The Physics of Fantasy in a Far Away Fable (Northern Lights - Philip Pullman)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
Date:	25/10/05 (583 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets better as it goes along; Plenty of imaginative creations

Disadvantages: Starts slowly

***Introduction***
Over the years I’ve had mixed experiences with the fantasy genre. From the highs of Clive Barker and even James Herbert when he veers away from out and out horror to the lows of failing with Tolkien and Raymond E Feist. Having recently read "Sabriel" by Garth Nix it was suggested that I have a go at the now famous Philip Pullman. Billed as a serious alternative to the Harry Potter series, I duly attempted “Northern Lights”, the first in the Dark Materials trilogy.

***The Author***
Pullman isn’t an author I tried up until now. Born in Norwich in 1946, Pullman studied English at Exeter College, Oxford. His first children’s book was “Count Karlstein” published in 1982 and from here he has gone on to publish 20 books which are children’s books in the main. His break through came in 1995 as the Dark Materials trilogy went on to win the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Book Award, and (for “The Amber Spyglass”) the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. The latter being the first time in the history of that prize that it was given to a children’s book. “Northern Lights” is due to be made into a full-scale movie scheduled for release in 2007 although it may be labelled as “The Golden Compass” i.e. its American name.

***The Story***
Lyra Belacqua is a 12-year-old girl being brought up at Jordan College in Oxford. The head strong Lyra, oblivious to who her real parents are, runs away from her guardian, Mrs Coulter. Determined to discover what has happened to Lord Asriel and the numerous children that have gone missing including her friend Roger, Lyra teams up with a rescue party led by John Faa and the Gyptians who have taken her in. Suspecting The Gobblers (a colloquialism for the sinister General Oblation Board) or at least knowing that the abductions are down to members of the Oblation Board, Lyra and company head North to the land of the Northern Lights to unravel the mystery surrounding the abductions.

***My Thoughts***
“Northern Lights” was introduced to me with reservations. The overwhelming impression before I started was that this would be good. After all, with critical acclaim from everyone from Jan Mark of The Times Educational Supplement to Joanna Caret of The Guardian calling it “a thought provoking reflection of the human spirit”, my brother’s statement that he simply couldn’t get into it paled into insignificance…or did it? I have to say that I found the first 100 pages or so difficult to negotiate in an almost Dickensian squall of scene setting. I found the parallel settings of Oxford and Fen land a little dull with not an awful lot going on. The slang employed by Lyra and The Gyptians only served to reinforce that Charles Dickens feel of another time and place from the past and maybe triggered my own preconceptions around a slow build up.

The book is written in the third person with various parties picking up the dialogue at different times. The main focus is around our heroine, Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon as the reader quickly comes to realise that everyone in this parallel land of English cities and Scandinavian place settings have their own ally in the almost pet-like, chameleon-esque, daemons. This becomes central to the story as Lyra closes in on the mystery of the missing children and the rumoured experiments of The General Oblation Board become an increasing reality.

There were flaws in the methodology employed by Pullman. Firstly, the opening is a little plodding as already suggested but even more so was the lack of overt description as the reader is left to imagine for the most part what the central characters actually look like. I always find this a little curious that some writers choose not to sketch pen-pictures of the figures in their story but as the plot develops then the image is built anyway in a reader’s mind so I guess there are bigger sins than this.

On the plus side, the story picks up pace as the chapters unfold. Once we’d left England’s shores for Lapland then things really took off. Pullman blends in aspects of physics that tie in nicely with the more fantasy aspects of the story, what with the pre-occupation with Dust and the possible alternative worlds contained within the Aurora. Of course, there are battle scenes woven in there too as every fantasy reader has come to expect with the powers of good and equal set squarely opposed to each other. The uncertainty around the Witches’ allegiance and the added revelations around Lyra’s parentage add another dimension to the story as each exotically named protagonist is unveiled a little more. The bizarre alethiometer holds a brooding menace that ticks away like a time bomb in the background as the story free wheels to its conclusion.


***Conclusion***
“Northern Lights” is 399 pages long and split into 3 main parts: “Oxford”, “Bolvanger” and “Svalbard”. The 23 chapters vary in length from just 11 pages up to 33. I’d say the book is an average length read taking me a couple of weeks to get through although I only tend to read a couple of chapters at a time. This book will appeal to older children (I’m including myself aged 40 in that category *cough*) who prefer a darker slant to their fantasy reading. With the presence of witches, Tartars, daemons and armoured bears then there is plenty to occupy an inquisitive mind looking for something a bit deeper than a Harry Potter alternative. The exotic backdrop of Lapland and The Aurora Borealis lend a snow driven, dark blue skied menace to the tale and it’s no surprise that the book finishes as a bridge to the second in the series.

Personally, once I’d got into the story, I really enjoyed the book as the plot picked up pace and the action came thick and fast. I’ll definitely move onto the second and third parts but then my bro’ owns the trilogy and is quite happy for me to borrow from him. For every one else you’ll need either a generous brother or a trip to Amazon/Ebay.

Thanks for reading

Marandina

ISBN: 0-590-66054-3
Published by Scholastic Children’s Books
R.P.P. is £6.99 but I’m sure you could find this cheaper online at one of the usual suspects (Amazon/Ebay etc)

Summary: Overview of the 1st in the Dark Materials Trilogy