A series of fantasy novels by
Philip Pullman, consisting of
The Golden Compass,
The Subtle Knife, and
The Amber Spyglass. Though ostensibly for children,
His Dark Materials has enough complexity in its
characters,
theology, and
fantasy-
logic that
adults should not shy from it. In some respects, I consider it superior to
Lord of the Rings (
gasp!): the cast of
characters is as large, and as lovingly developed, but it has a wider range of people and fewer instances of simplistic, absolute evil. There's absolute evil, all right -- just not absolutely evil people. They may be unhappy, selfish, misinformed, or insane, but Pullman's people have reasons for what they do. And, unlike in
Tolkien, there are interesting and important female characters as well as Men. Pullman also succeeds in blending the grandeur of
high fantasy with a mundane sensibility that makes it possible to
love and
identify with his story as well as stand back in awe.
The language of
His Dark Materials is simple, but not condescendingly so. The prose is lyrical and the story is always captivating. The characters in the trilogy include
angels,
bears,
priests,
witches,
Texans,
ghosts,
preadolescents,
seductresses, and
scientists. This isn't so amazing for a fantasy novel, but what is amazing is that all of them are first and foremost
people. Their strangeness not only makes a good
yarn, it also speaks directly to our own humanity and personal experience.