I just finished the “His Dark Materials” trilogy that I’ve already written about. Since I don’t want to spoil any of the story actualities here, I can say only two things about the series.
The ending was really really sad. I’m not talking Hamlet sad, were everyone dies except the kangaroos. I’m not saying that all the main characters die or something (although some do die) but it’s saturated with another kind of sadness. The final chapters are so saddening that I put off finishing the ending chapter for a week or so. I quite liked it (not the end of the story, but how the characters ended up.)
The world Phillip Pullman creates is one worthy of reading about. It’s interesting. The storyline he chooses for his book is a little weird and weak at some points but he manages to pull it off. The weakness and weirdness, in my opinion, stem from the misplaced focus of the story (this is similar to what I perceive as the problem with the Lord of the Rings, too.) Pullman falls in love with his main characters and their destiny and he just leaves the story to live in the background, except were he forces it to change its course to suit them. Of course, it’s not as bad or childish as I make it sound. The books are way above average and may even be great for some tastes, just not so for mine.
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