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Leave his dark materials to Milton.
Oct. 7th, 2006 04:10 pmSo this morning I finished "The Amber Spyglass", the third and final book in the His Dark Materials series. And I think I've come to a conclusion: I don't like it.
Well, let me explain. I enjoyed the books. I liked reading them, generally. I liked Lyra and Will. In fact, I really liked the first book, "The Golden Compass"; it really set up a fascinating world that was almost-but-not-quite our own, with an interesting conflict and a lot of potential. I kind of liked the second book, though I think it started to... 'lose focus' isn't what I'm looking for, but it's the closest I can get. The third book was alright, but probably embodies most of what I don't like about the series: it didn't make sense.
Pullman sets up a lot in the first book. And he moves on from there in the second. And for most of the third he's still working with the same things. But then something happens. Or doesn't. Going any further, though, involves Spoilers, so they're under the cut. And even at that, it's rather disjointed.
( Spoilers that express my frustration with Pullman. )
In short, Pullman leaves a lot open. He throws things out into the world he's created, some he ignores, some he forgets, some he outright contradicts. By the third book, everything that's said and done seems to be just another conduit through which Pullman philosophizes. More and more through the third book, characters and actions and settings take a secondary position behind Pullman and his own preaching.
And really, that's what it comes down to. I didn't like the third book because it didn't resolve much, and what it resolved it did so poorly. The first two books are good, but without a third they lack meaning. And the third they were given seems to drain and bastardize any meaning they could have had.
Well, let me explain. I enjoyed the books. I liked reading them, generally. I liked Lyra and Will. In fact, I really liked the first book, "The Golden Compass"; it really set up a fascinating world that was almost-but-not-quite our own, with an interesting conflict and a lot of potential. I kind of liked the second book, though I think it started to... 'lose focus' isn't what I'm looking for, but it's the closest I can get. The third book was alright, but probably embodies most of what I don't like about the series: it didn't make sense.
Pullman sets up a lot in the first book. And he moves on from there in the second. And for most of the third he's still working with the same things. But then something happens. Or doesn't. Going any further, though, involves Spoilers, so they're under the cut. And even at that, it's rather disjointed.
( Spoilers that express my frustration with Pullman. )
In short, Pullman leaves a lot open. He throws things out into the world he's created, some he ignores, some he forgets, some he outright contradicts. By the third book, everything that's said and done seems to be just another conduit through which Pullman philosophizes. More and more through the third book, characters and actions and settings take a secondary position behind Pullman and his own preaching.
And really, that's what it comes down to. I didn't like the third book because it didn't resolve much, and what it resolved it did so poorly. The first two books are good, but without a third they lack meaning. And the third they were given seems to drain and bastardize any meaning they could have had.
