative. However, I think it is a good thing to have your beliefs challenged; it makes you use your mind, question things, and creates thought!

I would much rather have my girls read something they didn't agree with and found distasteful than have their right to read what they want denied. I am grateful for the freedom they experience in our country and the opportunities they are afforded because of it--opportunities to read something like these books that will make them use their minds, for example!

It comes down to this: If you are someone who likes to read, likes to be entertained, likes to use your imagination, and likes to think for yourself rather than allowing someone else to think for you, you will find value in this series!

This trilogy is what reading is all about. It creates a world where you can lose yourself and reflect upon the "real world" that we live in. I found it moving and important.

I picked up a copy of "The Golden Compass" as a houseguest at a friend's house. I confess I wasn't much company, as I could not put the book down for my visit. Before I left my host's house, I went online to buy the entire Trilogy which was waiting for me when I got home. I unpacked, and started reading again.

It truly is thought-provoking and brilliant. Unfortunately, it is also dangerous to those beliefs which we simply assume to be true. Questioning and analyzing are basic intellectual activities, and these books are marvelous opportunities to use fiction to really make you think. Perhaps that's why we are seeing so many negative ratings from those who are very "faith-based". They seem to assume if Faith is questioned (which this series does), then it is anti-Christian. I don't quite get that, as I think Faith without questioning is dangerous itself.

I would agree that the youngest readers may not be equipped for the explorations these books present, but after reading them themselves, perhaps parents will be able to make an informed decision.

Read for yourself, think for yourself, allow the mysteries to absorb you. But don't expect to get a lot done outside of your reading time!!

I was utterly enchanted by this series. I picked up The Golden Compass in a free books pile at the Catholic school where I worked as an English teacher; once I started it, I could not put it down. When I finished, I immediately purchased the next final parts of the series! Many readers have said that The Subtle Knife is the weakest link, and I certianly agree, but I find that's the same for most trilogies.

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews of this book, most of them saying that the books are anti-God. I found the series to more to be anti-religious corruption than anti-God. or anti-spiritual. (The deamons in Lyra's world are like souls in our world). Many people lovingly praise the Narnia series; I find this is just one more perspective in religious fantasy. Many reviews quote a nun character as saying Christianity was a big mistake. I think this book can be an excellent way to open up conversations about how people all too often use faith to serve their own needs (as the history of Catholicism and Christianity has shown, in addition to all other religions). If you are concerned about these aspects regarding your children, read the book first and then decide it you think it's appropriate.

I think this book teaches some great values, such as questioning corrupt authority and pursuing the truth. I also love seeing a strong female character in the main role. Also, I like how Pullman highlighs the importance of animals by making daemons take on animals forms. In all, I found this series incredibly imaginative and thought-provoking. I was blown away at the end, and highly recommend this series to fantasy fans of all ages.

This is a beautifully written trilogy. I was lucky enough to grow up with it. I read The Golden Compass in about 3rd grade and fell in love with Lyra and Pan. Towards the end of elementary I tracked down the 2nd and loved it too. It was several more years before the final one came out, but I read it as quickly as I could get my hands on it. As young as I was, I didn't get the deeper meaning behind the story, but the imagery and the characters were engrossing. Ever since then its been one of my favorite stories. I've probably reread 10 or more time.

What everyone needs to understand that is is not an attack on god and religion as a whole. It is a symbolic attack on the people who take it to the fanatic and dangerous levels. The ones who corrupt the true essence of what faith is supposed to mean. You have to keep that in mind while you read it. *SPOILER* Yes, there is the scene in the final where they let god out of his crystal case and he breaks apart and blows off into the wind. But when you really read the subtexts of the book you see its about releasing god out of the confines man has put him in and allowing him to return what he is truly supposed to be and stand for.

I read it as a child and I certainly wasn't scarred for life with the "brutal blasphemy". This book is not for the narrow minded who's sole purpose in life is marking what is and what isn't right. If you cant see what the author is truly saying, then this book isn't for you. I can see why parents wouldn't want young children to read it, it does deal with several dark issues. But allow your older children to think and experience for themselves. If they truly believe then a book inst going to effect anything. Their beliefs are going to be tested so many times in life, you will never be able to shield them from all of it.

As to the comments about underage sex, no where in there does it say anything about them having sex. It says they kiss and touch. If you are that depraved and are searching for a reason to find the book disgusting and hateful, maybe thats what you see in it.

Pullman is a wonderful author. His characters are realistic and 3 dimensional. His imagery is better then most I've ever read. The plot is original, intriguing, exciting, and complex. The books are full of adventure. There just aren't enough glowing adjectives to describe these books. They are a great read at any age and good enough to be read over and over. Don't let narrow minded people cloud your judgment.

His Dark Materials is not a children's book, nor is it meant to be one. No more than Animal Farm is, as George Orwell claimed, a "fairy tale." Those that assumed it is a children's book made an improper assumption. Both works feature deep layers of allegory, many of which children will not come to appreciate until they grow older.

This work of literature presents the reader with a poignantly expressed case for spiritual freedom. Not atheism, not agnosticism, but freedom of spiritual choice. It blasts Christianity less than it highlights the detriments of blind dogma, the same kind of knee-jerk dogma that drives a number of reviewers here to condemn the book as "evil." These people fear their children thinking outside the box, even if it furthers their spiritual understanding. I am a Christian, and believe the faithful must base their faith on enlightened choice. What is there to fear from a novel, when it is obviously a work of fiction? Those that assert this book is especially unfit for children are tacitly admitting children are most vulnerable to brainwashing... their own. Why else wail like the Sirens about "researching" the author, save to make haplessly sheltered children even more sheltered? Indeed, today's brand of "pray and get a Lexus" faith, as seen here perpetuated by ignorance not understanding, has fallen pitifully far from the original purpose.

Mr. Pullman also makes a powerfully written case for readers to be the best people they can be. Better people not in judgment, not in dogma, not in conviction, but in attitude and action. In that regard, Mr. Pullman's fantasy world presents a better case for Christ's compassion than the below basketload of pharisaical fundamentalists. To those of you more open minded to one of the greatest works of fiction from the last decade, purchase His Dark Materials for your own enjoyment and judge for yourself whether your children deserve such a treat.

I think it's interesting how people come here and say this series of books isn't for children because of its anti-Christian message. Following such logic to its fullest would mean that The Chronicles of Narnia or Pilgrim's Progress are equally not for children due to their obvious pro-Christian message. Aren't they just as guilty in their attempts to indoctrinate children with Christian beliefs? What these people really mean is that you shouldn't let your children read this series if you don't want them exposed to alternative ideologies that might compromise your agenda of indoctrination. However, if you are a parent who is interested in instilling critical thinking skills into your children, then by all means buy this series, read it together, discuss it, then let them decide for themselves what they are going to believe.

I read these books 4 years ago and now ordering sets as presents.

I am truly disgusted at the reviews based on the author's personal opinion and not about the books themselves. It is however unsurpizing that the reviews on amazon.co.uk do not have knee-jerk fears of evil satanists. But in some ways it's funny that it's the fundamentalist Americans who liken a fantasy book that has the church torturing children in experiments that leave them as zombies to Christianity.

If you actually read the books - at least without automatically being offended - you'd realize that the actual morals are what Christianity is supposed to be. You know... about being good and not evil no matter your excuse. It's about totalitarianism that attempts to control all aspects of people's lives through kidnapping, assination, torture and censorship. Never once does he mention the actual theology nor refer to Christianity.

According to the wiki:

"However, Pullman has found support from other Christians, most notably Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. These groups and individuals contend that Pullman's negative portrayal of the "Church" in His Dark Materials amounts to an attack on dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself. Dr. Williams has gone so far as to propose that His Dark Materials be taught as part of religious education in schools."

If you really think that a series of books with good underlying morals yet opens minds, will ruin your children then don't let them read it. Maybe you should also ban history books because many ideas in His Dark Materials Trilogy are from the actual history of oppressive religions.

What are you so affraid of? Kids reading Pullman's books? People thinking for themselves? Or Heaven forbid having alternative beliefs?

This tale gripped me immediately as an exciting adventure story built around the remarkable Lyra, a young heroine so simultaneously splendid and rough... her naive, emerging femininity so credibly balanced by innate wisdom and clear seeing... so instinctively cautious and yet so capable of recklessness... so able to apply and also withstand her own self-criticism... so much the daughter every man's soul dreams of. Later in the story we meet Will, who embodies all the complementary mythic heroism we would ever want to see in a son... but painted into a surprisingly believable picture of a normally conflicted 12 year old boy from the 21st century.

I suppose the most enduring theme and the basis for the subtle beauty of this work lies in the exquisite psychological BALANCE that is found everywhere... although not obviously or early on in most cases. Opponents are ultimately balanced to one another in the endless struggling, but the outcomes are sometimes tragic and often disappointing as they are in life. Slowly we see and eventually come to trust that tools and weapons are perfectly soul-balanced and psychologically suited to their possessors. Still, we are never quite sure how the fight will go.

This is a dangerous story to read with kids in some ways because the child characters are so powerful and allowed so much sovereignty... and yet that is precisely how it captures and holds any reader Lyra's age or older. All together, the dizzying array of characters comprise a pantheon... a mythological representation of one whole human individual... and of his or her endless battle, first to know then achieve a degree of benevolent mastery over him or her SELF. It's the story of dawn of creation... the falling away of innocence... the ascent... the purifying struggle... and the mysterious subtle marriage of opposites in which the Self is finally discovered and ultimately "redeemed"... but probably not in the way you'd expect. Thank you Mr. Pullman, for a wonderful tale. My hat's off to you, sir!

I just finished reading this grand trilogy to my kids, aged 8, 10, and 12. My wife ended up sitting in on almost the entire series, and all of us were riveted from Oxford to the World of the Dead and back again. These books are incredibly ambitious: they set out to stitch together a religio-political history of the multiverse with deep, informed reference to physics, religious history, adolescent psychology, Nietzschean heroism, etc. etc. etc. The result, as I read it, is one of the most compelling indictments of church and state ever written for a broad audience. Author Philip Pullman concludes, without didactic hamfistedness, that the first purpose of churches and governments is self-perpetuation through maintaining the ignorance of their adherents and citizens. The greatest wisdom and joy, in Pullman's worlds, comes of full, mortal, bodily engagement with the physical world per se: with domestic comforts, food, sex, art, aesthetic involvement, work well done, craft, cleverness, etc. The well-earned consciousness of a human adult, earned through Blakean experience, is the crowning moment of all creation. Antithetical to this wisdom and consciousness is dogmatic narowness, asceticism, monasticism, self-denial, narrowness of experience.

That this idea is dramatized through the adventure stories of children is remarkable. One could do worse than to say that the weakness of fictional biography is its narrowness, its dependence on the particular, the local, the kind of detail that is very difficult to universalize or even generalize. And the weakness of allegory is its didactic tendency, its broad-stroke enmity to personal meaningfulness except in the most abstract terms. What Pullman has done is to weave a sharp, poignantly-rendered, intimate set of psychological dramas into grand, almost scriptural allegory. As though Charles Dickens were setting Tiny Tim against the backdrop of the Old Testament. In this way, which should not be attempted by lesser writers, the touchingly naive and personal actions of a 12-year-old girl take on universal importance. Every minor petulance, every petty preference, every whim shakes creation. In this setting, in which cataclysm feels immanent and everything hangs in pre-apocalyptic balance, our little heroin's encounter with God himself feels simply a natural step in the narrative. How Pullman pulls this off, I don't know. By all rights this should be embarrassing, overblown stuff, but it isn't. It is emotionally raw, heartbreaking, and lovely. Just like life.

I highly recommend these books for children with good vocabulary and their fixed-Daemon authority figures.