Having seen The Amber Spyglass reach the long-list
nominations for this year's Booker Prize, I was sufficiently intrigued to
go out and buy Northern Lights, the first in the series. If you have
finished all four Harry Potters, and are suffering withdrawal
symptoms from juvenile fiction, then look no further than this trilogy.
Juvenile fiction seems to have 'grown up' since I were a lad. Some of the
themes in this series are very adult indeed. Like C.S.Lewis' Narnia
Books such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there are very
deep religious undertones. Although, in Pullman's series these issues are
far more obvious. The series is based loosely on Milton's Paradise Lost,
and all three books are exhilarating.
These books are most definitely fantasy, being set in a number of
'parallel universes' which are all subtly different. In the first universe
everyone has a speaking 'familiar' called a daemon (pronounced demon).
Despite their name, these creatures are not evil (unless their human is)
and as well as being able to speak can communicate telepathically with
their human. They have the outward appearance of animals, and prior to
puberty they have the ability to shapeshift. Generally the daemon settles
on a shape reflecting the human's occupation - for example, most servants
have daemons that are dogs.
Set in the universe of daemons, Northern Lights concerns 12 year old Lyra
who lives at Jordon College in Oxford. There are differences between our
Oxford and hers, but it is recognisable. For example, Jordan College
doesn't exist here. It appears to be set towards the end of the 19th
century when science is just starting to make major advances. When Lyra's
friend Roger disappears, she and her daemon Pantalaimon feel they have no
option but to look for him. Their quest leads them to the frozen north
where intelligent armoured bears rule, and witches fly through the skies.
It is also where scientists are conducting experiments too horrible to
discuss. Lyra is helped in her quest by her ability to read an 'alethiometer',
"something like a watch or a small clock: a thick disk of brass and
crystal. It might have been a compass or something of the sort",
which is used for telling the truth, and is pictured on the cover of the
book. Northern Lights is very well written. It is fast-paced and difficult
to put down despite some scenes being particularly violent. The action
scenes such as the battles are particularly gripping. When I had finished
it, there were no doubts in my mind about buying the second one. |