His Dark Materials Trilogy [Paperback]

Philip Pullman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2008 | Series: His Dark Materials

This is Philip Pullman's classic trilogy in one slipcase. Since the first volume was published in 1995, and has now been filmed as "The Golden Compass", the trilogy has been acclaimed as a modern masterpiece, and has won the UK's top awards for children's literature. Today, the fabulous story of Lyra and her daemon is read and loved by adults and children alike.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the epic trilogy His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman unlocks the door to worlds parallel to our own. Dæmons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes--if it isn't destroyed first. The three books in Pullman's heroic fantasy series, published as trade paperbacks, are united here in one dazzling boxed set that includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. In these new editions, each chapter opens with artwork by Pullman himself, along with chapter quotations from the likes of Milton, Donne, Black, Byron, and the Bible that did not appear in earlier editions. Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventure of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands. (Ages 13 and older) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"One of the supreme literary dreamers and magicians of our time" The Guardian "Philip Pullman. Is he the best storyteller ever?" The Observer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; New Ed edition (November 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1407109421
• ISBN-13: 978-1407109428
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,256 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and exciting November 16, 2007

By J. Anderson

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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!

198 of 215 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant fantasy trilogy September 20, 2007

By Mike Birman TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Philip Pullman's dark fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, ostensibly written for children, is actually literature of a much higher order. The title of the trilogy comes from a particularly powerful passage of Milton's Paradise Lost, the great religious epic poem whose central story is the thematic basis for this trilogy. Another important influence on these three novels is the Christian Parsifal or Sir Percival story, which dates back to the early middle-ages as part of both the King Arthur and the Holy Grail cycle of tales. From its very first page, Pullman's crisp, evocative writing creates a world not quite like ours but just similar enough to be uncomfortable and strangely familiar. As readers of the trilogy know, most of the events in these books do not occur on our world or even in our universe. Of course, because this is post Tolkien fantasy, Mr. Pullman has absorbed all of the usual fantasy tropes and has no desire to repeat them. So what he writes is new, deeper, with fully rounded characters that come alive on the page. His courageous young heroine, Lyra Belacqua with her daemon familiar, Pantalaimon, always by her side, is one of the great creations in "children's literature". Lyra and Pan make an especially entertaining, often very amusing, pair. Her fearsome Uncle, Lord Asriel, is one of those rich, ambiguous creations that keep you guessing as to their motives, reminiscent of Professor Snape in J. K. Rowling's Potter novels. Pullman's writing is lean and well crafted and exciting to read. Once started, it is very difficult to set aside.

This three volume boxed set contains the books in hardcover with their original dustcovers. Their artwork is lovely. It also contains a map: a necessity in today's complex world of fantasy. The first volume, The Golden Compass, has been filmed and was recently released on DVD. The two succeeding books, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, will presumably follow thereafter. This set makes a lovely gift for an older and mature reading child or an adult who still retains memories of childhood and all of its dark mysteries. Strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

192 of 212 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Polar Bears! October 17, 2007

By M. Lee

Format:Paperback

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.