"His Dark Materials"

Over the weekend, I finished Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, the first book of which is "The Golden Compass." It is an impressive combination of fantasy, science fiction, coming-of-age, and social commentary.

I feel obliged to write a short spoiler-free reaction. A full review would require some spoiling, and I don't want to do that as a normal daily entry.

The main protagonists of this trilogy are extremely well written, if somewhat surprising. The significant support characters vary in depth, but each provides an opportunity for the reader to feel strongly about the character itself, as well as about the relationship of that character to the protagonists. It's this visceral involvement in the characters which makes the books more than "young adult" fiction.

As stimulating as the characters are, even more impressive is the seamless integration of typical fantasy and science fiction elements with "steam punk," Christian mythology, and truly original ideas from Pullman. Adding to the flavor are the lead-in quotes from famous authors - most of which I had never read before - which clearly influenced and inspired aspects of the story.

Was it perfectly written? No. Planting seeds for later blooming is fine, but in a book of more than 900 pages, an author should not expect his reader to remember the single line of dialog from an otherwise unrelated character tens of chapters earlier just to make sense of why something happens near the climax of the story. Some brief scenes near the end of the books seemed to be items the editor should have removed if the author wasn't going to be required to complete them.

Nevertheless, this is quibbling about an otherwise excellent piece of fiction. On the whole, I enjoyed this series and could picture re-reading it at some point, especially if anyone ever attempts to complete the series in film. The end of the story was quite fulfilling, without being contrived. In fact, though I cannot cite specifics without spoiling things, the author's ability to tie up loose ends in atypical but logical ways was quite striking.

Those who know me might expect to hear my opinions on the religious commentary inherent in the story. However, I must defer that discussion to a spoiler-laden response. It is simply impossible to talk about Pullman's depiction of the church and other aspects of the faith without significant reference to characters and plot points which would ruin the mystery for people who have not read the books. For anyone who has only been exposed to this work through viewing the film version of "The Golden Compass" -- you have only seen a smattering of what Pullman wrote, and while the film might contain criticism of some portions of Catholicism (which was essentially my feeling when I saw the movie), the books go far beyond that.