What other fantasy books do YOU read?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

I think the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy is very good, but the second and the third one just didn't have the same magic and power. I got the feeling pullman had used his best ideas in the first book and nothing but scraps was left to the later ones.

I get the horrible feeling his publishers rushed him a bit for the second and third books. The chief problem for me with the third book is he had his main protagonist out of action for almost half of it, and he did not make his ending clear enough; the creatures that Mary lived with were also a bit weird, slightly contrived, and until you've read the book a few times, it's hard to grasp what he is really saying - it's not some Atheist polemic at all, quite the opposite. I always say that the last episode of the last series of Doctor Who dealt with similar concepts of loss (in the context of alternate universes) in a much more clear way.

Anyhow.

I'm excited about the films, but if anything, even more nervous about them than I was about the Lord of the Rings films! I saw the filming going on in Oxford last September, including spotting Nicole Kidman, and it was all very exciting. I'm quite confident in the actors they've chosen but am worried they will downplay the religious elements in the story too much - when in fact the films could serve to clarify Pullman's points if done correctly.

Funny how it's going to be called The Golden Compass though. The first book is called Northern Lights in the UK, and that's what Pullman wanted it called on the global market. What happened was that his US publishers had created a book jacket and had a 'compass' as the illustration rather than an alethiometer and one of the staff had assumed it was called The Golden Compass. Pullman said that at the time he didn't feel he had the power or the right to challenge or correct them!

[Lathriel]

I actually don't mind the title The Golden Compas since it goes well with the Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass.
I already saw some pictures on the internet of the movie and I'm very curious. i also hope that they don't downplay the religion because that is one of the main topics in the trilogy.