Recently read: "The Subtle Knife"

[viktor_haag]

Next off my reading pile was to finish the second of Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy. I won't say too much, because Pullman is getting way over played this holiday season what with the film, all the gift-set tie-ins, the overblown controversy, the Pope, and so on, and so on. All I'll say is that I thought Pullman was a far better (though perhaps less accessible) writer than Rowling, and I still think so. His world creation and plotting leave the Potter books in the dust (so to speak). However, I still can't help but feel that Pullman's books may ostensibly be aimed at the young adult reader, but they're still books for grown-ups. The remoteness of the characters, the brutality of some of the plot details, all point to books I'm not sure that I'd want my 10 year old reading. On the other hand, a young, and thoughtful, teenager might do very nicely with these books, especially if the teen proves able to get past the chilly exterior of some of the characters. Highly, highly recommended. Of all the modern YA authors I've tried Pullman and Nix rank right up there with the lights of past eras (Lewis, Nesbitt, Cooper, Ransome); if you have tried Rowling's series, then I strongly recommend you get these if you haven't already done so ("The Golden Compass" is the one to start with, but how could anyone not be able to easily find that out, what with all the recent hullaballoo).

Comments

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

I just couldn't get past the "everyone has one level in Druid" thing.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

You have a point.

[brianrogers.livejournal.com]

Pullman's work has never drawn me in. I've tried Golden Compass and found it almost entirely unengaging. Perhaps as a reaction to the hype it was getting at the time, perhaps it was the coldness of te characters, or maybe I just didn't care for his prose style. Rowling, on the other hand, I've always found to be engaging fun, if breezy and quick.

As for Pullman's darkness, yes, I agree. We have read his ealier Te Ruby in the Smoke and my wife pressed on to read The Shadow in the North and neiter of us saw them as the childrens/YA books they were marketed as - violent murders, opium addicitons and the like made them awfully dark.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I personally don't mind this aspect of Pullman, but I do see it as problematic for his publishers, because I suspect that YA books that are really aimed at adults address a smaller readership.

I do agree completely that Pullman is harder to engage with than Rowling; indeed, Rowling has that same engageable magic that Stephen King has. No doubt this has led to her huge success. Her books are very, very readable and her characters (although quite flat) are very easy to engage with.

I still think that Pullman is a better writer in the sense that his world is much more "real" and his plotting more compelling and textured. His characters are odd. They're certainly more rounded and full than Rowlings, but nevertheless, they're also cold and remote.

I'm appreciating "His Dark Materials" for other reasons than the Potter books, and still think they should occupy a place in the YA canon (if such a thing exists), but I also realize that they're not necessarily for everyone whereas I think just about anyone can read and enjoy the Potter books on some level (as long as they can force themselves to continue past the first two, where I thought the flaws outweighed the positive qualities).