Kev2012
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Northern Lights: - Philip Pullman
Official Freelance Writers United review of: -
Northern Lights, written by Philip Pullman.
Review by Kevin Martin
You have all heard of the saying “Never judge a book by its cover,” right? Well I blatantly stumbled into the most patronizing of traps that that very saying strives to guide you away from. For what I done was picked up a copy of Northern Lights from my local book shop, and brought it near instantly for what was on the cover alone. I spent several hours looking at, what turned out to be named, the Alethiometer, that is shown in all it’s mystical glory on the front cover of this masterpiece.
The book unfortunately then sat for several months gathering dust in my bookcase. But before you chastise me for my juvenile error of judgement. I should mention the reasoning why the book languished for so long, it is because only days after I had inadvertently brought the book, a copy of Lord of the Rings centennial edition, illustrated by Alan Lee, fell into my possession. Hopefully that can explain why Northern Lights failed to get an earlier chance to work its magical spark on my mind.
Once I had finished marvelling at Master Lee’s artistry that so superbly captured Lord Tolkien’s creation of Middle Earth. I finally, and much belatedly, started on Northern Lights. What more can I say, the rest is history.
The story centres around a young 12 year-old lady named Lyra and her Dæmon, Pantalaimon. No, before you inundate me, it is suppose to read Dæmon, even though it is said “demon” as Mr Pullman points out early in the book. What is a Dæmon? I her you ask. Well to describe what a daemon truly is could only be answered by Mr Pullman himself, but the best and simplest interpretation of these creations that I came up with is probably this. A Dæmon is the sidekick of a human, all humans have them. While the human is a child the Dæmon can morph into all manner of creations, leopard, polecat, sparrow or even moth, but upon the “master” of the Dæmon becoming an adult the Dæmon takes a permanent form. The daemon and the master are linked, if the daemon is hurt the master feels pain, but concurrently the daemon expresses its masters emotional feelings in physical expressions. There, I think that is as simple as I can put it!
You are thrust into the main plot of the book from page 1, and up until page 82 the plot develops, grows and becomes infinitely deeper than is at first imagined, before exploding into an amalgamation of sub-plots that lead like the frayed tip of a rope away from the main scheme, while remaining within agonisingly close touching distance of each other. The story is filled with interesting and eccentric characters who are so ideally suited to the unfolding of the story that it is sometimes hard to decipher the book between a fantasy novel and a historical account.
The young heroine of the book, who is rightly said to bare a resemblance to Huckleberry Finn, becomes so tightly woven in the colossal and often spine tingling theme of the book, that by the end even the most hard-nosed reader gains some emotional tie to her. Everybody who is lucky enough to read the book should be able to relate, on some level, to Lyra and her exploits.
The book raises many interesting questions about humanity, integrity, morals and religion, but don’t let that deter you from reading, and under my recommendation buying, the book. Because while the author expresses stern, and at times controversial, slants on deeply misunderstood and misinterpreted issues, he at no time forces them upon his readers, and he merely expresses them in the form of views and opinions rather than condescending and nauseous dictatetive writing.
All in all Northern Lights, part 1 of His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman is one of those few books that can live up to the title of Masterpiece. Upon the book coming to its dramatic conclusion, it leaves you feeling emotionally drained, physically buzzing and will give you new a new outlook on life. The only downfall is the way it leaves you yearning for more, which fortunately for you comes in the form of the next two instalments of the trilogy, Part 2, The Subtle Knife and Part 3, The Amber Spyglass.
The advice of Kevin Martin from Freelance Writers United.
"To avoid disappointment upon finishing Northern Lights, go buy the entire trilogy now!"
Plot: - 14/15
Action: - 12/15
Characters: - 15/15
Originality: - 14/15
Written Dialog: - 8/10
Written Narrating: - 9/10
Overall Enjoyment: - 17/20
Total: - 89/100
Post Edited By Kev2012, Feb/12/2007, 8:29 pm
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Jun/30/2004, 3:02 pm
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Juno J
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Re: Northern Lights: - By Philip Pullman
Nice review Kev :)
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Jul/12/2004, 5:07 am
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Juno J
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Re: Northern Lights: - By Philip Pullman
For what it's worth I figure he spelt daemon that way to differentiate from demon, also Socrates referred to his daimon/daemon which advised him - so it was a nice touch.
Hey, no worries o fellow Man U supporter. The webpage is looking great - well done:)
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Jul/12/2004, 5:30 am
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