The Elements of His Dark Materials (Paperback)

by Laurie Frost (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
An illustrated, comprehensive, reader-friendly reference to Pullman's brilliant trilogy--valuable for fans and researchers alike. Packed with clues to literary imagery and subtle allusions, Frost's encyclopedia-style guide exposes the depths of all three titles, including the appendices in the 10th anniversary editions of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass published in the UK in 2005 (not yet released in the US).

The Elements of His Dark Materials features:
Foreword by Philip Pullman
140 photos
26 illustrations
11 maps (for example: Gobbler sightings, gyptians' voyage, Scoresby's journeys, Will and Iorek's route to the Himalayas)
12 chapters (for example: characters, places, applied and natural sciences, and social structures)

US and UK page numbers for each element described
Reference section with suggestions for further reading, works relating to His Dark Materials, and a Pullman bibliography.

Extra-textual remarks accompany some elements' entries and include:
Notes on text-level differences between the UK and US editions or between the three volumes;
Observations-- speculative comments
Facts-- real world counterparts to the fictional elements of the books
Updates--based on the appendices Philip Pullman added to the tenth anniversary editions of the trilogy (not yet released in the US).

From the Back Cover
"I can't recommend it too highly to the reader who's found anything interesting or enjoyable in this story of mine. I know I've turned to it frequently during the writing of the book I'm doing now, and I know I'll continue to do so." -- Philip Pullman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Fell Press (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975943014
• ISBN-13: 978-0975943014
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #538,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resources should always be shiny., November 25, 2007

By	Heather E. Waddell (Medford, MA, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There's no better recommendation for a reference book than when the author of the original series states that he's using it to help him remember his own books. And this reference has just such a recommendation.

This is an awesome source, part concordance, part encyclopedia, part character guide. It's a great companion and helped me innumerable times when I was looking for an elusive quote. I also enjoyed seeing the differences between the US and UK versions of the books laid out. The information is presented in a concise and entertaining way, and it's as easy to simply flip open a page and read a bit for fun as it is to look up a specific character or concept.

Frost's attention to detail makes this a book that I will always be glad to own. (Plus, the cover is a shiny picture of the Northern Lights, which just makes it that much more attractive.)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was astounded, January 21, 2008

By	Stephen Thoemmes "All sins are just efforts t... (AZ, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If Philip Pullman refers to this book, how can you go wrong? It is totally encyclopedic. A dense reference book that covers everything that you have remembered or may have forgotten. I keep referring to this tome though I am not currently re-reading the trilogy. The drawings, the cultural references (in the real world), the UK and US differences, this is a mind boggling work. I cannot imagine the effort put into this book. Laurie Frost has seemed, to me, to have exceeded all human limitations in documenting this masterwork.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Seriously Flawed, September 16, 2008

By	Keith E. Welsh "Figaro" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Philip Pullman might use this as a reference, but he also knows what she gets wrong. There are a number of glaring errors, of which I will cite one. Frost asserts that the angel Balthamos is female even though all the quotations she offers refer to Balthamos as "he." And Balthamos is male as is his friend Baruch. Frost's work is seemingly comprehensive but careless, badly edited, and at times misleading. Too bad, as a good encyclopedia of HDM would be welcome.