Rating: 
Summary: Shocking...But non-superior to the last
Review: I got the "special edition" of the golden compass, it is the same but i dont undeerstand why the cover does not have the monster in the back of Will. This is a great book, not as thrilling as the last, but just as superior as the other books. You cant understand the content of this book until you have read the book one of His Dark materials. The Golden Compass. But i will tell you, you have got to read this. I dont have as mush time to write this as my last review, if i did, i would had explained everything to you, so the best i can do now is to encourage you to read all three books of His Dark Materials! Rontgen PS:God sake! Forgive me for writing such a short report! I am having computer class right now, i am suppose to be doing my work hehe. BYE.
Rating: 
Summary: As good as the first
Review: Its rare that a trilogy can be composed of all outstanding books, but that is the case with His Dark Materials. Read it
Rating:
Summary: lots more wonderful stuff by a now frequent writer
Review: this book was amazing i didn't find any second book weakness in it, compared to some of the series i've read. one writer said that the harry potter series was better for younger readers such as myself but even though i enjoyed those books highly these were great! FYI the gyptians are pirates and the pajersborne are the Armoured bears not polar bears.
Rating: 
Summary: Far from subtle.
Review: My goodness. I truly loved _The Golden Compass_. I was intrigued and excited by a work of fantasy, depicting the beginnings of a religious battle, in which _both_ sides were flawed. And Lyra -- deceitful, mischievous, wonderful Lyra -- who made her own "truths" so often, seemed set at the end of that book to explore and discover a truth all of her own, one far more complex, but at the same time more personal and therefore more true, than anything her cold, ambitious, dogmatic parents could imagine. In a terribly disappointing irony, _The Subtle Knife_ cuts away all of the moral complexity and religious questioning that made the first book so gripping, and lays bare a far-from-subtle anti-Christian philosophy that, in it's lack of originality and respect seems to do nothing but emulate the dogmatism of its main villains. Moreover, the beauty of the intimate connection between Lyra and her daemon, that made the dangers of the first book so heartwrenching, and that added such complexity to her character by giving us a sense of her own inner doubts and disagreements, as well as her longing for love and acceptance, is here pared down to a bit of timely shape-shifting and a few lines of unrevealing dialogue. It's like the souls of the main characters really have been cut away, and in their place we have cardboard subjects spouting trite propaganda instead of the really soul-stirring questions we got in book 1. In this book, there are none of the moments of fierce beauty, none of the stabbing pangs of doubt and questioning, that made the first book so emotionally stimulating. The whole thing seems calculated and cold. Even a terrible (and deliciously morally ambivalent) act committed by one of the main characters seems a matter for little more than an emotional pause and a few subsequent reminders. The character seems unchanged by his experiences. Untouched. His soul does not speak to us here. In the end, _The Subtle Knife_ is simply disturbing. It doesn't disturb in that intellectually stimulating way that great, subversive literature can. It is subversive, but only in the shallowest of ways -- it attacks what many hold to be true and good. But it doesn't do it in a way that brings up new and interesting questions, or really challenges believers to re-think. It just batters its head against a strawman of semi-historical, pseudo-theological fiction. Taken together, the two books have the feel of a greatly crafted deceit, as what seemed so complex and profound in the beginning slowly falls away to reveal a simple matter of anti-religious sour grapes. I give the books credit for their entertainment value, and will return again and again to _The Golden Compass_, if only to imagine what the series could have become. But this book does for Atheism what books like _Left Behind_ do for Christianity -- they give believers a pat on the back, dissenters a headache, and lovers of literature a sigh of dissappointment. For a book that tackles such big issues, one would expect far more grace, far more thought, and far more subtlety.
Rating:
Summary: just bloody amazing
Review: this is one of those books where the dustjacket artwork says it all- will and lyra both look outwardly confident, but their eyes are weary and lips tightly drawn. and so it goes through this gripping and heartbreaking core of pullman's astounding epic allegory. although acting with considerable courage and resourcefulness, ultimately fate is driving them towards something both wonderful and terrible. what i really appreciate is that everything comes with a price- will gets the most powerful tool in this (or any) universe, but loses a few fingers in the process and is left with wounds that won't heal and constant agony. we start off thinking will's mom is emotionally unstable, but later it's revealed perhaps the danger she sees exists just outside our normal perceptions. lyra has grown- she interacts less with pan and the inklings of love between her will are nicely placed during quiet moments. also the contrasts between her world and will's are brought nicely into focus... details which were there but not explicit suddenly leap out at us. and again pullman builds fantastic worlds- the abandoned city of children, the ultimate "global warming" as lord asriel's experiment totally mucks up the workings of multiple universes, and the boggling stone fortress (with armies that literally defy description) that he has assembled to wage war on the Authority. as a final note of realism, i smiled at the spunky ex-nun dr. mallone. the descriptions of equipment, processes and the never-ending quest for continued funding were all quite well done. these are such truly splendind books i hope they remain as literature only for quite some time.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: Like many folks, I find that the second installment in a trilogy is often the weakest. The author usually runs out of steam, or doesn't care about his/her characters enough to put them into as interesting a set of situations as they were in with volume #1. Perhaps, the author feels that he/she can take a breather and bring everything up to speed with #3. Not so with Pullman. He delivers a wallop with the first page and doesn't let up. Pullman also ends the book with a set of cliffhangers that must have made readers absolutely nuts until "The Amber Spyglass" arrived. The tenderness is still there (I nearly cried over the parts about Will's mother). The evil Mrs. Coulter is again on the scene, totally amoral and vicious, but not so "perfectly evil" that she seems unreal. Lyra is as tough and smart as always, while still making mistakes and paying for them. Pullman is also brave enough to kill off a few of his favorites, which keeps up the plausibilty level and propels the survivors forward. And the concept of a righteous war in Heaven...! The author shows a tremendous amount of courage even to bring up the subject, let alone tackle it to the degree he does. Readers may disagree with him; but they will be forced to think about his ideas. Very, very good.
Rating:
Summary: The next in an excellent series!
Review: Well, the title of my review says it all. This is another great book from one of the best fantasy authors working today (But with a disturbingly low output so far! More books, please!). I don't want to reveal much of the plot, for fear of spoiling your enjoyment. It is enough to say that if you liked The Golden Compass, you will like this, though the subject matter is noticeably darker. The book did fail to create in me quite the sense of wonder and mystery that the first one did (hence 4 stars), but in trilogies, the second book is almost always the worst. I have yet to read the third, but I have high expectations. Note: This book depicts the Catholic Church as being evil. It also depicts people flying around on pine boughs, and a knife being used to cut holes between dimensions. Use common sense.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: I do not understand why the "12-year-old" fellow would find this book so "boring." This book is one of the best I have ever read, and His Dark Materials is arguably the best series I have encountered, in Sci-fi, Fantasy, and other genres. It's just fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: Please note the word FANTASY
Review: It is astounding how some reviewers will accept a world where children come with daemon familiars, angels walk and witches fly, knives cut through reality, science and faith come with different names, ghosts, ghasts and other fantastical creatures exist alongside talking, armored Polar Bears...and yet any depiction of a church in this world is necessarily an indictment against the Catholic church in this, our genuine and knowable world. It's a FANTASY, folks. If you choose to see the Catholic Church in Pullman's depiction of a narrow-minded, murderous cabal intent upon keeping knowledge away from seekers and killing those in their way - that's your problem, not the problem of these books. The His Dark Materials series contains within it multiple worlds, including one which resembles our own - and of any Church there, we have no clue. What is called the Church in Lyra's world is pretty contemptable. But it is no more the genuine Catholic Church than Gus, the polar bear in the Central Park zoo, is likely to don armor and terrorize 5th Avenue. The books are marvelous fantasy novels, and the series delightfully dark - a far cry from the standard action/adventure/comdey that passes for modern fantasy. Highly recommended for people who think for themselves, no matter what age they are.
Rating:
Summary: Where there's Will, there's a way...
Review: This book was a worthy successor to The Golden Compass. The new character to share the spotlight with Lyra is Will Parry, resident of our own England and son of vanished explorer John Parry. The witches are back, as is the evil(?) Mrs. Coulter, who seems to be betraying everyone at the same time. Lyra has been wandering foggy territory for days, and is at first unaware that she has reached another world. Will, by some happy coincidence, locates a "window" to the same world Lyra has unwittingly stepped into. The city is haunted by Specters, spirits who eat the soul of adults but leave children alone until they "ripen." The orphans of Cittagazze spurn them, but Will and Lyra can get on without their help. Will's underlying quest is to find out what happened to his father, whom he barely knows. He discovers through a rather gruesome happening that he is to be the bearer of the Subtle Knife--a dagger that can cut windows between the millions of worlds, and the two travel between our Earth and Lyra's. Thus as long as Will is around, there is a quick escape from any danger that might threaten. And threaten it does! Lee Scoresby also takes a prominent role, searching for lost researcher Stanislaus Grumman (who, you will remember, was assumed dead in the last book) and being forced to make one desperate decision that has horribly drastic consequences. A female doctor of physics in our world learns from Lyra how to read Dust herself. She is told that she is to play the serpent...and as in Genesis, everything hinges upon the serpent. The serpent, and Lyra.
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