Shadowlessness

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.

The book, “A Prayer for the Dying” by Jack Higgins, was extremely fascinating for me. I read it only once or twice, and more than 10 years ago in high school, but it has made its impression on me.
It’s about a former IRA bomb-maker, Martin Fallon, who has left his ideologic work because he has blown up a schoolbus full of children by mistake.
While the story is attractive in its own right, what makes the book memorable even to this day is Martin Fallon himself. He is more than once described as dead inside. I think I know the feeling. Much deeper and stronger than despair, a special kind of apathy that keeps one from caring. He truely did not care whether he lived or died.
If you are into short paperbacks for fun and sometimes more, I strongly suggest this. And don’t forget to lend it to me so I can read it once more.

Phantasmagoria, Mortal Combat (forgive me for the ‘C’!) and Twisted Metal!

These have two things in common. First, they are all old games that I found exceptional in some way and enjoyed very much. It was at least 10 years ago since I played any of them for the first time (and many years since I played them last) but their effect is still etched upon my memory. Mortal Kombat, the first two installments on SEGA Genesis, is the easiest of them all to recognize for even non-gamers (who could forget “Sub-Zero Wins” or “Fatality” in that deep voice?)
“Twisted Metal II” on the PlayStation (or PSOne if you prefer) was an immensely fun game (search Wikipedia yourselves; I’m not providing the link!) and the memory of the school hours I ditched (or the after-school hours I didn’t) to play at the arcade nearby with a couple of friends gives me a welcome nostalgic pang.
Phantasmagoria is the far lesser known of the three. It was a multi-CD (Wikipedia says 7(!) but I can’t say I remember exactly, since I was never able to finish it) interactive-movie (like Hard Line, or the Mad Dog series) adventure game. Very dark and scary and disturbing.

The other thing these three phrases have in common is that they are all used in the book “Northern Lights“, the first book of the fantasy trilogy “His Dark Materials” by Phillip Pullman. It’s not every day that one encounters an (allegedly) children’s book with genuine cruelty, malice and violence (another notable exception is Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”.)
I’ve only finished the first book, and just begun the second, but it seems hard to me that the series can arrive to a conclusion in merely three short books! In any case, His Dark Materials is an entertaining series with some unique features (e.g. the introductions of “daemons”.) Anyone interested in short fantasy series should give HDM a try.
Another interesting feature of the series for me is Pullman’s opposition to organized religion, in this case Christianity. The “Church” in his books is somewhat reminiscent of what the church would have been like at the beginning of 20th century if it had survived the Renaissance.