tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post5010992771178993710..comments2024-01-08T14:21:37.465-08:00Comments on Infinite Art Tournament: The Reading List: His Dark MaterialsMichael5000http://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-40075001016829528522011-08-21T00:35:44.776-07:002011-08-21T00:35:44.776-07:00Jus' one man's thoughts on the matter, ma&...<b>Jus' one man's thoughts on the matter, ma'am. But thanks. : )</b>Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-24308035246087497982011-08-17T20:57:12.430-07:002011-08-17T20:57:12.430-07:00Your book reviews are so discerning, Michael. Few ...Your book reviews are so discerning, Michael. Few fans I know have admitted that the trilogy has a confusing and unsatisfying conclusion.Eavannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-7194389208797699582011-08-15T22:43:47.540-07:002011-08-15T22:43:47.540-07:00No reward per se, but I'm happy to report that...<b>No reward <i>per se</i>, but I'm happy to report that my father just used the phrase "I didn't have a dog in that fight."</b>Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-19507283336962969912011-08-15T17:06:04.975-07:002011-08-15T17:06:04.975-07:00Where's my prize?Where's my prize?Chancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00226145896576592193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-32244907497096410202011-08-15T08:54:06.122-07:002011-08-15T08:54:06.122-07:00It's not Lithuanian until the staff Lithuanian...<b>It's not Lithuanian until the staff Lithuanian says it's Lithuanian -- but she has, it is, and the issue is settled!</b>Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-59349981647770273242011-08-14T21:18:02.222-07:002011-08-14T21:18:02.222-07:00i'm enormously pleased you (&sue5000) like...i'm enormously pleased you (&sue5000) like this series. i LOVE it, though your review reminded me that the ending was... unsatisfying and reductionist. but the world and the writing is so engaging i can ignore that part. i read the whole series over a long weekend, i was so enraptured.<br /><br />i've got the smaller follow-up books: "lyra's oxford" & "once upon a time in the north." let me know if you want to borrow them!gl.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03216590789836132321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-44761392181422149862011-08-14T21:01:49.917-07:002011-08-14T21:01:49.917-07:00A bit late to chime in, but yes, that is definitel...A bit late to chime in, but yes, that is definitely Lithuanian. It's definitely the only language with a ų.dhkendallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810149407928718294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-73934711828571485472011-08-14T18:39:22.715-07:002011-08-14T18:39:22.715-07:00Hmmmmm....I've always wondered about this seri...Hmmmmm....I've always wondered about this series. And, despite the problems with the ending, I think I'll take it on at some point ... despite my continued problems with YA books.Jennershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08044537551139633301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-65223949241513391052011-08-14T08:44:01.516-07:002011-08-14T08:44:01.516-07:00I'm continually startled by how old cyberpunk ...I'm continually startled by how old cyberpunk is. There are some startlingly accurate depictions of the social effects of the Internet that predate some of the technology that have brought it about.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-83952745958430869812011-08-13T11:46:46.118-07:002011-08-13T11:46:46.118-07:00The staff Czech verifies that this is neither Czec...<b>The staff Czech verifies that this is neither Czech nor Polish. We shall refer Chance's assertion to the staff Lithuanian. He's certainly right about the "steampunk" concept being older than I thought it was. Maybe he can be the staff steampunk specialist.</b>Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-5930076086994827572011-08-13T11:30:59.535-07:002011-08-13T11:30:59.535-07:00Thank you Chance. I was just about to settle on La...Thank you Chance. I was just about to settle on Latvian.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-39905329686752111072011-08-12T22:56:49.585-07:002011-08-12T22:56:49.585-07:00The language is Lithuanian. The word "steamp...The language is Lithuanian. The word "steampunk" was coined in the '80s, long before this book was conceived.Chancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00226145896576592193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-50288130487207857452011-08-12T19:19:26.870-07:002011-08-12T19:19:26.870-07:00I listened to these as audiobooks during my former...I listened to these as audiobooks during my former long commute. They were very well done, with a full cast of voice actors/actresses. Recommended.pflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16866574024138674337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-56670042831111256822011-08-12T18:04:43.777-07:002011-08-12T18:04:43.777-07:00Trixie: I thought Finnish at first, but now we'...<b>Trixie: I thought Finnish at first, but now we're leaning towards Czech. But no idea, really.</b>Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-40731223507854841202011-08-12T14:11:22.276-07:002011-08-12T14:11:22.276-07:00What language is the depicted cover in? Does Catal...What language is the depicted cover in? Does Catalan have those descending accents on the U? Does Romanian have the letter K?Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-55693543010460629322011-08-12T12:31:31.206-07:002011-08-12T12:31:31.206-07:00You used the word "sentient" to describe...You used the word "sentient" to describe the armored polar bears, when I think what you meant was "formidable, articulate, and psychologically complex." Your cat, after all, is fully sentient. <br /><br />Otherwise, a nice review, with an excellent choice of illustration.Rorynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-87791502905623431512011-08-12T12:23:20.376-07:002011-08-12T12:23:20.376-07:00I'm very fond of these books, unusally so for ...I'm very fond of these books, unusally so for children's lit I've encountered only as an adult. I agree that they spiral rather out of control, but there's something rare and audacious even in that. The human/daemon relationship (I won't explain) is one of the most magical and artfully developed ideas I've encountered in a fictive world.mrs.5000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-85708462569680925592011-08-12T08:19:41.262-07:002011-08-12T08:19:41.262-07:00I absolutely agree with you. Wonderful series wit...I absolutely agree with you. Wonderful series with a terrible ending. In fact, being 3 years since I read/audiobooked it I can't exactly remember exactly the ending -- just a lot of events that took place in the last book. I think I blocked the trauma from memory. I think he had so many ideas he wanted to get out, and decided to try to fit them all in there, ALONG WITH all the things introduced in the first two books. Maybe they belonged in stories in their own right. And what the hell happened to Mrs. Coulter?? She went from all bad-ass dominista to totally wussified gender-role-submissive in no-time flat. <br /><br />Btw, I highly recommend the movie. Wonderful adaptation, even if they switched up events and left the end for the next book. Pullman himself approved of it and even said about Mrs. Coulter's hair color change: <br />"I'd described Mrs Coulter's hair as black. I was clearly wrong. You sometimes are wrong about your characters. She's blonde. She has to be." (http://moreintelligentlife.com/node/697)Voron Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10926495951830978833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-6220101769267949642011-08-12T06:31:34.912-07:002011-08-12T06:31:34.912-07:00I just want to go through this sentence by sentenc...I just want to go through this sentence by sentence and say "yes", "yes", and "yes" to each. <br /><br />The first book is so superior to the others. I think the overall structure of the chase gives it a sense of pursuit and danger gives it a propulsion and sense of wonderful nightmare that is lacking in the others.<br /><br />And I basically have to pretend like the third book was never written to maintain my enjoyment of the first. The way that the magic is explained is sort of like how disappointing it is in "The Phantom Menace" to learn that The Force are just some kind of sentient particle. I'll just forget that happened, and go back to the original trilogy, thanks.<br /><br />And what a comedown for Lord Asriel by the third book. He ends book 1 with such an oversized personality— he's like Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights + James Bond + Satan. He's setting a lot of amazing and bad things in motion with his hubris, and he deserves a more appropriately heroic comeuppance at the end.<br /><br />Finally, GO READ PARADISE LOST NOW.Ezrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03768543629114555536noreply@blogger.com