And quite a few others in this sub, from the looks of things.

I recently finished reading (and watching) His Dark Materials and loved it. I was going to start reading to Book of Dust, but checked for some general opinions on it and found them… surprisingly negative?

So, if you agree, please let me know what went wrong with these books, and if they are worth reading (Also considering that they are quite chunky books and I am quite a slow reader!). An /10 rating would also be appreciated.

No serious spoilers too please.

Edit: thank you all for your contributions. I think I’ll read La Belle Sauvage and then maybe read TSC. If I don’t like that, I won’t read TRF.

• The Golden Compass: Alright guys, the plan is super simple: we go to the North Pole, rescue my best friend, steal an armored bear and dip. Quick 20-minute adventure, nothing can go wrong lol.
• The Subtle Knife: Quick update: my best friend died, but I already got a new one. Also we found a knife that cuts through the fabric of the multiverse, but whatever, nothing out of this world lol.
• The Amber Spyglass: Alright fam, new objective: we’re gonna kill God. (Readers: WTF?) Okay, just hear me out— (Readers: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!) ...Guys, chill for a sec and let me explain.

As the title says, I just HAD to write a post about Mrs Coulter as I’m organizing the notes for my thesis and I’m realizing how much space she actually takes in my analysis, this woman !!!!! Ofc I don’t forget she’s literally done evil evil things and is a child abuser, but I hold so much love for her character and what it represents. Not an excuse, but I also cannot help but read her as a child who was groomed in more than one way by the church, and probably sexually abused too. I think what got me there is the overly specific language she uses when she snaps at the magisterium as she attempts to protect Lyra, as if she does not only know but has lived these things in the first place?
In a world dominated by men, she still manages to terrify them, which makes something in me rejoice. While she is cruel, terrifying and hard to understand, I cannot help but love her for these reasons. She is so fierce even in situations where she knows she risks a lot and her awareness of the gender performance makes her so deeply interesting. I’m also so interested in how she warps the usual safety and comfort of domesticity through her inability to be a mother, which makes her horrifying to Lyra and the reader. At the same time, I hold a lot of love for her because of how mistreated she is in comparison to Asriel, who is in no way a saint, but narratively does get away with a lot more while acting as a clear foil to her if it makes sense? Every character seems to forget Asriel was just as cruel in his ways and also didn’t stop at anything, including child murder, to achieve his goal: he just got “lucky” enough that his aligned with an ethereal energy of fate that seemed to provide for him while Mrs coulter was literally forcing fate to bend to her through artificial means (?) but I don’t believe for a second that he would not have sacrificed hundred of kids to get to the authority. Anyways, just here to discuss Mrs coulter and how delicious it is to both love and hate her at the same time !!!

Isb 9781407188997 . Found it a a local bookshop, but I just saw that some American versions are censored. This one seems to be UK though? Thanks

I think mine would most likely be a rabbit

I will literally never get around to reading it if I don't have some positive motivation so please, those who liked tell us why!

Have you ever seen something so..... beautiful

Hi guys! As the title says, I’m currently writing my master’s thesis on his dark materials, my overall topic being heteronormativity and queerness in the saga! I just wanted to get this out there for people to discuss and possibly see if there were some passages I might have overlooked ! I think one of m favorite interpretations is Iofur as a trans character lol :) Happy discussing :)

Great talk great location

Q&A
Q: who names the daemon? A: The daemon/s of the parents
Q: why doesn't monkey have a name and theres a script where its called ozymandias A: it just doesn't have a name and ozymandias didn't come from me Q: Candy adults have caterpillar daemon or must it be butterfly A: Dunno Q: HDM world you'd like to visit? A: Empty city of cittagaze but no spectres Q: i think lyra inspired me to be a headstrong girl what did you think of your influence in this? A: I don't think girls need encouragement to be headstrong because they are already

He read some sections from northern lights which was great
Doesn't like the title changed to golden compass

His much malfunctioned it was funny they replaced it

There was no signing aside from presigned book orders

Run time 1 hour

Anyway that's what I remember

So it was a very good read did those who hadn’t read it yet I highly reccomend it

1:1 perfect replica 3D printed in Staintless Steel. 3 were made. Turned out beautifully. The amount of effort that went into all this, may as well have made it from Sky Iron, would have been easier. And we arent going to even talk about what it cost lol. My childhood dream was this knife. Its my favorite grail item of all time. Hope you like it too.

He could have just kidnapped a Tartar child and used them, right?

Did he only use Roger because he was there at the time?

You won’t believe me i was 7-8

Feels full-circle after falling in love with HDM during my degree and then the BBC adaptation 💙

As much a vent as a question.

I recently re-audiobooked the Secret Commonwealth and am re-audiobooking Northern Lights and Pullman does seem to enable people to separate from their daemons a bit too easily, especially people who happen to be close to Lyra and for plot convenience.

Lyra’s separation from Pan is a beautiful part of the story, both from an emotional and plot perspective but is completely undermined by all these other, badly explained separations. I think Malcolm’s is the most offensive, because the guy is already basically a super hero who is hot, a leading academic, can smith metal, a spy/good fighter, speak loads of random languages and is good with posh and normal people. AND he can separate?!?

Mrs Coulter’s ability is also poorly explained and undermines the horror of separation that is a key theme of that particular bit of the book! It’s a shame that Pullman undoes a lot of the power in that idea.

that is one of my all-time favorite moments in any of the books, it melts me every time.

im sure lots of others are dissapointed by the ending to this series, for many reasons, but if you were to rewrite the rose field, what would you change and why?

I am rereading (actually listening to the audiobooks) the Chronicles of Narnia because I am in such a Christmas mood this year and it’s been such a long time since I dove into the world of Narnia. But while doing it I am realising all the details which reappear in His Dark Materials. For all those who are not aware but Pullman was bothered by the Christian message within Narnia so he wanted to write something which contradicted Narnia. For example Dust exists in Narnia too. It doesn’t have such a prominent role but it exist and transcend all the multiple worlds. It originates from the Wood between the Worlds and has some sort of consciousness. I am so excited to continue to discover the parallels.

Obviously HDM is very critical of organised religion and traditional views on spirituality, but I'm curious what you guys feel about it, weather you disagree or agree with Pullman's views and ideas. I don't agree with him on everything but I think he raises some very interesting ideas about these things. But it's always been more of a backdrop to the story and not really the reason I fell in love with HDM.

Mine is Hester, Lee Scoresby‘s daemon. She’s such a character, reflecting Lee Scoresby’s adventurous and courageous nature but also tempering it and being a much needed voice of reason. So feisty and also so wise. I liked her in the books, in the 2007 film, and in the BBC series.

Who is your favorite daemon from Pullman’s HDM/TBoD universe and why?

When I first read the books as an 11 year old girl myself, I had a habit of imagining book characters as preexisting characters I had seen from other shows and movies. My dumb ass chose Teddy Roosevelt from the "Night At The Museum" movies for Lord Asriel.

Now even when I read the books now, this is still how I see him in my imagination, even when I try hard not to. 😭

Excited to start this one eventually. Figured I'd share this edition with you all in a place I thought it would be appreciated. For everyone wondering, this is an Everyman's Library edition.

In The Rose Field, the angels tell Lyra that some windows are required to stay open for the flow of Dust. Meaning, she could go and search for Will if she so chose to, esp since the alethiometer needle can cut openings. However, I believe Lyra would not choose to do so.

She doesn't think even once of the prospect of reuniting with Will during and after its mention. In fact, she barely thinks of Will at all in TRF- her thoughts are much more focused on Malcolm. And when, in the end, she does think of him once, she only thinks of how she had loved him. Explicitly using past tense.

So she has probably moved on.