Years ago I was entranced by Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights trilogy, also called His Dark Materials. I loved how close his world was to our world–but also distinctly different in fantastical ways–and the reveals over the 3 books scratched many of my speculative fiction itches.
There was a Golden Compass movie around 10 years ago that was fine. I didn’t walk away wowed by it, but I happily would have watched the other 2 movies. I don’t think it didn’t particularly well at the box office, though.
I was really excited that HBO picked it up. So far I’ve watched the first 2 episodes, and here are my spoiler-free thoughts:
- The casting and set design is excellent. Just like in the books, the world feels familiar but different.
- The daemons (little magical animals associated with each human) look fantastic. I’m amazed by the CGI for them, especially in a TV show.
- I like that the series isn’t sticking to the order of reveals from the books. We’ve already learned a lot that isn’t revealed until much later in the books, but I think it’s solid screenwriting for this format.
Overall, I’m really happy with the show so far, and I look forward to seeing if the pacing feels right over the course of the first season. What do you think?
This show sits in my DVR waiting for time to view it.
Are you still watching Survivor?
I am! It’s been a fun and thought-provoking season.
Great, can’t wait to watch. Loved the books back then but didn’t watch the movie. I remember that the story felt unique and I liked the idea of having a daemon. The first “Book of Dust”, La Belle Sauvage is high on my bookpile of shame. Also need to go visit Oxford again.