Phillip Pullman

OK, OK, so you all think he's a kids' author, right?

For any of you who haven't read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, DO. I doubt I have ever read a series of books where the quality of writing is so consistently excellent, and the Worlds so vividly realised. The characters are heroic and sympathetic, but very real... each has their faults and flaws.

The books are Northern Lights (US Title The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass (information for anyone who's been living in a hole for the past five years, there.)

While I tip my hat to Mr Lynch as the Author of the Best Book I've Read This Year, Mr Pullman runs off with the title of Author of the Best Books I Have Read in the Last Ten Years.

I read the first one and thought it was okay, but it didn't blow me away.

Are you excited for the upcoming film? Or wary of it?

I am hearing very very bad things about it from people who have been involved so far- one who actually left their job on the crew because it's such a mess. I am not hopeful, but I hope PP stops them ruining it all together.

im with roland here. I read the first 2. thoguht they were ok but didnt blow me away

thought it was a great children book
the key word is children

i'm always wary of adaptation, i'm usually very disappointed when i read the books first
too much compromise most of the time
LOTR was the exception that confirms the rule

I read them last summer at thought they were pretty amazing, although they kind of fell apart in the third one (which didn't stop them from being great, of course).

I'm looking forward to the movie as well. I think its straightforward enough (at least near the beginning) that it could make a decent adaptation.

Am I the only one who didn't particularly care for the LotR movies? Actually, I liked them well enough at first, but after rereading the books a couple times since seeing them, they seem to have declined in viewability.

Mr. Smash, I absolutely loved the LotR films, but I will admit I haven't read the novels in many years. So perhaps after a re-read, I might see your point.

The only change Jackson made which I must say really annoyed me, was having Aragorn fall off the cliff during a battle in The Two Towers. WTF?????!!!!!

This didn't incorporate or consolidate any scenes because of time constraints. It didn't advance the plot. It didn't develop the character. It wasn't in the book, and it just made no sense to me whatsoever.

Yeah, that irritated me, too. I mean, the book that he's using as his source material is so long that he has to cut parts of it out, and here he is including things that aren't in it at all. He could have fit in something else from the actual book during that time. It just boggles the mind.

However, one thing that I do have to unequivocally praise is the visual aspects of the film. They were worth seeing just to see how Jackson captured the visual aspects of Tolkien's world, especially the elven cities. It's an absolutely gorgeous movie.

the lotr changes that annoyed me actualy were the changes in the personality of denthor and faramir. I didnt particurl mind adding or subtracting scenes. I didnt always *get* it (for instance I would rather have had the end of sauramaun then some of the added scenes. but hey) but i didnt mind. part of what happens with films. The radical changing of the personality of characters I didnt care for as much.

Yes. That too. They absolutely BUTCHERED Denethor. I always felt that he was a somewhat sympathetic (despite his faults) character in the books, but they pretty much made him evil in the movies.

Some of the CGI I thought was a bit questionable, too. I didn't particularly care for the glowing green ghosts in the Paths of the Dead scene.

OsRavan, the end of Saruman you wished for is in the extended version of Return of the King, at the beginning.

I think Faramir redeemed himself, and ultimately was akin to the character as envisioned by Tolkien - I would agree that Denethor was treated harshly by Jackson, but I can't deny I cheered along with the rest of the theatre crowd when Gandalf knocked the stuffing out of Denethor, as he was moaning in despair at the walls of Minas Tirith.

You can just chalk it up as something to further draw in non-reader fans. If he had been sympathetic instead of the way Jackson made him, he would've just been another sympathetic character on the screen with the rest. Someone has to be the personal asshole somewhere in there, it's just how movies work. Considering you never see Sauron, other than Saruman which character would they hate?

Maybe I let myself be carried along by the hype surrounding His Dark Materials, but this was a series that really fell short of its potential, in my opinion. Not that it was bad, mind you.

But there was a lot of missed opportunities. Although good, these books could have been a lot better. There was definite potential. Maybe if I had read them during my teens I'd have been more impressed. But past 30, the series didn't do it for me. . .

Patrick

I found it to be a pretty good read. Well, great, really. Loved his characterisation of the "relationship" between Will and Lyra, and the ending actually brought tears to my eyes (I never cry at books, movies or anything (well, not since the first time I watched Bambi and E.T. ) , but for some reason Pullman managed to pull it off). A few years since I read it though, but still.

Read The Dark Tower series, Falagar. You'll cry during Dark Tower VII, I guarantee it.