Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46352 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-19
• Format: Box set
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy astounded the literary world, reaping high praise from adults as well as children. The final book in the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, was published to great literary acclaim, earning Pullman a place on the longlist for the prestigious Booker Prize and pushing the trilogy toward cult fiction status for both children and adults.

This stunning box set contains the three books in the trilogy: The Subtle Knife, Northern Lights and The Amber Spyglass, and is the perfect gift for anyone who is looking for a challenging read. It's recommended for age 10 and above. --Susan Harrison

Synopsis
A gift set of all three books in the acclaimed "Dark Materials" trilogy in one slipcase.

Customer Reviews

Unputdownable adventure
Northern Lights is endlessly inventive from the interesting parallel fictional Oxford at the beginning to the Parallel World revealed at the end of the book. The idea of every person being attached to a 'daemon' is truly inspired and creates much of the charm and ingenuity that makes His Dark Materials so well-loved. Overall, a children's adventure story with grown-up overriding themes concerning the questioning of authority - a marvellous read from start to finish.

Incredible stuff
You have to suspend your critical grip on reality but that's easy - it has to be done with most fiction. You just have to suspend it much higher for this. And from that height you get a spectaular perspective on the world and worlds running in parallel. Of the tools needed to get between the worlds, of the divergent evolutions of the different worlds and all wrapped neatly in an adult faerie tale.
The characters are lovable, the backdrops mainly familiar, the imagery well textured and chiselled. Each book layers beautifully on top of the previous one until the Armageddon Heaven and Hell climax. I'm not giving anything away, it's self evident in the first chapter. A great and readable yarn for all of the romantics out there. Loved it.

Best books I've ever read, and definitely not just for children..
I don't believe it is any exaggeration to describe this trilogy as one of the best works of fiction I've ever read. Once you have read these books, you will want to do so again and again, and each time you do you'll get something new from them.
I found 'Northern Lights' hard to get into at first, but on the advice of a friend I stuck with it, and by the end I was completely hooked. Lyra's alternate universe is so atmospheric with detail that you can almost taste and smell it, but it is so beautifully described, in a succint, almost minimalist style, that it never sounds contrived.
The books mix all-out action and thrills, elements of fantasy and myth, science, and some unbelievably profound philosophical subject matter which will certainly make you think: these books were written for children?? I won't be giving these books to my children before they are 13 or 14!
The ending of 'The Amber Spyglass' is haunting, as other reviewers have said; it is almost unbearably sad and if it doesn't make you cry - and think deeply about the meaning of life - then nothing ever will!
Finally I would urge anyone thinking of reading 'Northern Lights' for the first time to not delay, because if the upcoming movie turns out to be disappointing you might decide not to bother, and miss out on a true treat.